The 31-year-old will take over the cockpit vacated by Worlds Sports Car champion Timo Bernhard as he shifts his focus to team management and to his supplementary role of Porsche brand ambassador. "For me, this represents a new period of life which will also allow me to spend a bit more quality time with my family," says Bernhard. "Anyone who knows me well, will also know that I'm a racer through and through, and that I will therefore still be donning my helmet for the occasional event, for rallies or for hill races, and for motorsport as a hobby and way of relaxing. I'm really looking forward to this new phase of my life. And to my responsibilities as a brand ambassador for Porsche, which is a role I've always wanted to take on. I will also be paying far closer attention to the day-to-day running of my Küs Team75 Bernhard and to taking the team further forward."
Between 2010 and 2015, Simona de Silvestro competed in the IndyCar series. More recently, she has contested touring car races in Australia. In parallel with her commitment to the ADAC GT Masters, she will continue as Porsche test and development driver in Formula E. In the Super Sports Car League, Simona will share the cockpit of a Porsche 911 GT3 R with Klaus Bachler who, together with Bernhard, won the Sunday race at the Nürburgring in 2019. "I'm looking forward to racing in the ADAC GT Masters again in 2020 and to having Simona as my co-driver," says Bachler. "She has a lot of experience and is sure to settle in very quickly to the GT racing environment. This will be my third year in a row with Küs Team75 Bernhard, and we now have an almost blindfold rapport. In 2019, I scored the occasional gratifying success with Timo, even though we didn't always have the best of racing luck. I wish Timo all the best for the future. He will still be on hand with his great experience, which will certainly be of benefit to the team and to us drivers."