This was the Qualification Race for the 24 Hours, and I joined the famous Schnitzer Motorsport team, who are legendary among BMW fans and who I’ll be doing the 24 Hours with. Antonio had already done the first two four-hour VLN rounds of the season on the Nordschleife in an M6, whereas I’d done them in a much-slower M235i in order to get my licence to race a GT3 car on the circuit, so Antonio came to the race much more up-to-speed than I was.

Those VLN races have about 200 cars whereas this Qualification Race was ‘only’ about 100, and quite a lot of those 100 are the quick GT3 and GT4 cars. To be honest, the act of qualifying for the 24 Hours was a formality, but a top-30 position does give you the right to have a blue light for the big race itself, which alerts all the slower cars that the big boys are coming. Apart from that it’s more of a test race, getting some experience, with about half the cars on track that you’ll get in the 24 Hours.

Testing and practice went well, and we had a long qualifying session that went into the night, which was quite important for me and Antonio. Then Antonio did the qualifying for grid positions and put the car 12th on the grid. From my side, it was my first run around the Nordschleife in the GT3 car and the first time I was able to attack it without having to worry about getting my licence. There was a lot of learning, but I was pretty happy with what I achieved.

Antonio did the first stint and had a fantastic start to go from 12th into the top five on the first lap – typical Antonio! He did quite a short stint and then I got in. I was on old tyres so I lost some places, but when I got new tyres at the next stop it was much better, and things carried on improving. It’s mental – new tyres give you 10 seconds a lap without you even feeling as though you’re driving any faster! In the end I drove for four of the six hours, because the team wanted me to get as much experience in the car as possible as preparation for the 24 Hours.

It was just an amazing experience, and I’m really enjoying the family atmosphere not only at the Schnitzer team but within BMW as a whole. All my team-mates have been very supportive, and those with experience have gone out of their way to be helpful. When you’ve got people like Marco Wittmann and Martin Tomczyk around you, both of whom are legends in German racing, you can’t really go wrong – they’re the kinds of guys you draw a lot from. Also, Timo Scheider and Augusto Farfus will be joining Antonio and I in our car for the 24 Hours, so that will also be a massive boost.

As far as the driving was concerned, I thought this after night qualifying, and it was reiterated in the race, after spending a lot of time in big gaggles of GT3 cars fighting it out while we lapped slower machinery: you think you’re a racing driver, but you’re not a proper racing driver until you’ve done this. The Nordschleife is a very humbling track. You think you’ve got skills until you come up against these guys, and you start getting passed. But then one stint later you’re up to speed and you’re being as aggressive as they are.

My last two stints were a big step for me. I think we should have finished sixth, but we lost out on strategy and that put me at the bottom of the top 10 when I climbed back in to bring the car to the finish. But I made up time, and did a lap in 8m18s, which was only one second off the fastest BMW time of the race. On the last lap I grabbed eighth by diving down the inside of a Porsche at the Dunlop Kurve – there was a light bit of contact but it was cool: my first-ever proper GT move!

I nearly caught the BMW in front of me for seventh but that’s not the important thing. We went there, learned, and now I’m keeping my fingers crossed as I write this, but I don’t see any reason why we don’t have a good chance for the 24 Hours.

Current BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin from Belgium, who shared the cockpit of the #99 BMW M6 GT3 with BMW works drivers Philipp Eng from Austria, Britain’s Alexander Sims and the team’s new German Nordschleife specialist Marc Basseng, battled a Mercedes for fifth place as the race drew to a close, attempting to secure early confirmation of a place in top 30 qualifying for the 24h race. Martin had started the race from 14th place and was faster than his opposite number, but had no chance to overtake on the last lap on the long straights from Döttinger Höhe down to the finish line. He missed out by just 1.027 seconds.

British driver Sims, who competed in both cars, started the chase in the #98 car from even further back. Starting from 25th place, he took the M6 up to 17th before the first change of drivers. Together with Dutch driver Nick Catsburg, Finland’s Markus Palttala and his compatriot Richard Westbrook, Sims was able to further improve, reaching eleventh place as the race progressed.

The team is still searching for some top speed improvement before the 24h race, without losing the strengths of the BMW M6 GT3 in the numerous fast corners on the 25.378-kilometre long combination of Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife. However, this will be no easy task with the current “balance of performance”. Nonetheless, those in charge of ROWE RACING were very pleased with the reliability of the cars and the faultless work of the drivers and the team at the dress rehearsal.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, ROWE RACING team principal: “We are noticing a positive trend approaching the 24-hour race and we are coordinating better in all areas. I am very pleased with the performance of the drivers and the whole team, who didn’t make a single error and were always battling to progress, especially with regard to the starting positions. We were not so dead-set on top times in qualifying, but were working more towards the race and this strategy proved itself. However, we were a little unlucky that some other teams improved so much in second qualifying. Had we started a few places higher up, we may have been able to achieve a little more. We must certainly work on our performance, which takes us to the current BoP. If the faster car cannot overtake on the straights, some questions must be asked.”

Alexander Sims, ROWE RACING #99 BMW M6 GT3: “Sixth place is a solid result. Of course, we would have liked to have secured starting place in the top 30 qualifying here already, but now we have to do that in four weeks’ time. I would think that we will be OK to do this. We learned a few things during the race that will help us with the 24-hour race. The tyres seemed to start working a bit better during the race, which was the main difference to qualifying and why our racing speed was better. All in all, I am satisfied with the qualification race.”

“We’ve made the conscious decision to back our customer teams rather than compete against them in the VLN races and at the Nürburgring 24-hour race. We’re supporting them by supplying works drivers as well as technical assistance,” says Sebastian Golz, Project Manager GT Customer Motorsport. “The expertise of our teams Falken Motorsports, Frikadelli Racing and Manthey Racing combined with our support and the concept of the 911 GT3 R have underlined in the VLN1 and VLN2 preparation races that we’re currently on the right path. We claimed pole position and overall victory at both of these events and also won the amateur classification. With our customer squads we’ll now take on the challenge of the Nürburgring 24-hour race and the strong opposition from other manufacturers’ works teams.”

Porsche customer teams at the Nürburgring 24 Hours

Manthey Racing, 911 GT3 R #911 *
Romain Dumas, Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki, Patrick Pilet
Falken Motorsports, 911 GT3 R #44 *
Jörg Bergmeister, Martin Ragginger, Laurens Vanthoor, Dirk Werner
Manthey Racing, 911 GT3 R #12 **
Matteo Cairoli, Mathieu Jaminet, Otto Klohs, Robert Renauer
Frikadelli Racing Team, 911 GT3 R #30 **
Klaus Abbelen, Sabine Schmitz, Andreas Ziegler
Frikadelli Racing Team, 911 GT3 R #31 *
Klaus Bachler, Michael Christensen, Lucas Luhr, Norbert Siedler
Manthey Racing, 911 GT3 R #59 **
Sven Müller, Hari Proczyk, Reinhold Renger, S. Smith

* Pro category ** Amateur category

BMW Team Schnitzer wrote the first chapter of its glorious history at the Nürburgring 24 Hours back in 1989. The team from Freilassing (GER) claimed its first overall victory at the endurance classic on the Nordschleife in the same year as it won its maiden DTM title. After 143 laps of racing, eventual DTM champion Roberto Ravaglia, Emanuele Pirro (both ITA) and Fabien Giroix (FRA) crossed the finish line first in the iconic BMW M3 E30. In memory of this success BMW Team Schnitzer will return to the Eifel track in 2017 with one of the two BMW M6 GT3s sporting the same historic design as the winning car from 1989.

