Victory for Mercedes-AMG in the first ever FIA GT Nations Cup in Bahrain rounds off the season just as successfully as it began in Dubai.

• This is what happened: Results and facts
• News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
• Social media news: What’s new online?

This is what happened: Results and facts

• FIA GT Nations Cup: Team Turkey win the inaugural event hosted by Bahrain
• End of season: 2018 was the most successful season in the history of the Mercedes-AMG Customer Sports Programme, with a tally of more than 130 wins and over 40 titles

News snippets

Awards: December is traditionally the month in which the awards are presented for the past season. James Allison, Technical Director at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, received the Sir Jackie Stewart Award at the BRDC Awards ceremony. The accolade is conferred on the standout motorsport engineer of the past twelve months. Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton was awarded the BRDC Gold Star for the fifth time and also received the Graham Hill Trophy. Formula 2 champion George Russell and DTM champion Gary Paffett were also among the winners on the evening. Gary had already received the Goldener Schuh award at Race Night 2018, held in the context of the Essen Motor Show.

Meanwhile, team boss Toto Wolff was being handed the John Bolster Award by FIA President Jean Todt at the Autosport Awards. This was in recognition of the extraordinary performance of the team in securing the world championship double for the fifth time in a row. “This is on behalf of all the team,” said Toto. “Drivers and team principals get a lot of recognition in the media, but we could not do it without the many others. It means a lot to receive the award from you, Jean. You were an inspiration in your time at Ferrari, and you were the first to call me and say ‘it’s an honour to be in the five-time winner club with you’.”

Victory in the FIA GT Nations Cup: The 2018 GT racing year ends, as it began – with a victory for Mercedes-AMG! The FIA GT Nations Cup in Bahrain last weekend was won by the Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by RAM Racing. It was a fitting way to round off a year that had begun with victory for BLACK FALCON in the first event on the 2018 calendar – the 24 Hours of Dubai. At the Bahrain International Circuit, where the FIA GT Nations Cup debut took place last weekend, Salih Yoluc and Ayhancan Guven were flying the flag of Turkey in the number 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3 prepared by RAM Racing. The Turkish pairing fought a thrilling duel with the Team UK car. Shortly before the end of the one-hour race, Guven driving the second stint passed the hitherto leading Brit to clinch the race for Ram Racing and Turkey. No fewer than 18 different countries were represented in this first ever running of the FIA GT Nations Cup.

Best of Customer Racing 2018: Various international teams and drivers gathered in Stuttgart at the end of November for the end-of-season party organised by Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing. Around 250 guests celebrated the most successful season in the history of the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing programme, with a tally of more than 130 victories and 40 titles. Among the highlights of the evening were the awards in the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Championship. Winners of the in‑brand competition were Hubert Haupt (Pro Driver) and Valentin Pierburg (Best Driver). The team trophies went to AKKA ASP (GT3) and BLACK FALCON (GT4).

Social Media News

#PurePitWall: One last look behind the scenes of the 2018 Formula 1 season: James Allison answers fans’ questions about the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – why did we bring Lewis in early, and why weren’t we concerned about the drivers performing donuts after the race?

Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=obFd_7P8Pxg

#Esports: The grand finale. It’s been a dream year for our gamers in the F1 Esports Pro Series. We look back on the performance over the season of Brendon, Dani, Harry and Patryk...

Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SulQCaIAMQY

# 30YearsDTM: After 30 years in the DTM, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport took its leave from the series in style, winning all three championships. Over the course of the three decades, there have been many successes to celebrate, but also setbacks which only inspired us to come back all the stronger.

Watch video - Greatest Wins: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJbcBA6wosI

Watch video - Greatest Defeats: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsmmo3TiXX0

Our next Motorsport Newsletter will be published in the new year. We thank you for being such great people to work with over the past season and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.