A dramatic battle for victory is shaping up at this year’s ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring: On the track, the Manthey Porsche #911, which is still in the lead, and the Rowe BMW #98 are dueling for P1. The Abt Lambo #28 is also within striking distance. Meanwhile, drama unfolded in the overtaking chaos on the Nordschleife when Kevin Estre in the Manthey car collided with Dörr’s #179 Aston Martin while lapping it, causing the latter to roll over. Race control investigated the incident (with the outcome still pending after 19 hours).
#13 Albrecht / Knechtges / Asch / Bliss (VW Beetle RSR)
10:32 a.m. comes to the pit stop
10:38 a.m. Sebastian Asch: “Our Käferle ran wonderfully. We had so many problems at the beginning and now it’s going really well. We can also keep up well. We are not the slowest in the field. We still have to do something in the area of the chassis and the engine. But the main thing is that we get through. The atmosphere outside is great. It’s turbulent on the track with a lot of accidents.”
#17 Aron / Auer / Christodoulou / Grenier (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
09:06 a.m. The front left shock absorber was broken and was replaced
09:14 a.m. Comes into the pit lane and is pushed back into the pits.
09:28 a.m. The Mercedes with Lucas Auer at the wheel leaves the pit lane
#27 Pepper / Bortolotti / Juncadella (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
10:45 a.m. is penalized for causing a collision and receives a time penalty of 1:40 minutes.
#28 Mapelli / Engelhart / Engstler (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
10:39 a.m. Pit stop – Luca Engstler gets out, Marco Mapelli gets in
10:43 a.m. Luca Engstler: “It’s really going on out there. You drive full throttle all the time. It’s really hard. Our car is running really well, but we can’t keep up with the two guys at the front.”
11:00 a.m. Ugo de Wilde: “In the qualifying sessions, it was all about getting confidence in the car, collecting a lot of laps and trying different things in terms of setup. This paid off in the race. The car was reliable, and we drivers didn’t make any mistakes and stayed out of any trouble. The night was crazy. It was my first time driving here in the dark, and it was a lot of fun. Now I hope that we can bring home the class win. I really hope that I will get the chance to drive a GT3 next year – because a GT3 victory on the Nordschleife would be my dream.”
#37 Palette / Böckmann / Bastian (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3)
10:56 a.m. Comes in for a pit stop – Nico Bastian gets in.
#44 Boccolacci / Heinemann / Marschall / Schuring (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992))
09:20 a.m. The drive shaft is defective and the race is over
#48 Arrow / Bünnagel / Kaya / Piana (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992))
09:59 a.m. Ben Bünnagel: “It was a chaotic morning with many caution phases and code 60. You have to be careful not to drive into any parts and get a puncture. At previous 24h races, the morning was more relaxed. But the car felt good.”
#59 Dörr / Dörr / Strycek / Ortmann (McLaren Artura Trophy Evo)
10:26 a.m. comes to the pit stop. Phil Dörr joins in
10:35 a.m. Ben Dörr: “I had a double stint, everything went according to plan and without any problems. But it was super hot, because unfortunately we have had a problem with the air conditioning since the start of the race. I’m just happy now that the stint is over. It’s crazy how hot it is in the cockpit. The decision now is to keep a cool head until the end.”
#65 Fetzer / Schumacher / Owega / Owega (Ford Mustang GT3)
09:14a.m. Dennis Fetzer: “Our race has been very satisfactory so far The days before the race were difficult, a lot went wrong. Now we are well on our way. I think we have a lot of bad luck with traffic. You can’t change that. Now come the most important hours. From now on, people get tired and you can already see that.”
#66 Eichele / Wiskirchen / Wiskirchen / Wiskirchen (BMW M4 GT4 (G82))
10:10 a.m. . in the gravel bed in the Pflanzgarten area. Had a slight contact with the guardrail. Was able to drive on.
#67 Bear / Harrison / Vasilescu / Wassertheurer (BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82))
10:22 a.m. Ryan Harrison: “We are currently in second place in the class and at times we were also fighting with the leader. But then they moved away again. This morning, however, the leaders had a little contact and we were lucky enough to get to the front. We just have to drive as fast as possible now to defend the lead. But the guys in second place are very fast. The fans will hope that we can put up a good fight until the end. We would rather have it quiet and relaxed.”
#97 Reeh / Lachenmayer / Trompeter / Schall (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (997))
10:18 a.m. Ralf Schall: “It was planned that I would drive a double stint, but then we had a radio failure. Then team boss Julian Reeh drove in between. After that, I got back in. Julian gave me three instructions: take care of the car, take care of the car and definitely take care of the car. I then had a soft brake pedal. We changed the pads and it should work again now. We’ll carry the car to the finish line now.”
#98 Farfus / Krohn / Marciello / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
09:10 a.m. comes to the routine stop – Marciello remains seated
10:19 a.m. it’s the turn of the leader Kevin Estre #911 Estre / Güven / Preining / Pilet (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992))
10:26 a.m. comes to the pits for a routine stop. Raffaele Marciello gets out and hands over to Augusto Farfus.
10:37a.m. Rafaele Marciello: “It’s been a difficult race since yesterday with a lot of Code 60 and double yellow phases. From our point of view, things are going well, of course. The car feels great and we’re in the fight for overall victory. There’s not really much to say about the incident behind Kallenhard, because the case is clear to me: we’ve already conceded for less than 30 seconds, so I think there will be a penalty for the Porsche. But for us it’s secondary for the time being: We’re trying to fight for the lead on the track.”