This is a particularly special honour for Charly Lamm, who was team principal when BMW Team Schnitzer claimed its first major Nordschleife success – a role he still occupies today: “BMW Motorsport has a big tradition in motor racing, and we have been fortunate to work together for many decades. The historic livery on the BMW M6 GT3 is a nice throw-back to our first victory – one we are very proud of. The stripes in the classic BMW Motorsport colours, in particular, evoke a lot of memories among the many BMW fans in the Eifel region and give us extra motivation to do everything in our power to get a good result on our return to the Nordschleife.”

Lamm still has fond memories of that first victory in 1989: “We were competing in both the DTM and the 24-hour race on the same weekend. Our drivers did a perfect job, as did the entire team. It was a fantastic race and a really emotional experience for the whole team.”
 
Just two years later, BMW Team Schnitzer added a second success. In 1991, Armin Hahne, Joachim Winkelhock (both GER) and Kris Nissen (DEN) were victorious – again at the wheel of the BMW M3 E30, which took overall victory in the four consecutive years from 1989 to 1992. The car remains by far the most successful touring car ever fielded by BMW Motorsport. It made its DTM debut in 1987 and propelled Eric van de Poele (BEL) to the title at the first attempt. Ravaglia was also crowned world touring car champion with the BMW M3 E30 in the same year. In total, the car has 41 DTM race wins to its name.

BMW Team Schnitzer claimed overall victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours on a further three occasions: in 2004 and 2005 with the BMW M3 GTR and most recently with the BMW M3 GT2 in 2010. In 2017, the team lines up with two BMW M6 GT3s and top-class drivers. Reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann (GER) will be joined by fellow DTM drivers Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Tom Blomqvist (GBR). Also in action will be BMW works drivers Martin Tomczyk (GER) and António Félix da Costa (POR), as well as two newcomers to the BMW fold, Timo Scheider (GER) and Alex Lynn (GBR).

Farfus, Félix da Costa, Scheider and Lynn will share the driving duties in the car with the historic livery. Fans will get their first glimpse of this very special BMW M6 GT3 in action this weekend, at the qualifying race for the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The 45th staging of the classic endurance race will take place on 27th and 28th May 2017.

The winning trio from Spa will be sharing driving duties in the #99 BMW M6 GT3. Current BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin, from Belgium, and BMW works drivers Philipp Eng of Austria and Britain’s Alexander Sims triumphed in the Ardennes last year, having already done an outstanding job at the classic Nürburgring race to finish as “Best of the Rest” in fifth place. This team will be supported by ROWE RACING’s new driver, the German Nordschleife specialist Marc Basseng.

The three drivers who competed in the “Eifel Marathon” together last year will also be sharing the cockpit of the team’s second car for the 24h qualification race. Britain’s Richard Westbrook will join Dutchman Nick Catsburg and Finnish driver Markus Palttala.  Alexander Sims is listed as the fourth driver, meaning that he will compete twice.

The 24h qualification race is the last opportunity for all participants to complete one final test under race conditions on the 25.378-kilometre long combination of Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife. ROWE RACING is approaching the race as a real dress rehearsal, to discover whether all the improvements made during the winter break and after the first two VLN races are functioning as expected.

It is also a valuable chance to gather more experience racing under new regulations and with new tyres. This means that the team from St. Ingbert has reluctantly decided to opt out of competing at the second race in the Blancpain GT Series, the endurance race on the historic Monza circuit in Italy, which will be taking place concurrently. The 24h qualification race at the Nürburgring is scheduled to start at 12:00 on Sunday 23rd April.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, ROWE RACING team principal: “We view the qualification race is a real dress rehearsal for the 24-hour race. That is why we will be competing with our driver teams exactly as they will be at the end of May. We are using seven drivers in two cars, so one driver must – maybe it’s better to say can – take a seat in the cockpit of both cars. We have selected Alexander Sims for this double act, as he was very fast on the Nordschleife last year, knows the car inside out and can keep up a consistently high tempo without ever really getting tired. He will work well with Nick Catsburg, Markus Palttala and Richard Westbrook, and of course last year he showed us that he is a perfect match for Maxime Martin and Philipp Eng. This successful trio will be supported by Marc Basseng, who has joined our team and will bring a new and objective point of view to bear for BMW Motorsport, in addition to his extensive Nordschleife experience. This has allowed us to develop some new approaches. This race weekend is very important for the team due to the changes, adjustments and additions to the regulations, such as those affecting the tyres, and also due to the way the first two VLN races have gone on the Nordschleife and we will see where we are and how our ideas are working. We are concentrating fully on the 24-hour race, which is why we have had to opt out of competing in the Blancpain GT Series in Monza, a difficult decision that we did not take lightly. We hope that all the fans, and our competitors, have a good weekend in Monza.”

On Friday two tests took place on the Nürburgring/Nordschleife. So the three drivers could drive some laps on the GT3. Also, the drivers on the Porsche could gain some driving experience.

On Saturday morning, Kainz, Krumbach, and Stursberg qualified themselves on the third position in the ProAm class and started the race from position 26 overall. The Cayman with Offermann and Riebensahm reached the fifth place in the SP10 class.

The start of the race went well for both cars. Oliver Kainz drove constant lap times in the Ferrari and could move forward until the pit stop. After the pit stop, Mike Stursberg took over the work behind the steering wheel of the Italian race car. After one hour driving time an accident occurred: while overtaking there was a unlucky contact with another car. In full speed, the Ferrari spun and crashed with the front into the barrier. The race was over for the team.

It went much better for the Porsche Cayman. Rene Offermann drove the start and until the pit stop, he moved forward until the fourth position in class. Dirk Riebensahm took the last stint and due to a good performance, he reached the third position in the SP10 class.

Michele Rinaldi: „It is really a shame for the Ferrari. After the accident at VLN 1, we repair the car and we were looking forward to attack at VLN 2. But it came to nothing. Now we have to rebuild the car for the qualifying race in two weeks. A huge compliment to the team who did a great job. Congratulation to Rene and Dirk for a good third place in the class. I am sure that they can claim more in the next races.“

Once again, issues with the tank system and unfortunate constellations with code 60 zones, in which the cars have to drive slowly in certain sections after accidents, for example, prevented a top 10 finish. This saw BMW works drivers Philipp Eng from Austria and Finland’s Markus Palttala in the BMW M6 GT3 with #98, who were ninth in qualifying with a deficit of just 2.6 seconds, drop down into 17th place in the final standings.

