Max Hesse has secured pole position at the 52nd edition of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring. Having posted the best times in the qualifying sessions on Thursday and Friday, the 22-year-old in the #72 RMG-BMW was also the fastest driver in the battle for the final grid positions in the second Top Qualifying session. He went round in a time of 8:10.992 minutes, four tenths of a second faster than Belgium’s Laurens Vanthoor in #911 Manthey-Porsche, becoming the youngest driver ever to claim a first Glickenhaus Trophy for securing the pole position, which Vanthoor himself had received in 2018.
“That is a really brilliant feeling. That pole position represents the pinnacle of five years’ hard work. We are in a great starting position for the race and the car is working perfectly. Of course, we have a long race ahead of us – but for today, we are simply delighted“, said Max Hesse. “Grello” driver Vanthoor was also satisfied. “The car drove really well. Those laps alone on the Nordschleife were so much fun. My pulse hit 190. I tried my best, but we are just behind the BMW. That represents a great starting position in the race nonetheless,” he said.
BMW, Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini – four brands in the first four positions
Swiss driver Ricardo Feller produced a faster second lap in the #16 Scherer Audi to reach third on the grid at the end, directly in front of his DTM team-mate Kelvin van der Linde in the #27 Abt Lamborghini. This means that four different manufacturers are occupying the top four positions.
Defending champion survives Top Qualifying 1
Before the final showdown, Top Qualifying 1 saw a battle for the final five tickets for the second part. Nicolas Varrone chalked up the best time of 8:10.889 minutes to make it through in last year’s winning car, the #1 Frikadelli Ferrari, as did Sheldon van der Linde in the #99 Rowe BMW, Dan Harper in the #72 RMG BMW, Maro Engel in the #130 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG and Arjun Maini in the #3 Bilstein Mercedes AMG. “It was really good. We did have a few problems earlier, but we changed the setup a little, which was good for the tyres. The lap was relatively clean, although there was dirt on the track from the other series and that was a bit tricky. I really pushed on the second lap. I had this chance for clear laps for the first time, so that was wonderful”, said Varrone. His team-mate Daniel Keilwitz secured sixth place on the grid for the team.
Packed schedule on site, extensive live coverage
Now that the positions have been confirmed for the start of the 24h Nürburgring, the “race of the year” will be under starter’s orders at 16:00 on Saturday. Before the 127 participating drivers start their spectacular day-and-night fight, the spectators at the Nürburgring have a packed schedule to look forward to. The thrilling motor racing at the circuit starts at 09:10, with the ADAC 24h-Classic. After the warm-up for the main race at 12:40, the Tourenwagen Legenden will be competing in their third race of the weekend at 14:00. The Ravenol big wheel in the paddock, accompanied by a host of other attractions and partner offers, make a visit more than worthwhile. Tickets are still available to buy on the day. The fans will enjoy vehicle parades from BMW, Hyundai and Volkswagen, as well as a lap of honour from World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä in a Toyota. If you would like to watch events at the Ring at home, tune in to free TV partner NITRO. That is where a 26-hour non-stop live broadcast begins at 14:45. The official livestreams on YouTube (www.YouTube.com/24hNBR) and on the official event homepage (www.24h-rennen.de/live) will also be on air throughout.