Looking back at the Opel 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen, this race was definitely one of the most difficult ones in the last years of the VLN endurance racing championship at the Nürburgring. Changing weather conditions around the Nürburgring Nordschleife was highly stressful for people and material likewise. And the seventh round of the 2015 season provided some movement in the championship standing of this most popular grassroots series in Europe. Some of the top positioned teams did not come out unscathed, some got off with a black eye. On the other hand, there were some drivers who took benefit from the situation and improved their initial position considerably.
After six successive class wins, the leaders in the drivers‘ championship of the endurance racing series for the first time became a little nervous. Rolf Derscheid (Much/ Germany) and Michael Flehmer (Overath/ Germany) finished only second in their BMW 325 in class V4 (VLN production cars up to 2,500 cc cylinder capacity). Even though they were able to defend their lead with this result, they benefited from the bad luck of their direct competitors. Jörg Viebahn (Engelskirchen/ Germany) in the Porsche 911 GT3 (991) did not score a result just as Frank Kräling (Winterberg/ Germany), Marc Gindorf (Monaco) and Christopher Brück (Cologne) in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
A big step forward in contrast made Hannu Luostarinen from Finland who, together with Tim Schrick (Munich) and Volker Strycek (Dehrn/ Germany), achieved the fourth class win in a row in the highly competitors Opel Astra OPC Cup. Luostarinen moved ahead in second place in the drivers‘ championship, his regular team mate Schrick, who had to skip one race in the Kisslling Astra, is in sixth championship position. When the void results will be counted as well at the end of the season because only the eight best results out of the ten races will be taken in consideration for the final classification, the driver duo will occupy one and the same position again.
The action in the lead of the VLN Junior Trophy is dominated by Max Partl (Pyrmbaum/ Germany). Together with Jörg Weidinger (Happurg/ Germany), the youngster missed the fourth victory in the BMW M235i Racing Cup, but they scored enough points with place three to defend their lead in this rookie series.
In the lead of the VLN Speed Trophäe is still the Frikadelli Team. The advance gained by Sabine Schmitz, Klaus Abbelen (both from Barweiler) and Patrick Huisman (Netherlands) after having scored three wins was enough to complete the 6h race without any disadvantage even though they retired and were not classified.
Things may well change at the eighth race of the VLN endurance racing championship Nürburgring. The 46th ADAC Barbarossapreis organised by the MSC Sinzig will run over the traditional four hour duration and the series will go into its final and decisive stage of the 2014 season. The chase at the ‘Green Hell’ will start at 12 o’clock on 13th September.