The crew in the sister car with #99 suffered even more bad luck; their race came to an early end about half way through. In the very first lap after the pit stop, during which BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin of Belgium handed over the wheel to new team member and Nordschleife expert Marc Basseng, shortly after the entrance from the Grand Prix track to the Nordschleife, in the Hatzenbach area, Basseng was involved in a collision with a slower vehicle through no fault of his own, which saw him smash through the barriers. Basseng was unscathed, but broken steering meant his race came to an early end.

After three race weekends in a row, ROWE RACING now has a break over Easter and can recharge for the coming tasks.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, team principal ROWE RACING: “Today was definitely a step forward, we drove a much better race than two weeks ago. In the practice session, we showed that we have closed in on the competition, even if the five to ten fastest cars of Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Mercedes are still out of reach. We need to analyse why we lost up to 50 seconds due to problems with the refuelling system during the pit stops once again, that really hurts. We also need to look at why we lost more time in code 60 and code 120 zones than other competitors. Unfortunately, through no fault of its own, one of our cars was in an accident at the halfway point of the race; Marc Basseng was able to prevent it from being any worse by catching the car well. Fortunately, this meant that nothing happened to him and our BMW M6 GT3 came out of it without any major damage.”

The Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON entry with starting number #6 emerged as the second-best Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. The trio of Yelmer Buurman (NED), Adam Christodoulou (GBR) and Manuel Metzger (GER) finished in eighth place while the Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport with Maximilian Buhk (GER), Edward Sandström (SWE) and Edoardo Mortara (ITA) followed immediately behind in ninth place. The #47 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 had managed to work his way up from 23rd place on the grid to finish in the top ten.

Maximilian Götz, HARIBO Racing Team Mercedes-AMG #8: “Today, I drove my first race for HARIBO. This weekend, we continued our test programme and already made considerable progress compared to the first VLN round, which was also rewarded with second place today. We can be happy with that.”

Maximilian Buhk, Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport #47: “My start was good, but then, of course, you get stuck in the midfield when starting from 23rd place. Nevertheless, I quickly managed to make up positions and then we decided to make an early first stop after four laps already to get a little bit out of traffic. That worked out well and I was able to hand the car to Edward Sandström while in sixth place.”
 
Manuel Metzger, Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON #6: “My two stints, a longer one and a shorter one, were really good. Today, I had a lot of fun on track. After qualifying, we were relatively far down the order, so I had many nice duels in the midfield. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 ran very well.”

The opening round went well for the Rockstar Energy Drink Athlete who made his GT3 debut on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Dry weather and a trouble-free weekend gave plenty of running time for OC, who is signed as BMW factory drivers for the iconic Nürburgring 24 Hours in May.

“For me, the first race was about learning the car, the team and the track,” he explained. “There’s no point going out there and trying to be a hero in your first GT3 race on the Nordschleife. You have to give it the respect it deserves or it’ll chew you up and spit you back out!
 
“The weather was on our side in VLN1 and we got plenty of running, which I understand is pretty rare at this time of year. I don’t want to jinx it, but VLN2 is looking pretty sunny, too.”

The VLN championship is a nine-round series that takes place on the Nordschleife and teams use the opening two rounds to prepare for the world-famous Nürburgring 24 Hours. Earlier this year, BMW Motorsport signed OC to contest VLN1, VLN2, the Nürburgring qualifying race and, of course, the main event and placed him with race- and championship-winning team Schubert Motorsport. .

“I can’t wait to get back out there,” the LDNR Eyewear ambassador concluded. “It was incredible to drive the BMW M6 GT3 on the Nordschleife and I’ve been seriously impressed with BMW and Schubert Motorsport. In fact, I’ve not stopped grinning since I was hauled out of the car at the end of VLN1.”

Pursuant to the recently introduced tyre regulations for this season, the tyre manufacturers providing the teams in the big classes (SP9, SP-X and SP-Pro) with tyres are obliged to deposit a sample tyre of each tyre specification (tyre design and mixture) used in the corresponding race. At the 2017 season opener, almost 60 tyres have already been submitted for deposit.

These sample tyres may be purchased by the other competitors or be collected by the DMSB to be checked and analysed in detail. In this case, the supreme national motorsport federation (DMSB) in fact retained some sample tyres and the corresponding tyres used in the race. Upon instruction of the DMSB, these tyres will now undergo a specific check to find out whether the tyres used in the race indeed comply with the deposited sample tyres.

“This rule is new in 2017. It is intended to prevent the tyre manufacturer from making use of extreme development tyres”, explains Karl Mauer, VLN chief representative. “As this was the first race of the season under the new tyre regulations, the DMSB made use of the option which may also be applied in the future in case of any doubts about the compliance of the tyres used.” Mauer adds: “I do not expect this to become routine and that our results at the end of the race day will remain only provisional very often.”

Unlike at the opening round of the VLN, the team will field just two drivers per car this time. They will share the race and set-up work over the classic four-hour duration of the race. BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin will be back in action in the #99 BMW M6 GT3. The Belgian will again be joined by VLN and Nordschleife specialist Marc Basseng, who joined the team this year.

Driving duties in the #98 car will be shared by two drivers from the strong ROWE RACING squad, who were both in action in different cars at the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series in Misano (Italy) last weekend, where they finished sixth and seventh to pick up valuable points. BMW works drivers Philipp Eng (Austria) and Finland’s Markus Palttala will join forces on Saturday, when they will do battle for another good result and also work on fine-tuning the BMW M6 GT3.

The 42nd DMV 4-Hour Race at the Nürburgring gets underway at the traditional VLN start time of 12:00 on Saturday (8th April).

Hans-Peter Naundorf, team principal of ROWE RACING: “The second VLN race is another opportunity for us to test and continue preparing for the highlight of the season, the Nürburgring 24 Hours. After low temperatures at the opening round of the VLN, we are now hoping for better weather on Saturday. This would give us a more informative and less eventful race. The first VLN race of the season is traditionally always a bit hectic. The testing of our BMW M6 GT3 continues – this time with two drivers per car. We want to do improve a few things that did not go so well last time out, and to continue to adapt to the new regulations.”

New team-member Marc Basseng drove his first ever race kilometres as a part of the ROWE RACING squad and in the BMW M6 GT3. The Nordschleife specialist, who has already celebrated one victory in the 24-hour race and a total of 26 wins in VLN, took the opportunity to get further acquainted with his new car in dry and sunny conditions. He shared duties in the cockpit of the #99 BMW M6 GT3 with Belgian BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin and British BMW works driver Alexander Sims. After starting from 27th on the grid the trio missed out on a slightly better final result because of an additional fuel stop before the final lap to make it over the line following an issue with the refuelling system on the previous stop. In the overall result, they were the third best BMW crew.

