Scherer PHX secured its place in the top qualifying session in the second qualifying session: The team’s #1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II stepped up the pace once again in the quarter of an hour reserved for GT3 cars at the start of the session and improved its own best time from Q1 to 8:10.580 minutes: The dense traffic on the Nordschleife with yellow and Code 60 zones prevented any major changes in the leading group. In perfect track conditions as dusk began to fall, there was a 24-hour feeling to enjoy throughout the entire session on the Nordschleife, which was illuminated by barbecues and bonfires.
#1 Haase / Ludwig / Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)
20:20 Christopher Haase won the first exchange of blows. With a lap time of 8:10.580 minutes, he set the fastest time ahead of the two Abt Lamborghini #28 Mapelli / Engelhart / Engstler (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2) and #27 Pepper / Bortolotti / Juncadella (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
21:33 Markus Winkelhock: “The first laps were free for the GT3s, which made the fast times possible. Now there is a lot of traffic. That’s why I don’t expect the best time to be improved again. Of course, it’s still not certain, but I’m guessing that 95 per cent of us will be in the top quali. Our car is running well, everything is working perfectly.”
22:15 Luca Ludwig: “We certainly won’t be able to improve our time. Christopher drove the lap right at the start with the track clear. That lap was simply superb. Now it’s just a matter of adjusting to the darkness.”
23:47 Christopher Haase: “We wanted to see what we could do at the end. We know that the night won’t be our strong point now. But I didn’t take the full risk like I did on the first lap. An 8:10 minutes, even if it’s fresh air now, is something you have to do in the night. It’s certainly possible, but we were in a comfortable position to focus on the race set-up. I’m not allowed to drive in top qualifying tomorrow because I drove in qualifying 2 today.”
#7 Soufi / Paul / Elkmann / Lefterov (Lamborghini Huracan GT3)
22:46 Team Principal Franz Konrad: “I’m not entirely satisfied with today. We want to go out again now and see if we can still improve. We are not yet in top qualifying. I’ll try to go out again on soft tyres.”
#8 Veremenko / SELV / Erhart / Kaffer (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)
21:23 Max Kruse completed his very first laps at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in Q2: ‘It was always my dream to compete here,’ he explains. “I get to drive right into the dark – that’s an important experience going into the night on Saturday. We haven’t even decided yet whether I’ll actually drive on Saturday evening, but are concentrating on qualifying first. But my colleagues all have experience of driving in the evening and at night, so this was a chance to familiarise ourselves with the track and lighting conditions in this situation.”
#10 Kruse / Lenz / Stanco / Stanco (VW GOLF 7 GTI TCR DSG)
21:26 Max Kruse completed his very first laps at the 24h Nürburgring in Q2: ‘It was always my dream to compete here,’ he explains. “I get to drive right into the dark – that’s an important experience going into the night on Saturday. We haven’t even decided yet whether I’ll actually drive on Saturday evening, but are concentrating on qualifying first. But my colleagues all have experience of driving in the evening and at night, so this was a chance to familiarise ourselves with the track and lighting conditions in this situation.”
#11 Heyer / Härtling / Fittje / Brück (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
22:41 Team manager Günter Aberer: “We are in our programme and are simply training for the race, as we are already qualified for the top qualifying session. Everything is going according to plan, we still have three laps to go. The weather is supposed to stay nice, we hope we don’t have any fog. I think the spectators are having fun out there.”
23:21 Due to a disregard of a Code 60 phase, the Schnitzelalm-Mercedes AMG has to start Saturday’s race from the back of the first grid group.
#13 Albrecht / Knechtges / Asch / Bliss (VW Beetle RSR)
20:22 Oliver Bliss, a rally driver, now takes up the second qualifying session for the Fly&Help team. After two warm-up laps on the GP circuit, it’s time to take on the Nordschleife. The aim is for all the drivers to complete their mandatory laps today, as well as getting in more test and development kilometres.
21:53 He was too fast in the pit lane and has his fastest lap time disallowed.
23:06 After technical problems, the night practice session had to be ended a good hour before the end of the session to search for faults. Tomorrow, the time will be used to step on the gas again.
#16 Niederhauser / Vanthoor / Feller / Pilet (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992))
22:52 After being reported as ‘Track Clear’ at 22:30, the Scherer-PHX-Porsche goes on the hunt for times once again. It’s clear that an improvement could still be possible in the cool evening air.
23:06 Slow drive in the Goodyear bend area
23:09 hrs Has a flat tyre on the right rear and reaches the pits.
23:28 Laurens Vanthoor is travelling fast. Can he still make it into top qualifying?
23:36 Laurens Vanthoor actually makes it to third place and qualifies the team for the top qualifying.
23:50 Laurens Vanthoor: “It was important for us to get into the top qualifying tomorrow. It took a bit of time because we missed it in the first session and needed time to set up the car. But luckily it worked out in the end and was still enough.”
#27 Pepper / Bortolotti / Juncadella (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
21:30 Daniel Juncadella: “Things are going well so far, we’re in third place. Exactly what we needed for top qualifying. When you’re at the front here, it makes life easier. For me, these were the first laps of the weekend. I’m really enjoying racing on the Nordschleife again. In my opinion, this is the best endurance race in the world. I was at Le Mans last week and I already said then that my highlight of the year is the Nürburgring. On my first lap, I took it a bit slower and checked out the campsites, the barbeques and the parties. It’s very special and I’m happy to be the centre of attention here as a racing driver with a strong driver team.”
