Marco Holzer studying for his new drive
Stuttgart. Marco Holzer is the new driver in the UPS Porsche Junior Team.
Just 19 years old, Marco, from Bobingen in Germany, will be teaming up with
Austrian driver Martin Ragginger (also 19), who has been racing as a UPS
Porsche Junior since 2007. The two young drivers will be entering all races
for the Carrera Cup Germany at the wheel of a 420-bhp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup,
as well as six races for the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup held on the occasion
of various Formula 1 events, where they will be guest starters.
Marco Holzer is succeeding Lance David Arnold who has left the Junior Team
as planned after three years. As in the previous years, the Manthey Racing
Team will be in charge of team management and all activities on the track.
Marco Holzer has successfully made his way to the team following an
elaborate scrutiny of numerous international young talents, first
undergoing a medical test at the University of Potsdam as well as a
theoretical examination, then successfully completing several driving tests
on the track. Apart from fast and consistent lap times, the decision taken
by the jury in favour of Marco was based on his technical knowledge and his
ability to set up the suspension of the car with perfect results. Further
essential criteria were health, fitness, resistance to stress, and the
personal style of the young drivers who will be required at a later date to
represent UPS and Porsche on various occasions and at a number of events.
“I’m really looking forward to my first year in a car with a roof over my
head. So far I’ve only driven Formula cars. But after just a few test laps,
the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was really a wonderful experience”, states Marco
Holzer.
Marco scored his first important success at the young age of just ten back
in 1998, clinching the German Championship in the Bambini Kart Class. In
2003 he finished third in the German Junior Kart Championship, in 2005 he
won the World Finals of Formula BMW, and in 2006 he completed a Formula 1
test for the BMW Sauber Team in Valencia. In the 2007 season, finally,
Marco was back on the track in the Formula 3 Euro Series.
“Like in previous years, we examined the results of our scrutiny tests very
thoroughly and in great detail. In the process we really got to know Marco
very well and we are convinced that he is the right man for the UPS Porsche
Junior Team and Porsche in general”, states Porsche’s Sports Director
Hartmut Kristen on behalf of the jury, which, among others, included
Carrera Cup Manager Helmut Greiner, Team Director Olaf Manthey, and a
representative of UPS.
Ever since it was established in 1997, the UPS Porsche Junior Team has been
acknowledged as a cradle of talents for touring and sports car racing.
During a training period of up to three years as UPS Porsche Juniors, the
young talents not only learn to drive fast, but also take lessons in
technology, undergo media training, and receive consistent medical support
and back-up. Cooperating with experienced top-notch engineers and closely
linked to Porsche motorsport, the drivers are consistently prepared for
their job as professional racing drivers.
The list of former, highly successful Porsche Juniors is long and
convincing: Dirk Müller was the first Junior to bring home the Championship
in the Carrera Cup in 1998. Subsequently he won many long-distance titles
and finished as the runner-up in the World Touring Car Championship on two
occasions. Lucas Luhr, in turn, brought home the Carrera Cup title in 1999
in his very first year of training with Porsche, and has become one of the
most successful sports car drivers in recent years. Timo Bernhard completed
his training as a racing driver in 2001 by winning the Carrera Cup, scoring
further outstanding victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona, Le Mans and
Nürburgring, and driving the Porsche RS Spyder 2007 to the Championship in
the American Le Mans Series. Marc Lieb was the best driver in the Carrera
Cup in 2002 and since then has been celebrating one win after the other in
the FIA GT Series and the Le Mans Series. He also brought home overall
victory in the 24 Hours of Spa in 2003 and won the GT2 Class of the 24
Hours of Le Mans in 2005. In 2007, in turn, he clinched the title in the 24
Hours of Nürburgring. Mike Rockenfeller, finally, was the superior winner
of the Carrera Cup in 2004 and brought home numerous class and overall
victories for the Porsche FIA GT Series, the ALMS, the Grand Am Series, and
the 24 Hours of Spa, Le Mans, and Nürburgring, before moving over to the
DTM German Touring Masters.
In 2008 the UPS Porsche Junior Team is entering its twelfth season, with
UPS, the world-famous logistics company, having become far more than
“just” the main sponsor and co-name of the team ever since 1997. “The
ongoing support we have received from UPS has given us the security we need
for planning and has contributed significantly to the success of our
training activities”, emphasises Helmut Greiner, who, apart from his
position as the Director of the Carrera Cup, is also responsible for the
Porsche Juniors.
UPS Porsche Junior 2008
Marco Holzer
Born: 30 July 1988
Nationality: German
Place of residence: Bobingen, Germany
Profession: Automotive mechatronic
Hobbies: Football, kart racing, fitness
Favourite tracks: Zandvoort, Spa, Bahrain
Success in motorsport:
2007 Formula 3 Euro Series
7th at Norisring
2006 Formula BMW
3rd in Formula BMW Germany
Formula 1 test in Valencia (BMW Sauber F1 Team)
Test drive A1 Grand Prix Series (Team Germany)
2005 Formula BMW
1st in the World Finals Bahrain
13th in the Formula BMW ADAC Championship (2nd in Spa, 4th in Hockenheim)
2004 Formula BMW ADAC Championship
6th in the Rookie Category, 18th overall
2003 Kart Racing
Winner of the JvO Championship
3rd overall in the German Junior Kart Championship (DJKM)
2002 Kart Racing
10th in the German Junior Kart Championship (DJKM)
Various places among the Top Ten
Entered the Monaco Kart Cup
2001 Kart Racing
1st in the Ampfing JvO
3rd in qualifying for the European Championship
Entered the Monaco Kart Cup
2000 Kart Racing
2nd in the DMV German Championship Class ICA Juniors
2nd in the first race of the DMV Northern Championship in Hahn
1999 Kart Racing
1st in the DMV German Championship Bambini Class
1st in the State Championship South
3rd in the State Championship North
3rd in the Gold Trophy
1998 Kart Racing
1st in the DMV German Championship Bambini Class
1st in the Spring Trophy in Hahn
1st in the Bambini Championship South
2nd in the Northern Championship in Hahn
3rd in the North Rhine Westphalia Cup in Kerpen