The #98 sister car, driven by Dutch Nick Catsburg, Brit Richard Westbrook and Finn Markus Palttala, experienced the same fuel problem with the BMW M6 GT3, rolling to a halt on the final lap at the Döttinger Höhe, just a few kilometres away from the finish line. Until then, the trio had worked their way up from 29th on the grid into the top 20, despite the fact that the rear apron had been damaged during a collision and been completely removed by the mechanics at the following pit stop.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “From our side, the race was okay. We tested a lot of things as we need to get acquainted with new regulations and new tyres. As it was important for us to get through our programme, we focused on completing decent laps and not risking accidents in a field of more than 190 competitors. It is very difficult to judge the performance of the different manufacturers after today, but I have never experienced a Nürburgring qualifying before with so many GT3 cars so close together.”
 
Marc Basseng, ROWE RACING #99 BMW M6 GT3: “My first laps for the team have been mega. I had good speed and developed a nice feel for the car. The BMW M6 GT3 drives completely differently; it enables you to brake into the corners longer. This is something you have to learn but was already really okay.”
 
After the VLN season opener, the action will continue now on a weekly basis for the team. Next weekend, the new season in the Blancpain GT Series begins with the first Sprint Cup race in Misano in Italy. On 8th April, the second VLN round is scheduled on the Nordschleife.

This weekend will be the first race for SCG of 2017 and the team is hoping to make a big impression following a variety of testing and development over the winter season.

The VLN Championship is very important as all races take place at the Nurburgring, and SCG will once again be competing in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May. So this championship provides the team and drivers with a wealth of knowledge ahead of what most say is the toughest race, on the toughest circuit, in the world. And the competition is stronger than ever: a record 194 cars are taking part in the first round of the championship.

SCG will field two cars at the weekend, Macchinadue (702) and Macchinaquattro (704), although only Macchinadue will be competing in the race. The drivers will be Thomas Mutsch, Jeff Westphal, Felipe Laser, Andreas Simonsen, Andrea Piccini and Franck Mailleux.

Piccini, from Italy, will be driving the SCG003C for the first time. The 38-year-old is a former Formula 1 test driver and has competed at the highest levels of endurance racing, including at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where he previously claimed a GT1 podium.

Macchinadue owner Chris Ruud commented: “The Ring is looking its formidable self this weekend, with thick fog and a slick track. I’m happy to see a very strong turn-out of cars. We have a large testing plan to get through and we’re very glad to be back on track again.”

Jeff Westphal took part in the test last Saturday, prior to the first race this weekend. The American said: “The test was a great chance to not only see everyone from the team again, but to start refining all aspects of the event for the Nordschliefe. I did the most laps in Macchinaquattro on the Nordschliefe, and the temperature, or lack of, was by far the biggest hurdle. Yet Dunlop confirmed it was the same up and down pit lane with ambient temperature near 4 degrees with no sun and rain for most of the day – typical of the Nordschliefe, so it’s useful knowledge! I’m looking forward to racing this weekend, we’re certainly looking to give the big manufacturers a run for their money.”

Testing for both cars takes place today from 09.00 – 15.30 and 16.00 – 18.00. Qualifying is tomorrow, 25 March, from 08.30 – 10.00 with the four-hour race from 12.00 till 16.00. Only car 702 will take part in the race, crewed by Mailleux, Mutsch, Simonsen and Westphal, with the firm aim of putting the lessons learned from testing into practice.

Dunlop will be racing for the first time with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the VLN-long-distance championship (opening: Saturday, 25 March) and the 24-hour Nürburgring (25 – 28 May). The AMG performance teams Black Falcon and HTP Motorsport will use Dunlop racing tires in these demanding races.

Dunlop and Mercedes-AMG have already collaborated successfully on the Nordschleife. Team Black Falcon won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2013 with a Dunlop equipped Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 – the first ever win for Mercedes in the 24 hours.

“After a successful Nordschleife season 2016, we are intensifying our cooperation with Mercedes-AMG this year”, says Alexander Kühn, Motorsport Product Manager, EMEA Last year, Dunlop and Bonk Motorsport won the VLN long-distance championship in the Dunlop-shod BMW M235i. At the same time, the excellent performance of the Dunlop racing tires in the GT3 class led to some sensational results in 2016. The Audi R8 LMS from Phoenix Racing started with two victories and the Alzen-Ford GT marked a new VLN round record. Equipped with a standard GT3 tire, the new record was set at 7: 58.558 minutes.

Phoenix-Audi R8 LMS return  on Dunlop

This season, Phoenix Racing and Dunlop continue their successful partnership. The team from the Eifel Region , close to the Nürburgring, has signed the highly rated driver quartet Frank Stippler, DTM driver Mike Rockenfeller, Dennis Busch and Nicolaj Møller Madsen. The Audi R8 LMS from the Car Collection team also contests the races on the Nordschleife on Dunlop.

Dunlop Art Car: BMW M6 GT3 in spectacular Art-Car reveal

The team ‘Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by Dunlop’ is reintroducing two BMW M6 GT3s on the world’s toughest race track. As before,  fans were once again able to choose a race design for the Dunlop Art Car before the start of the motor sport season. More than 77,000 motor sport fans took part this time. There were three designs created by the TV star and artist Jean Pierre Kraemer.

The vote was clear: the design proposal “Crystal Flake” received a clear majority with more than 44,000 votes. The premiere of the “Dunlop BMW M6 GT3 Art Car” will be at the first VLN race (Saturday 25 March).

Dunlop is again the tire partner of Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus. The American James Glickenhaus relies on Dunlop for the two SCG003C bespoke sports cars, which are visually and technically similar to a Le Mans prototype.

Dunlop is also the choice among numerous privateers who fight for the class victories on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Dunlop continues to be the technical partner of BMW Motorsport and thus the exclusive tire partner of the BMW M235i Racing Cup. Additionally,  all the Opel Astra Cup vehicles, which start on the Nordschleife in the Cup-1 class, are exclusively on Dunlop racing tires – as are the participants of the “DMV GT and Touring Car Cup” (DMV GTC), DMSB Touring Car -Cup (DTC Procar) and Dunlop-FHR-Cup.

As was the case at last Saturday’s test and set-up session, ROWE RACING will be competing with two BMW M6 GT3s on the Nordschleife which have been developed and improved together with BMW Motorsport over the winter. The cold temperatures during testing, however, meant that work on race set-up was very limited.

