At the ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen, Falken Motorsports once again impressively demonstrated that the long distances in the Nürburgring Endurance Series suit the Porsche GT3 team very well. In midsummer temperatures, David Pittard and Joel Eriksson celebrated the first victory for the new Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) on the Nordschleife ahead of Dennis Fetzer and Martin Ragginger in the sister car. However, the second-placed Falken Porsche was disqualified after the race because the adjustment angle of the rear wing did not comply with the regulations. Therefore, second place went to Patrick Assenheimer, Marcel Marchewicz and Tim Neuser in the Schnitzelalm Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The top three were completed by Phil and Ben Dörr in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
In the qualifying session, Frank Stippler secured the second pole position in a row for Scherer Sport Team PHX. In the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, the experienced driver completed the 24.358-kilometre combination of Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife in 7:54.210 minutes. A colourful mix of brands followed in the following positions: BMW, Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, BMW and Mercedes-AMG. After the race start, Stippler then delivered a duel worth seeing with Axcil Jefferies in the Ferrari 296 GT3 of racing one. However, the Scherer Audi stopped on the track after a puncture and retired. “We had these problems already at NLS4 and now have to check exactly what the problem is,” Stippler stated. In the end, Jefferies and Christian Kohlhaas were classified in sixth place. Starting from second position, the Walkenhorst-BMW suffered a technical failure on the steering after 15 laps. The NLS4 winners Christian Krognes and Jakub Giermaziak also had to retire early.
While their competitors failed, the two Falken Porsches focused on consistency. After a Code 60 phase at the end of the qualifying session, Fetzer and Ragginger were only 20th on the grid. However, the duo quickly moved up during the race and were already in second place behind Pittard and Eriksson after the first pit stops. “That was a perfect race,” said Pittard, who crowned his debut in the Falken Porsche with a victory straight away. This year, the Briton was part of the Frikadelli team that had claimed victory in the Nürburgring 24h Race. “The team received me very well and I felt very comfortable in the Porsche from the very first moment. The fact that we are now even winning as well is mega.” Eriksson confirmed: “We had a real rocket today!”
Schnitzelalm driver Assenheimer was happy about their second place: “The team has experienced difficulties for quite a long period. That’s why the podium is twice as valuable. It feels really good.” Marchewicz confirmed that even professional race drivers are not immune to the hot temperatures: “That was quite a hot number today. But first and foremost, I’m glad we finished the race.”
Behind third-placed and winners of the SP9 Pro-Am classification, Mike David Ortmann and Maxime Dumarey in the PROsport-Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Nico Otto and Benjamin Leuchter finished the race behind the wheel of the fastest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The duo from Max Kruse Racing thus also won the highly competitive CUP2 class ahead of Ben Bünnagel, Noah Nagelsdiek and Hendrick Von Danwitz in the services of BLACK FALCON Team IDENTICA.
No change in the championship
The leading drivers in the top positions of the Nürburgring Endurance Series classification continued their winning streaks at the ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen. After five races, the two Adrenalin Motorsport Team Motec trios – Daniel Zils, Oskar Sandberg and Philipp Leisen in the BMW 330i as well as Yannick Fübrich, Sven Markert and Nils Steinberg in the BMW M240i Racing Cup – are in the lead of the championship with 79 points. Eight points behind are second-placed Heiko Eichenberg, Fabio Grosse and Patrik Grütter, they are entered by SRS Team Sorg Rennsport in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. In a thrilling finish in the CUP3, the trio prevailed against Moritz Oberheim, Marius Rauer and Finn Zulauf in the Cayman of AVIA W&S Motorsport. In third place in the championship are Marcus Willhardt, Michael Bohrer and Gerrit Holthaus who won the V2T-FWD class in the Hyundai i30N Fastback. With its first win of the season, the number three Falken Porsche has now taken the lead in the NLS Speed Trophy. The medienkraftwerk Junior Trophy is headed by Adrenalin driver Nils Steinberg (BMW M240i Racing Cup).
12h Nürburgring: Formula 1 cars on the Nürburgring Nordschleife
The second highlight of the 2023 Nürburgring Endurance Series season will follow already at the beginning of September. On 9 and 10 September, the 12h Nürburgring will take place as two independent 6-hour races. The Red Bull Formula Nürburgring on Saturday will be a legendary event. As part of show runs, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, among others, will drive Formula 1 cars on the Nordschleife. As a current Formula 1 driver, Yuki Tsunoda will also take on the challenge of the ‘Green Hell’. The 23-year-old Japanese will be driving a Honda NSX GT3 Evo. Further highlights will be announced shortly.
Combination weekend tickets for the Red Bull Formula Nürburgring and the 12h Nürburgring are available for 59 Euros (children up to 14 years 29 Euros), Saturday day tickets for 39 Euros (children up to 14 years 29 Euros). These tickets will take you to the event area in the Müllenbachschleife (Saturday only), to the open grandstands at the Grand Prix circuit, to the exclusive spectator areas Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten as well as to the paddocks, the pit lane, the starting grid and the motorsport experience museum ring°werk.
