Daniel Keilwitz is German racing driver who achieved the most in GT racing. He captured two championship titles driving a Chevrolet Corvette for Callaway Competition - the FIA GT3 Championship in 2010 and ADAC GT Masters in 2013. He was five more times among the top 3 crews in the German GT championship.
Daniel Keilwitz
European GT3 champion in rookie season
Daniel Keilwitz was born in August 1989 in Villingen-Schwenningen. His start of the career is a cliche. He spent four years in karting and then one in the German Production Car Championship in 2005.
It was followed with a season in the ADAC Procar, and then he spent three years in the MINI Challenge in which he couldn't finish better than fifth placed. In the meantime, he made a debut in the ADAC GT Masters with Rhino's Leipert Motorsport, driving an Ascari KZR1 in eight races.
A decision to test himself in the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2010 was great because he immediately became a champion in pair with Christian Hohenadel. They were sharing the #101 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.R GT3 of Callaway Competition.
Daniel Keilwitz in 2010
Success in ADAC GT Masters driving a Corvette
Next destination was the ADAC GT Masters in the #28 Corvette of Callaway Competition. He was sharing a car with Diego Alessi. The first season was one to forget, but in 2012 Keilwitz, teamed again with Diego Alessi, finished as a championship runner-up. Keilwitz clinched his maiden victory in Zandvoort, while the next one was at legendary Nurburgring.
It was just a prelude to the 2013 season when, again paired with experienced Italian Alessi, won the championship with a margin of just five points They were race winners five times.
Diego Alessi and Daniel Keilwitz - 2013 ADAC GT Masters champions
Close to the title three more times
He failed to retain a title in 2014, even after he scored six wins, four with Andreas Wirth and two with Oliver Gavin, but that was enough just for third place in overall standings. In 2015, Keilwitz stayed with Callaway Competition, sharing a car with Andreas Wirth. He failed to win a single race and finished seventh at the end of the season. He had four podium finishes that year - three second places and one third.
In 2016, Daniel was again close to the top. Teamed with the Frenchman Jules Gounon in the #77 Corvette C7 GT3, he won three races, at Sachsenring, Lausitzring, and Red Bull Ring. They were fighting for the title until the last race in which Gounon crashed out and they finished third in the points. Jules Gounon won the ADAC GT title in 2017. Daniel was his partner in four rounds, winning two times and finishing second in the points.
In 2018, Gounon left the team so Keilwitz gets a new co-driver Marvin Kirchhofer. They won both races in the third round at Red Bull Ring, taking the championship lead. They won one more race in the season's finale at Hockenheimring, finishing third in the championship points. In 2018, Keilwitz was also driving Callaway's Corvette in Pirelli World Challenge.
Daniel Keilwitz and Jules Gounon were partners in 2016 and 2017
Keilwitz also tried many other GT cars
Since joining Callaway Competition back in 2010, Keilwitz occasionally competed with the team outside ADAC GT Masters but also joined some other teams sporadically. In 2011, he was second in SP8 class at Nurburgring 24 Hours driving a Corvette for Tobias Gutroff. In 2013, he raced with Dörr Motorsport's McLaren MP4-12C GT3 in the FIA GT Series while in 2014 he made a one-off appearance in the Porsche Supercup with Fach Auto Tech.
In 2015, he was sixth at Nurburgring 24h with Walkensport Motorsport's BMW Z4 GT3. Next year, he was again sixth at N24 with Zakspeed's Mercedes-AMG GT3 but also joined Black Pearl Racing to drive a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 in one round of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.
Keilwitz takes Pro-Am class victory at Spa in the #333 Ferrari
Pro-Am class victory at 2018 Spa 24 Hours
In 2017, Keilwitz was driving Ferrari 488 GT3 for Rinaldi Racing full season in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup and part-time in the Endurance Cup but also a Ferrari 488 GT3 for Wochenspiegel Team Monschau at 24 Hours of Nurburgring, finishing 7th in SP9 GT3 class.
In 2018, Keilwitz rejoined Rinaldi Racing in selected races of the Blancpain GT Series, taking a Pro-Am class victory at 24 Hours of Spa, together with Alexander Mattschull, David Peral and Rinat Salikhov in the #333 Ferrari 488 GT3.
New challenge with Aston Martin in 2019
For the 2019 ADAC GT Masters season, Keilwitz accepted a new challenge, joining Prosport Performance to drive a brand-new Aston Martin Vantage GT3, sharing a car with Aston Martin factory driver Maxime Martin.
Outside German GT championship, Keilwitz was driving Ferrari 488 GT3 for Wochenspiegel Team Monschau in some endurance races, including Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Photo: Drew Gibson/LAT, Kevin Pecks/SRO, solarismotorsport.com adac-motorsport.de adac-gt-masters.de