Priority was getting a feel for the updated cars, especially for new driver Marc Basseng, who will compete in his first race for ROWE RACING on Saturday. The 38-year-old German driver is a Nordschleife specialist, who has reached fourth place in the all-time VLN standings with 26 overall wins, and he will be sharing the cockpit of the #99 BMW M6 GT3 with BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin from Belgium and BMW works driver Alexander Sims. Last weekend, the British driver was competing in Sebring (USA) with Dutch team-mate Catsburg. As at last year’s ADAC 24-hour race, Catsburg is part of a driver team in the #98 BMW M6 GT3 with Britain’s Richard Westbrook and Markus Palttala from Finland, who drove his first Nordschleife kilometres of the year with Basseng and Martin last weekend.

The 63rd ADAC Westfalenfahrt, which is scheduled to start at 12:00 on Saturday and lasts for four hours, is the first of three races that will help the team prepare for the highlight of the season, the 45th ADAC Zurich 24-hour race at the Nürburgring on 27th/28th May. It is followed by the second VLN race on 8th April and the 24-hour qualification race on 23rd April. There is also the season-opener for the Blancpain GT Series in Misano, Italy, on 2nd April.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, ROWE RACING team principal: ”It is a great feeling to finally have the first race coming up after the long winter break. We’re getting butterflies in the stomach but the whole team is really looking forward to it. Due to the low temperatures, the test and set-up session last weekend did not provide any important information for potential race set-up but it did allow us to let the drivers get their first Nordschleife kilometres of the year. That was particularly important for our new driver Marc Basseng, as he has to get to know the BMW M6 GT3 as well as our team. He has already integrated well into our team and his extensive experience of the Nordschleife is sure to be a great help.”

Last year’s winners, Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON and Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport will be present with two cars each, while the HARIBO Racing Team Mercedes-AMG will be running one car. Thus, five Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be competing in the classic endurance race at the legendary Nordschleife of the Nürburgring with extended factory support.

With Maro Engel and Edoardo Mortara, the high-class driver line-up for the 24-hour race includes two drivers from the ranks of the current Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Team. Other seeded drivers for the classic race are Uwe Alzen, Lance David Arnold, Nico Bastian, Dominik Baumann, Maximilian Buhk, Yelmer Buurman, Adam Christodoulou, Maximilian Götz, Christian Hohenadel, Thomas Jäger, Manuel Metzger, Stefan Mücke, Dirk Müller, Edward Sandström, Jan Seyffarth and Renger van der Zande. The starting numbers of the cars have yet to be determined.

Next to the five Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the Performance Teams, BLACK FALCON, HTP Motorsport and Customer Racing Team Landgraf each plan to run one additional Mercedes-AMG GT3 as Customer Racing entries.

The domestic Nürburgring-Nordschleife will again play a central role in the Phoenix Racing race calendar. The motorsport team from the Eifel will compete in the first two races of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. Afterwards comes the qualification race for the 24 hours Nürburgring, the dress rehearsal for one of the great highlights of the year. On May 27, the 45th edition of the endurance classic in the Eifel gets underway. Frank Stippler, Mike Rockenfeller, Dennis Busch and Nicolaj Møller Madsen will share the cockpit of the TÜV Rheinland-Audi R8 LMS for the twice-around-the-clock marathon race. After 2000, 2003, 2012 and 2014, Phoenix Racing is targeting its fifth overall victory.

In Asia, the team headed by Ernst Moser will compete in several racing series. Last year, with Alex Yoong, the team won the title in the Audi R8 LMS Cup for the first time. In 2017, Phoenix Racing Asia will use altogether six of the GT3 racing cars. In the newly founded Blancpain GT Series Asia, Phoenix will compete with two cars at the six events in Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and China. In addition, Phoenix Racing Asia will contest the complete season of the China GT Championship with two Audi R8 LMS and will enter the TCR Asia series with the new Audi RS 3 LMS TCR touring car.

For the challenges this year, Phoenix Racing can rely on proven and new partners at its side. The TÜV Rheinland and the car-trading group Scherer remain an integral part of the partner activities. In addition, the team continues to rely on Dunlop tires in all the races at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. The partnerships with Ravensburger Schmierstoffvertriebs GmbH (Ravenol), Sonic Equipment GmbH and Staloc also continue in the 2017 season. Also on board are the workshop equipment manufacturer Twin Busch, agency Lait and the simulator experts Fanatec and ChassisSim.

The Audi campaigners at the Nürburgring combine experiences from GT3 racing, the DTM and Le Mans and are aiming to clinch the fourth victory for the brand since 2012. Racing pros Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies, Nico Müller, René Rast, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock have previously decided the iconic race on the Nordschleife in their favor. They will be supported by Connor De Phillippi and Kelvin van der Linde. Like Haase, Rast and Mies, these two campaigners have previously won the ADAC GT Masters overall classification. Three-time Le Mans winner Marcel Fässler, longtime sports car driver Pierre Kaffer, Blancpain GT Champion Robin Frijns and former Formula 3 Cup winner Frédéric Vervisch complete the line-up.

In Audi Sport Team WRT, Audi has the winning squad of the 2015 24-hour race at the Nürburgring on board as well. “We’re poised for fierce competition with a strong line-up,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “In addition, we’re again expecting several customer teams to be competing in the Audi R8 LMS this year.”

The race teams supported by Audi Sport customer racing

Audi Sport Team Land

Christopher Haase/Pierre Kaffer/Christopher Mies/Connor De Phillippi (D/D/D/USA)

Kelvin van der Linde/Christopher Mies/Connor De Phillippi/Markus Winkelhock (ZA/D/USA/D)

Audi Sport Team WRT

Marcel Fässler/Robin Frijns/Nico Müller/René Rast (CH/NL/CH/D)

Nico Müller/René Rast/Frank Stippler/Frédéric Vervisch (CH/D/D/B)

At the ceremony, Rainer Dörr drove a large motorcycle onto the stage, surrounded by a festive atmosphere featuring Giti Motorsports highlights and the newly designed Giti branded Lamborghini on display. The spirit of Challenging Excellence is shared by Dörr and Giti, and Mr. Dörr had great expectation to this cooperation with Giti. He said, “Giti is a world renowned tire business with strong racing genes. I visited the Giti R&D center, which gave me confidence in Giti’s design capability and product quality. I believe that our team will make new records on Nürburgring tracks with support from Giti in the future.” Mr. Phang Wai Yeen also expressed the same excitement. “As Giti and Dörr partner up, we expect a new milestone to be set for the Nürburgring 24 Hours Endurance Race in May 2017. We will also continue to our combine racing genes with R&D and passenger car tire manufacturing, to provide better and safer tires to car owners and make Giti the top choice for car owners.”

The Nürburgring racing track was established in 1927, and now among the largest and most famous racing venues in the world. Known as the “Green Hell”, the track is 26km, with 177 turns and a vertical drop of 300 meters. Its difficulty level and varied road and weather conditions make it an ideal baseline for vehicle and tire assessment. In 2017, Giti will assist Dörr to challenge the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race, which draws more than 200,000 spectators from around the world.

