Thrilling motorsport with strong protagonists and a barbecue feeling in the Green Hell in spring-like temperatures: race three of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie had all the ingredients for a top-class endurance race. Victory in the first of two races at the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers went to Falken Motorsports. In the Porsche 911 GT3 R, Tim Heinemann and Sven Müller finished 52.866 seconds ahead of Julien Andlauer and Klaus Bachler in the sister car. The joy of second place was short-lived, however, as the duo received a 32-second time penalty after the race for overtaking under yellow flags and dropped back to fifth place. Second place went to Ayhancan Güven and Thomas Preining in the Manthey EMA 911, who were beaten by the Falken Porsche by 0.203 seconds on the track. Third place went to Frank Stippler, Christopher Mies and Ricardo Feller in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II from Scherer Sport PHX.
“I won’t forget this day in a hurry,” said a delighted Heinemann at the finish. “It was not only my first victory on the legendary Nordschleife, but also my first in a GT3. It was also a good start for the Falken Motorsports team. We now have to capitalise on this result in the 24-hour race.” DTM champion Preining was also very satisfied with the result: “That was a great race. It’s always great fun on the Nordschleife when there are heated duels – it’s not just great for me as a driver, but also for the fans. That’s why we’re here.” On the second day of the race, the participants will take part in a top qualifying session, in which the protagonists will take to the track in individual time trials and fight for pole position. “I hope that I have the chance to contest the top qualifying session tomorrow. That would be an honour and the right spice.”
Behind the Porsche duo at the front, the two Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo IIs from Scherer Sport PHX followed in third and fourth place. “I think you could see today that we couldn’t keep up with the Porsches,” said Team Principal Axel Randolph. “We were in front and drove a good race, but the Porsches are better in terms of speed.”
NLS teams dominate in strong classes
The NLS championship leaders also won their classes in the third race. Daniel Mertens and Joshua Hislop won the VT2-FWD class three times in the Hyundai i30N from Mertens Motorsport. They were followed by Sven Markert, Ranko Mijatovic and Toby Goodman from Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels in the BMW M240i Racing Cup.
Steve Jans, Tobias Müller and Noah Nagelsdiek took their second win of the season in the Cup 2 class of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring for BLACK FALCON Team 48 LOSCH. The Cayman Cup 3 class went to Moritz Oberheim, Joshua Bednarski and Lucas Daugaar from W&S Motorsport. In the highly competitive GT4 SP10 class, Andreas Gülden, Tim Sandtler and Marc Hennerici came out on top for the second time this year in the Toyota Supra GT4 from TOYO TIRES with Ring Racing.
The fourth race of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie will take place on Sunday. The second heat of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers starts on Sunday with a 90-minute qualifying session at 08:15. From 10:40 a.m., the top qualifying session, in which the fastest cars take to the track in individual time trials, will determine the best positions on the grid. The second race of the weekend starts at 1.00 pm, with the chequered flag dropping at 5.00 pm. Tickets for the race Sunday are available from 25 euros at 24h-rennen.de and at the box offices. Those staying at home can follow the action around the Nürburgring as usual via livestream at vln.de.
