The Nürburgring Endurance Series picks up speed on 1 April at the NIMEX 47th DMV 4-Hour Race. Entries for 141 cars have been received by the organising Renngemeinschaft Düren, including 30 race cars in the GT3 class SP9. The fans can look forward to thrilling motorsport – entertainment is the motto. Tickets are available from 20 Euros, children up to 14 years of age have free admission. Those who are not on site can follow the race day in the Green Hell from 8:15 a.m. onwards in the livestream on VLN.de.
The range in the NLS field is huge – and this in several respects. In the NLS, the current DTM champion Sheldon Van Der Linde in the BMW M4 GT3 of ROWE RACING will meet rapper Smudo in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Four Motors Bioconcept-Car. One of the Fanta 4 legend’s fellow competitors is Tom von Löwis of Menar – the oldest driver in the field. The veteran from Reutlingen is now 75 years old but is still in top shape and full of energy. His counterpart is Ben Dörr, at just 18 years and two months. The scion of the Frankfurt-based sports car dealer family of the same name will share the cockpit of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with Théo Nouet, who finished second in the ADAC GT4 Germany in 2021 – at that time, by the way, as Ben Dörr’s rival. His brother Phil Dörr will be driving the GT3 version of the British super sports car in race two.
As far as the achievements of the drivers in the NLS are concerned, the gap is also wide – and that in a positive sense. On the one hand, there is Jürgen Nett, who will start in the Volkswagen Scirocco of mathilda racing – Team LAVO Carwash. The driver from Mayen was the eleventh champion in the Endurance Cup at the Nürburgring in 1987, from which the NLS emerged. Opposite him are the reigning champions of the past season: Daniel Zils and Oskar Sandberg, who will start together with Philipp Leisen in the BMW 330i of Adrenalin Motorsport Team Motec, as well as Sindre Setsaas, who will share the cockpit of the same car with Michael Schrey and Ranko Mikatovic for FK Performance Motorsport.
The Nordschleife fascinates race drivers from all over the world
Further contrasts are reflected in the drivers’ itineraries to the Nürburgring. The Briton Alex Wright resides in Wiesemscheid, just 4.5 kilometres from the Ring. He will contest the race in the Hyundai i30N of Keeevin Sports & Racing. Home sleeper is also David Ackermann, who will be competing in a Porsche Cayman GTS with his team Rent2Drive. At home in Döttingen, his route to the ring is just five kilometres. The two Australians Jordan Love and Joshua Burdon will probably have the longest journey – from “Down Under” to the Eifel. Love will share the cockpit of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein with the Indian Arjun Maini and Hubert Haupt. Burdon will take turns in the Toyota Supra GT4 with Edoardo Liberatori from Italy and Martin Rump from Estonia. The production-based sports car from Japan is, by the way, entered by the Hong Kong-based team KCMG – globalisation at its best, which is also reflected in the participants’ countries of origin, as a good third of the drivers come from foreign countries near and far.
Production-based touring cars meet full-blown racing bolides
The different vehicle types ensure that there will never be a dull moment on the track. They range from the fan-favourite Dacia Logan with around 200 hp to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with up to 548 horsepower. The latter will be run by the Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed, among others, which will be taking part in 2023 for the first time with two well-staffed cars. Maro Engel, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella will share car number #9, while Adam Christodoulou, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller will take turns in #12. Audi Sport Team Land will also be contesting its first race of the season. The racing team from the Westerwald around Wolfgang and Christian Land is well known for the fact that playing poker in the run-up to the 24h race is absolutely not one of their strengths. Spectators should thus definitely keep the trio of Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Patric Niederhauser in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II on their minds.
There is also a breath of fresh air beyond the professional segment of the GT3 class SP9. Christian Kohlhaas and Jody Fannin will for the first time be driving the Ferrari 296 GT3 from racing one in the Pro-Am category. Michael Heimrich, Lorenzo Rocco and 26-time NLS race winner Arno Klasen will start the race with an Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II. The équipe vitesse is in charge of the team.
Alongside SP9, the class of production cars up to 2,000 cc displacement with turbo and front-wheel drive is the second strongest class. 17 vehicles of the most diverse brands will be taking part in the race. Models from BMW, Hyundai, Mini, Opel, Renault and Volkswagen are represented. There is a real splash of colour in the same class with rear- or four-wheel drive: Here, Richard Jodexnis, Sophia Menzenbach and ‘Ben Herper’ will compete with a Toyota Supra from TOYO TIRES with Ring Racing against an armada of eight BMW 328i and 330i. It will be interesting to see whether the team around Uwe Kleen can make up ground on the strong rivals over the course of the season.
All is set – secure your tickets now!
Tickets for the second race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series are available for 20 euros (children up to 14 years free of charge) at vln.de/tickets and at the box offices. This will get you into the open grandstands at the Grand Prix circuit, the exclusive spectator areas Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten as well as into the paddocks, the pit lane, on the starting grid and into the motorsport experience museum ring°werk.