In recent years, Giti Tire has become a major player in global motorsports. With leading R&D capabilities and reliable tire qualities, the company is recognized in its experience on extreme racing tracks. Giti has won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, claimed the GTC championship at the 2015 Sepang 12 Hour Endurance Race in its Lamborghini against top global automotive and tire manufacturers, and features its tires and branding in major on and off-road racing events on all continents, including the Formula Masters China Series, Formula DRIFT USA, and numerous others.

Falken will enter both cars in various VLN endurance races as well as the legendary 24h-Race on Nürburgring. The situation of a team competing with two different but current GT3 vehicle marques is unusual, but serves to confirm the depth of experience of Falken’s tyre engineers and the wide-ranging performance of the tyres. Falken’s long-term partner, Schnabl Engineering, will supervise and support the two vehicles throughout the season.

The BMW will be in the hands of the two Falken racers Peter Dumbreck – this year celebrating ten years as part of the Falken team – and Alexandre Imperatori. The team will be supported by Marco Seefried and Stef Dusseldorp on the BMW factory side. Battling it out for top place at the wheel of the Porsche will be Falken driver Martin Ragginger plus Porsche works drivers Jörg Bergmeister, Dirk Werner and Laurens Vanthoor.

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt says: “We are very happy to be working with Falken Motorsport and have this well-established team compete with a BMW M6 GT3. In 2016, the race car was able to prove its great potential on the Nürburgring Nordschleife and it is clear that this is a very appealing model for our customers. Team Falken tested the car itself in the VLN Endurance Championship at the end of last year, which proved positive. We hope that we can celebrate success together this season in the ‘Green Hell’.”

“To keep pace with the ongoing development and advancement of the Falken brand, our next milestone will be our partnership with two iconic sports car manufacturers in the toughest race in the world. In tests, our tyres have already demonstrated their superb performance on both vehicles. Now we’re adding the element of competition by fielding the two cars in motorsports events, and look forward to exciting clashes between Porsche and BMW – both fitted with virtually identical Falken tyres,” explains Stephan Cimbal, Head of Marketing at Falken Tyre Europe. “In our campaign, entitled ‘Masters of Excitement’, we will activate the media attraction of this Falken battle by launching TV commercials, social media and influencer integration activities, as well as a variety of PR operations on Falken markets throughout the world.”

After having participated in the VLN 8 last year, they decided to go about the whole 2017 VLN season. „VLN 8 was a very good test for everybody. There the drivers adapted themselves to the car very well and managed the car at the first attempt. Therefore that they have never been behind the steering wheel of the Ferrari 488 GT3, it was a successful result for the whole team“, so team chef Michele Rinaldi.

The drivers will start with the Ferrari 488 GT3 starting number 22 in the SP9 class in the Pro-Am classification.

The Wochenspiegel Team Monschau will deploy additionally a Porsche Cayman 981 Clubsport GT4 in the SP10 class. The driver line-up will be Rene Offermann and Dirk Riebensahm.

Next to the participation in the VLN, Wochenspiegel Team Monschau together with Rinaldi Racing is planning a start in the 24 hours Nürburgring as well as the corresponding qualifying race. The drivers will remain the same: Weiß, Kainz, Krumbach and Stursberg.

In addition, it is planned to participate in the 24 hours Series from Creventic: at the end of August, Wochenspiegel Team Monschau and Rinaldi Racing will go to the 24 hours race Portimao in Portugal.

Michele Rinaldi: „We are very pleased to work together with the Wochenspiegel Team Monschau. It will be a challenge for everybody. The driver line-up around Georg Weiß is promising and we will see where we will be ranked in the new Pro-Am class. Many thanks to Georg Weiß to trust in Ferrari and in Rinaldi Racing for the 2017 VLN season.“

The comprehensive planning for this project has been underway since October 2016. Overall, there was not much time for our team to familiarize themselves with the new vehicle and the conversion for using it on the demanding Nordschleife. The SPX regulations also required many adjustments to the vehicle. Through the companies mcchip-dkr engineering and mcpipes, which were newly founded by mcchip-dkr, all changes can be developed and conducted in-house. From CAD design to welding work our manufacturing of special parts. The project is a technical challenge for all departments and offers the opportunity to gain important knowledge in the automotive sector.

We are looking forward to an exciting motorsport season and hope to refresh the VLN starting field with the Renault R.S. 01 GT3. First test runs on the Misano World Circuit will be held this week.

Building on the success of last year’s campaign, Bentley Team ABT’s Nürburgring drivers Chris Brück (DE), Christer Jöns (DE) and Christian Menzel (DE) will return alongside the team’s GT Masters graduate Jordan Pepper (SA). New-comers to the team Nico Verdonck (BE) and 2014 race-winner Christian Mamerow (DE) will round-out the line-up.

In preparation for the event, which sees around 180 cars tackle the 21km-long Nürburgring Nordschleife in some of the most unpredictable and extreme weather conditions, Bentley Team ABT will enter the first two rounds of the VLN series, as well as the Nürburgring 24 Hours qualifying race.

“Last year, in just our second attempt at Nürburgring 24 Hours, we finished in seventh place, which was well inside our top-ten target,” comments Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush. “This year, we aim to go even higher and we are in good position to do so thanks to the strong working relationship between ABT Sportsline and Bentley Motorsport.
 
 “We are pleased to see that ABT Sportsline has retained some of the 2016 squad, while adding three very competent drivers and we look forward to working with them this season.”

Driver quotes:

Christian Mamerow: “I’m really excited to represent Bentley and the Team ABT at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I know how hard it is and how much team effort it takes to win the 24h race and a dream would come true if I could win it again after my first win in 2014.”
 
Nico Verdonck: “Driving with Bentley is an honour and I’m very proud to be associated with this iconic brand. I’m extremely motivated to work with Bentley Team ABT and believe that the combination of the team and the Continental GT3 will lead to great success on track.’
 
Jordan Pepper: “Firstly, I would like to thank the whole ABT Sportsline team, as well as everyone from Bentley who has given me this opportunity. It has always been a dream of mine to compete in a 24-hour race. To be competing at the Nürburgring in a Bentley Continental GT3, with such an experienced team and teammates, and factory support from Bentley, is the best opportunity in the world. The hard work starts now, since I have a lot to learn in a short space of time, but I have the right people around me to make sure I can do the best job possible.”

Munich. In just over 100 days the “Green Hell” hosts one of the highlights of international GT racing for the 45th time: The 24-hour race at the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife (GER) will be held on 27th and 28th May. The squad of BMW drivers for the classic in the Eifel region has been decided. The BMW M6 GT3 teams will compete with a fast and experienced mix of DTM stars, GT specialists and well-known BMW newcomers.

