Arno Klasen, Peter Kox and Peter Posavac in the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 won a place in the top 10 of the overall standings in the second race of the 2012 VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring.
The 37th DMV 4-hour race is usually the second race of the Endurance Championship Nürburgring season. With both McLarens MP4-12c GT3 having been forced to retire early through no fault of the drivers at the first race two weeks earlier, finishing the race was of the highest priority this time. In unsettled weather, Rudi Adams, Kai Riemer and Stefan Aust secured the starting position 13 for the British super sports car # 23. The sister car with drivers Klasen, Kox and Posavac landed in starting position 25.
Fight for a Place in the Top 10
Arno Klasen drove the McLaren # 24 first. Starting from the pit lane, he moved up into eighth during his stint. Afterwards Klasen said, “We started from the pit lane and managed to push hard. Therefore we were able to reach the top ten before the driver change. More importantly, we had almost no problems and were able to gain more insights”.
With Peter Posavac taking over for the second part, professional driver Peter Kox drove the MacLaren across the finish line in P10 in the last part of the 37th DMV 4-hour race. The second race of the season was aborted 20 minutes before the end due to a hailstorm.
The second McLaren MP4-12C with drivers Adams/Aust/Riemer also gained a few places after the start during Kai Riemer’s stint. The pilot from Leipzig, Germany said, “I was able to keep up with the speed of my competitors and gradually gained a few places. With this being our second race in the car, we can be quite happy with the performance”. Shortly after Stefan Aust had taken the car over from Riemer, the race was finished early for the trio due to an electronic problem.
Early Retirement for the Rookie Team and the BMW M3 GT4
Though the Dörr Motorsport team finished the race with the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, the drivers of the BMW M 3 GT4 were forced into an early retirement after the qualifying session. When it started to rain the car ran off the track and crashed into the guardrail, making a start in the race impossible.
The pilots of the ADAC Rookie Teams did a great job in the qualifying session, considering the difficult conditions. However, they had problems with the technology of the BMW Mini. Andre Kursim, Felix Körbel and Maximilian Schwarz took part in the formation lap but then decided to retire the car. “We struggled with a loss of power and driving a race under these conditions makes no sense”, said Schwarz.
Despite the problems and with the McLaren finishing the race, team principal Rainer Dörr was pleased. “Finishing the race was the most important aspect today and we made it happen. Landing in the top 10 even though we started from the pit lane is surely a pretty good result for such a new car. Now we need to implement the gained insights and continue to improve the McLarens. It is a pity that the second car had a technical defect but it helps us to prevent other problems”.
The Dörr Motorsport team will participate with both McLarens MP4-12C GT3, the BMW M3 GT4 and the ADAC Rookie Team in the 54th ADAC ACAS H&R Cup on April 28th.
Source : Dörr Motorsport