Defending GT500 Drivers’ Champion Heikki Kovalainen and four-time GT500 champion Ronnie Quintarelli have been selected to run for their respective manufacturers, as the Autobacs Super GT Series brings their machines to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) season finale at the Hockenheimring circuit in Germany this weekend.

F1 hero Kovalainen will drive the 2016-spec Lexus LC500 Super GT test vehicle, while four-time champ Quintarelli will drive the Motul Autech NISMO GT-R that he raced last season to third in the championship.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to show the appeal of Japanese Super GT cars,” said Kovalainen to Autosport’s Glenn Freeman on Tuesday.

“For me personally, it will be the first time back on a European race track since I left Formula 1. DTM is well-known in Japan and has quite a lot of similarities with Super GT – it will be an exciting weekend for all of us.”

Kovalainen won last year’s GT500 title for Lexus Team SARD, with co-driver Kohei Hirate. He defeated the likes of Quintarelli, the only four-time GT500 champion in history, to take the title.

“It’s a great honour to represent Nissan at Hockenheim and to drive the car there,” said Quintarelli. “Super GT is an amazing racing series. Finally we have the chance to demonstrate our cars in Europe.”

Both drivers will have a chance to run the 4.574 kilometer circuit at race speeds during their two days of demonstrative runs on October 14 & 15.

The DTM is also planning to send some of their top drivers to demonstrate their cars at the Motegi GT Grand Final on November 11-12, as the two series look towards their long-awaited collaboration in the near future under the unified Class One regulations.