In addition to the reigning champion Marco Wittmann (GER), DTM drivers Bruno Spengler (CAN), Maxime Martin (BEL), Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Tom Blomqvist (GBR) will also take on the “Green Hell” challenge. Wittmann, Martin, Blomqvist and Farfus, who was part of the winning team in the BMW M3 GT2 in 2010, have competed at the Nordschleife successfully before, while Spengler will make his debut at this 24-hour race on the last weekend in May.

Drivers from the BMW Motorsport works programme in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will also be at the Nürburgring. At the wheel of a BMW M6 GT3, Martin Tomczyk (GER), Alexander Sims (GBR) and John Edwards (USA), who all represented BMW at the Daytona 24 Hours in January, will pit their skills against their rivals. The same goes for Kuno Wittmer (CAN) and Nick Catsburg (NDL), who flew the flag for BMW in November at the wheel of the BMW M6 GT3 in the FIA GT World Cup in Macau (CHN).

Richard Westbrook (GBR) and Markus Palttala (FIN) will re-join the BMW squad for the 24 Hours Nürburgring. BMW works driver António Félix da Costa (PRT), who contests the FIA Formula E Championship for the MS Amlin Andretti team, will compete in a 24-hour marathon for BMW for the first time. Jörg Müller (GER, winner in 2004 and 2010), Philipp Eng (winner of the 2016 Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours), Jens Klingmann (GER) and Jesse Krohn (FIN), return to the Nordschleife with a lot of experience of this amazing track under their belts.

As well as many well-known faces, numerous BMW newcomers also make up the squad for the legendary race in the Eifel mountains. Two-time DTM Champion Timo Scheider (GER) will compete in BMW colours for the first time in the “Green Hell”. He made it onto the list of winners of the 24-hour race in 2003.

Other new faces are Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR) and Marc Basseng (GER), who, with 26 wins in the VLN Endurance Championship and overall victory at the 24-hour race in 2012 behind him, takes a seat in the BMW M6 GT3. Alex Lynn (GBR) will also make his maiden 24-hour race appearance with BMW. In 2014 he drove the BMW M4 DTM car in the Young Driver Test.

“We’re looking forward to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “It is always a special weekend for us, after all, this iconic race plays an important role in the history of BMW Motorsport. We have celebrated 19 victories there to date. After finishing fifth on the BMW M6 GT3′s debut last year, we’d be happy to move up a few places this time. To make that possible, you need experienced teams and reliable, fast drivers. We will field both of these once again in 2017. This is perhaps our most varied and excellent squad ever at the Nürburgring which is why I am confident that we will put on another good show for the BMW fans at the Ring.”

As in 2016, the Schubert Motorsport and ROWE Racing teams will each field two BMW M6 GT3s. BMW Team Schnitzer, a team that has won this event five times, strengthens the already powerful squad even further. The teams will experience their first race action at the Nordschleife this year on 25th March, when the VLN Endurance Championship season gets underway.

More driver statements regarding the 24 hour line-up:

Marco Wittmann: “As a driver, you are fired up for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring every year. It’s always a highlight, a true motor racing festival. Everyone wants to be a part of it. The Nordschleife is arguably the best track in the world. Our pace was good in 2016. That’s why I’m definitely optimistic for this year’s race. The fans there are unique. This special atmosphere can be found nowhere else but at the Nordschleife.”

Timo Scheider: “I’m extremely happy that BMW Motorsport is giving me this very special opportunity. The anticipation of proving myself with a new brand and to write an all-new chapter in my career is huge. It’s a perfect fit that the Nürburgring 24 Hours will be our first major race appearance. The Nordschleife myth is unique. I’m very grateful to BMW for giving me this chance. And I’m looking forward to everything that could come.”

Jörg Müller: “I’m really looking forward to the Nürburgring 24 Hours. I have been a BMW works driver for more than 20 years now and have contested countless races for the brand, particularly on the Nordschleife. In most cases we were successful. I have won the 24-hour twice. You obviously dream of making it a hat-trick. But the ‘Green Hell’ has its own rules. We will work hard in order to be able to battle it out at the front end of the grid.”

Previously reserved for James Glickenhaus’s carefully-selected factory drivers, the SCG003C has recently been made available for customers to drive too, thanks to a new client competition programme launched by Traum Motorsport: the same team that runs the factory cars.

With an unparalleled combination of downforce, speed, enjoyment and ease of use, the SCG003C provides a thrilling driving experience – and it will now be available for drivers to test via a unique programme that begins this weekend in Italy and travels throughout Europe during 2017.

The innovative test campaign will allow prospective drivers to sample the unique sensations of the SCG003C, in order to help them organise their plans and experience something different.

The first session takes place this weekend at the Autodromo “Pietro Taruffi” in Vallelunga near Rome. This session is already fully booked, but the test programme then continues next year at the following circuits: Vallelunga (23-24 February), Monza (1-2 March), Misano (8-9 March), Monza (20-21 March) and Imola (23-24 March).

Chiara Garella, the CEO of Traum Motorsport, commented: “For the first time, our SCG003C is going on a road show, in order to give as many drivers as possible the opportunity to sample this incredible car with a unique concept behind it: LMP2 levels of downforce within fantastic GT looks. It’s eligible for a number of different championships and we’re able to provide whatever services are required, from basic support to arrive and drive. Once people get to try the car for themselves, we’re confident that they will be stunned by its capabilities. Until now, the only way to experience the SCG003C was to race it, so we’re delighted to offer this no-strings-attached test opportunity.”

ROWE RACING’s goal at their final appearance of the year in their “living room” at the Nordschleife is clear: The team is eager to bid farewell to their fans in the Eifel for 2016 with a good race and ideally a podium position.

In action on Saturday is a BMW M6 GT3, whose driver line-up will compete together for the first time in this combination. One of the drivers will be ROWE RACING regular driver and BMW works driver Alexander Sims from Great Britain, who was one of the fastest drivers overall at the “Green Hell” in the fifth place at the 44th ADAC Zurich 24-hour race. At his side will be Dutchman Stef Dusseldorp, who was usually at the wheel of the sister car in the Blancpain GT Series.

The 9th VLN race will be four hours on Saturday as standard. The race will start at the usual time of 12:00 p.m. CET.

ROWE RACING team boss Hans-Peter Naundorf: “The 9th VLN race on Saturday is our last race of the season in Europe and in endurance racing. We want to really go for it one more time and ideally finish on the podium to round off our successful year and our first season with BMW Motorsport. We will be making every effort in terms of personnel and technology. Alex Sims was one of the fastest drivers in the 24-hour race at the Nordschleife this year; Stef Dusseldorp’s recent good performance at the 7th VLN race was just one of the reasons for selecting him for this start and will give him an opportunity to gain further positives for collaboration in the coming season. We will incorporate all of our insight that we have gained this year into the car. We want to show what’s possible once again, also to form a good basis for the further development of the BMW M6 GT3 in the winter break.”