#28 Mapelli / Engelhart / Engstler (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
22:32 Christian Engelhart: “We are very satisfied. Everything went according to plan. We still had a few surprising problems in the first qualifying session. But better now than in the race. We were able to sort them out and make good progress. We are currently in second place and would therefore achieve our goal – to get into the top qualifying.”
#37 Palette / Böckmann / Bastian (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3)
20:35 Brand Böckmann: “You can never be too optimistic, and we’re an annoying tenth off P4. But when I see the action on the track like this, I think: That could be good enough to qualify for top qualifying.”
#44 Boccolacci / Heinemann / Marschall / Schuring (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992))
21:25 Slow drive for Dennis Marschall in the Falken Porsche in the Hohenrain chicane area.
21:41 hrs Dennis Marschall had a slow puncture and was therefore travelling slowly.
22:08 Tim Heinemann: “I was looking forward to driving in the dark because we also wanted to set the lights. But it was even brighter than expected. But it was cool. I only drove two laps and unfortunately there was a lot of yellow and Code 60, but the feeling of driving into the twilight and seeing the fans everywhere is still breathtaking. There’s a lot of anticipation for the race. However, the weather is very different to the NLS races and the 24h Qualifiers, so we don’t really know what to expect. But we are trying a lot to prepare as best we can.”
#59 Dörr / Dörr / Strycek / Ortmann (McLaren Artura Trophy Evo)
22:10 was travelling too fast in the pit lane and is stripped of the fastest lap time.
22:47 was too fast in the pit lane and is moved back five positions on the grid.
23:23 was too fast in a Code 60 phase and has to start the race from the end of the first starting group.
#88 van Dam / Schrick / Sasaki / Kubo (Subaru WRX )
21:44 Tim Schrick: “We have the problem that we have hardly any competition in our class. Our goal is to be as far ahead as possible in the overall standings. We were 18th overall in 2019. The Japanese have set themselves the goal of finishing in the top 20.”
#98 Farfus / Krohn / Marciello / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
22:37 Team Principal Hans-Peter Naundorf: “Due to the timing of the 24-hour race, many BMW works drivers are tied up with other commitments this year. There simply weren’t enough drivers available to implement our programme as usual – namely with at least two works cars. We are therefore happy to be on the grid at all this year – also with a view to Le Mans and Spa, where BMW drivers are also involved. The decision for our Nürburgring entry was made relatively late, and so it has remained with this one car – which, however, is manned by really very strong drivers. Of course, we would all have liked to have seen more BMW cars in the field, but this entry should still be seen as a clear commitment from BMW to this race. We are not entirely satisfied with the first day, as we missed some important sequences due to the shortened preparation time. We would have liked to take part in top qualifying, but we are currently finding it quite difficult. Now we are focussing entirely on the race. The drivers still have to get used to the visibility conditions during the night and we have to fine-tune the lighting system on the car.”
#110 Gamou / Kataoka / Matsui / Sasaki (Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2)
21:07 was travelling too fast under Code 60 and has to start the race from the back of the grid.
#268 Ito / Kawaai / Kait Wai / Ecker (Toyota Supra)
22:48 was travelling too fast in the pit lane and gets the fastest lap time disallowed.
#317 Fischer / Goodman / Sauerbrei / Tan (MINI John Cooper Works Pro )
21:33 Markus Fischer: “I’m glad that we were able to drive well after the problems in the first qualifying session. I’ve now completed three laps and everything worked. There’s a great atmosphere outside. Driving at the Nürburgring at sunset is always fantastic. I love it.”
#382 Morizo / Toyoda / Ishiura / Oshima (Toyota GR Yaris)
20:31 hrs Stops with technical defect in the Schwalbenschwanz approach area.
#827 Yan / Wong / Zhang (Lynk&Co 03 TCR)
21:03 Zhiqiang Zhang: “Driving in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring is something very special for me – especially because I was here for the first time just a month ago to do the Permit B and A. It was a very special experience for me. Even in a road car, the track was impressive and terrifying at the same time. I then drove the NLS 4h race in the BMW M240i – despite bad weather, fog and problems with the headlights, it was a great experience. Now competing in the 24 Hours is a big challenge: it’s our first endurance race and our aim is to drive through, gain experience and bring the car to the finish. I’m travelling with my TCR China team – same mechanics, same engineers, but a completely new track for all of us. After two laps, I handed over to my team-mate and we used the time to practise driver changes, tyre changes and procedures. It’s an exciting adventure – despite jet lag and the time change.”
#830 Lauck / Basseng / Jöns (Hyundai Motor Company Elantra N TCR)
22:13 Marc Basseng: “Things are going according to plan for us, we are P1 in the class. We wanted to try to improve the time again – theoretically an 8:55 should be possible for us. But unfortunately every attempt has now got stuck in some code 60 or in traffic. Manuel is now in the car and is going out again to keep pole in the class. The atmosphere at the track is mega, there are so many fans there. The weather will also be an issue this weekend, the race will be long and tough. But we’re looking forward to the challenge. When it’s over 30 degrees, the tarmac temperature rises to 45 degrees, you notice that straight away. Today we’ve already seen a lot more tyre damage than usual. And that quickly turns into a domino effect – there is more tyre damage, more debris, more carbon etc.”