#179 Scheibner / Charlaix / Sander / Hahn (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4)
10:55 a.m. Team principal Rainer Dörr: “Rolf Scheibner is doing well. He is in hospital for safety reasons. I can’t say anything about the accident itself, I have to take a look at the situation again in peace.”
#277 Müller / Groth / Rupp / König (BMW 318ti (E36))
10:28 a.m. goes back on track after repairing the leaking radiator
10:41 a.m. . Markus Rupp: “We had cylinder head damage at 2 a.m. tonight and had to replace the engine. This morning at 8 o’clock we were finally able to go out again. I’ve now driven a double stint of 140 minutes to get laps together. We need half of Grello. We just have a little less power now, but the car is running stably.”
#418 Lamadrid / Mendieta / Kroner (Porsche Cayman 718)
10:05 a.m. is pushed into the pits
#448 Weber / Weissermel / Brandl / Müller (Porsche Cayman CM12)
09:52 a.m. Christian Weber: “It’s brutally warm outside. Unfortunately, we don’t have air conditioning in the car, but it feels like 70 degrees.”
#455 Trinius / Baumann / Held / Schambony (Porsche Cayman CM12)
10:57 a.m. Collision with the #808 Obermann / Leissing / Umemoto / Gupta (Cupra TCR DSG) in the Hedwigshöhe area. Both hit the crash barriers violently. Both drivers can leave the vehicles independently.
#466 Abrahamsen / Ehrl / Ottis / Ganser (Hyundai Motor Company I30N)
10:18 a.m. is in the ice curve area. Apparently a puncture at the rear right
#520 Tack / Röss / Röss (Toyota Supra)
09:16 a.m. Matthias Röss: “It went quite well. I went out with fresh tires – into a double stint. I started a race to catch up with the 504. We drove with the brakes too long before and as a result, the change took too long.”
#652 Ardelt / Oepen / Dormagen / Lehmann (BMW M240i Racing Cup)
10:49 a.m.: The car is pushed into the pits and the driver gets out.
10:53 a.m. Thomas Ardelt: “We had contact in the stint before. There was a hit on the left front wheel. We tried to see if we could ride like that. But we still have to replace the wishbone and lose a bit of time. But that’s not a drama – there’s nothing to lose going forward and backwards.”
#680 Reinhard / Van Der Sanden / Berger / Kolb (BMW M240i Racing Cup)
09:36 a.m. Torben Berger: “It’s warm, a lot of code 60. The track itself is good. But in my stint, some cars, including fast ones, flew off. A buddy of mine also got it, thank God he wasn’t in the car himself. I had a bit of trouble starting this morning, one coffee too few. Otherwise it fits. I hardly prepared for the heat, but I had a hydration system installed in my helmet. That helps a lot. I don’t know how else you could prepare for the heat.”
10:48 a.m. Jannik Reinhard: “My stint was good. The temperatures are rising and you have to pay more attention to the tires and the oil temperature again. There’s a lot going on out on the track. Concentration dwindles. You have to be careful not to collect any debris.”
#718 Griesemann / Griesemann / Adorf / Volte (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS M)
10:45 a.m.: A whole bundle of penalties for Manthey’s AT-Porsche:
33 seconds for falling short of the minimum standing time at the pit stop
235 seconds for a code 60 violation
125 seconds for one offence and double yellow
#777 Krohn / Jönsson / Hamprecht / Huisman (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
10:04 a.m. Nic Jönsson: “I was in the car for about three hours. It was very difficult with the sun this morning. I got into the car at 7 a.m. when the sun was still rising. That was a challenge and certainly the reason why there were so many accidents.”
#900 Hardt / Rosenberg / Ludwig / Kiefer (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
09:52 a.m. Thomas Kiefer: “The double stint during the night was mega. I had really, really a lot of fun. Great fights actually over both stints with one car, really over almost three hours. Bumper to bumper was really, really cool. But he was just as bad right now. There was just so much going on on the track, accidents, crash barrier repairs, it felt like only code 60 zones. The lap times are somehow two minutes slower, which of course is just not fun because you just don’t get to drive.”
#911 Estre / Güven / Preining / Pilet (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992))
09:18 a.m. comes to a routine stop: Thomas Preining hands over the Porsche to Kevin Estre.
09:28 a.m. Thomas Preining: “The Code 60 is simply a matter of luck. We have already lost a few minutes if you drive behind one that only drives 30 km/h or you drive 60 and the next one already has green. But the balance of the car is great, we’re fast and have a 20-second strategy advantage.”
10:11 a.m. Kevin Estre loses a lot of time in a Code 60 phase due to a very slow car. Raffaele Marciello in the Rowe BMW #98 Farfus / Krohn / Marciello / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) continues to make up ground.
10:23 a.m. Kevin Estre meets the #179 Scheibner / Charlaix / Sander / Hahn (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4) in the Miss Miss category while lapping the team. The Aston Martin then rolls over and remains on its roof. The Manthey-Porsche can continue the journey. The Rowe BMW #98 Farfus / Krohn / Marciello / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) is also able to avoid it, but drives hard over the corner.
10:25 a.m. stays outside
10:34 a.m. Kevin Estre comes into the pits for a routine stop and remains seated in the Porsche.
#919 Jodexnis / Jodexnis / Chrzanowski / Scharmach (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
10:48 a.m.: Due to the disregard of a Code 60 phase, the Clickvers Porsche receives a penalty of 110 seconds and the driver concerned receives a penalty point in the DMSB’s list of sinners.
#932 Rich / Fontes / Aso Arjol / Mann (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
10:33 a.m. tries to start the engine several times in vain
10:35 a.m. Engine on, drives out