Five weeks after an initial appearance at the wheel of the Ford GT in the VLN championship, Nico Verdonck once again headed off for the Nürburgring circuit for the eighth round of this competition held on the mythical Nordschleife. In the wake of a highly promising initial collaboration the Alzen Motorsport team in fact decided to extend the services of the Belgian driver to shoulder the German Mike Stursberg.

“To be back behind the wheel of this car gave me great pleasure”, the Brussels based driver smiled. “I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the wheel of such a powerful machine which is incredibly entertaining to drive.”

It is often said that a driver who takes pleasure in what he does also performs far better. This is exactly what Nico confirmed this Saturday when he clocked up a fantastic race lap time of 7’58’’558. “In fact this is a new lap record in VLN”, the driver enthusiastically remarked. “However I did not record it during the qualifying sessions, but in fact during the actual race, with lots of traffic and with a pretty heavy fuel load on board. To lap in under the 8 minutes on this circuit longer than 24 kilometres leaves one with an awesome feeling. You need to be hyper concentrated and extremely alert when it comes to the slower competitors. But what a feat! “

Unfortunately, the race lap record performance was not reflected in the final result. “During qualifying one section of the circuit was neutralised just as I was putting in my fastest lap”, Nico clarified. “As such I found myself 14th on the grid and second in the SPX class. However, having analysed lap times per sector I had spotted that there was some potential! With some fifteen odd GT3 machines this weekend and a fair number of official drivers, the level was pretty high … During my first stint I managed to climb up through the pack and found myself level pegging with my former teammate Adam Christodoulou, who was at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT. Following a first pit pit-stop, we were virtually battling it out for second place, as various drivers ahead still needed to call in to the pits. But just as I was exiting the Karussell I felt I was losing power … and I was obliged to come to a standstill next to the track. It was already over! A great pity because I truly believe we could have aimed for an overall podium place.”

All this aside, the Belgian’s performance definitely did not go unnoticed. Little by little Nico Verdonck is asserting himself to be one of the reference

In the past, the team has claimed second overall – but this was following a race that was affected by red flags and stoppages. The latest result was achieved in a non-stop sprint against the best-known sportscar manufacturers in the world.

The team fielded two cars at round eight of the VLN last weekend, a championship dedicated entirely to the famous Nurburgring: number 701 for Germany’s Felipe Laser and Frenchman Franck Mailleux, and 702 for Thomas Mutsch from Germany and Jeff Westphal from the USA.

This was the first time that the cars had raced at the Nurburgring since successfully completing the famous 24 Hours in May, but there has been plenty of development work going on behind the scenes, using the lessons learned from the world’s toughest race. The team also tested Dunlop’s latest-generation tyres.

The cars qualified in 10th and 17th places respectively, and showed perfect mechanical reliability, as well as front-running pace, from start to finish. While 701 finished just off the podium, beaten only by the latest cars from Porsche and Mercedes that were crewed by factory drivers, 702 was delayed by a bodywork issue and a punctured tyre.

The 701 car was actually the latest machine to be built by Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, as part of its freshly-launched customer racing programme and is currently available to rent for a variety of different races: either as part of a championship campaign or just for one-off events. The 702 car was Macchinadue, one of the cars that competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

Programme director Paolo Garella commented: “It’s been a very important weekend for us as we were able to fight on equal terms with some of the biggest names in GT racing – we’re talking about manufacturers of the calibre of BMW, Mercedes and Porsche – from the start to the finish of the race. The fourth place we scored is a just reward for all the effort that has been put in so far. As well as speed the cars showed reliability throughout the race, meaning that – thanks to the efforts of our drivers as well – we were genuine contenders. We’re particularly pleased that it was our customer racing car that finished fourth. This just underlines the quality and competitiveness of the product that we are offering to our customers, with performance at the very top of the GT class and unparalleled driving enjoyment when it comes to downforce and lateral grip.”

The HARIBO Racing Team-AMG used its very good second place on the grid and after four hours without any mistakes in the eighth round of the VLN season, it crossed the finish line in second place. The decision about victory, however, only came one hour after the race: the initial winners were given a 35 seconds’ time penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. As a result, the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 inherited victory. For the Bonn-based race team, it is the third consecutive VLN podium finish after its victory in the sixth round of the season and second place in the season highlight three weeks ago.

In excellent weather conditions and a race that was marked by many accidents, there were entertaining duels for the lead from the very beginning. These duels always involved the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Haribo livery with starting number 8. Starting driver Uwe Alzen initially defended second place and for about 30 minutes, he staged a hard, but fair battle for first place with Jesse Krohn, who was leading at the time. After a little more than half an hour, the 49-year-old got slightly stuck in traffic in the 158 car field, dropped back one position and handed the car to team-mate Lance David Arnold while running in third place just before the halfway point. Arnold benefited from the early retirement of the erstwhile leading #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3, moved up to second place, gradually reduced the gap to the new leader with a great driving effort and thus set the stage for a highly exciting finale. The final driver of the HARIBO Racing Team-AMG started his final lap 0.6 seconds down on the leader and fiercely fought for victory. Eventually, the team was beaten by the extremely tiny margin of 0.371 seconds, but 60 minutes later, the team with Uwe Alzen and Lance David Arnold was able to celebrate victory after all.

Bad luck for the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3
The second Mercedes-AMG GT3, the car with starting number 6, also had good chances for the race. BLACK FALCON’s Adam Christodoulou started from fifth place on the grid. Thanks to the very good strategy with an early pit stop, the Brit moved up into the lead for the first time after 70 minutes and handed the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to team-mate Manuel Metzger (GER) while in the lead after 1h45m. The German remained in front for the next 50 minutes, but after almost two thirds of the race, he was unfortunate as an accident happened just in front of him at the Hohenrain chicane. The 30-year-old was caught out by a trace of oil. Thanks to the high safety standards of the Mercedes-AMG GT3, Metzer escaped unscathed, but it was impossible to continue the race.

Uwe Alzen, HARIBO Racing Team-AMG #8: “It was a mega fight, which, of course, also was great to watch for the spectators. I would have been totally happy with second place as well, but this is what the regulations are like. You always need a lot of luck to make it through the many overtaking manoeuvres without any accidents. But when you end up on the podium, you have done a perfect job. Today, it was four hours at the limit again.”

Lance David Arnold, HARIBO Racing Team-AMG #8: “Today, we have done our utmost. I have pushed hard all the time, but it just wasn’t enough to claim victory on track. Of course, we would rather have made the decision on track.”

Jochen Bitzer, head of AMG Customer Sports: “I am really delighted with this victory for the HARIBO Racing Team-AMG. Congratulations to the entire team. Uwe and Lance really have staged a great show. BLACK FALCON were doing absolutely greatly, too. Unfortunately, Manuel Metzger was quite unlucky with a trace of oil. We are glad that nothing happened to him.”