Nico Otto and Timo Hochwind made history: In the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 24h from Max Kruse Racing, the duo celebrated the first daily victory for a vehicle powered by alternative fuel at the NLS Light premiere and the first for the Volkswagen brand in the 49-year history of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. The father-son team of Philipp and Richard Gresek in the BMW M4 GT4 from Plusline Motorsport celebrated second place. Kazuto Kotaka and Miki Koyama completed the podium, driving the Toyota Supra GT4 from Toyo Tires with Ring Racing to third place.
“Congratulations to Max Kruse Racing and Volkswagen on the first victory of a vehicle powered by alternative fuel,” said NLS sports director Christian Vormann, praising the winners. The Duisburg-based racing team powers its four-cylinder turbo engine with Shell’s E20 Gasline fuel. “This is an important signal, not only for the ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series, but for the entire motorsport community. As a platform for sustainable development, we will continue to promote and expand this important topic in a targeted manner.”
Showdown in the final minutes
The final stages of the four-hour race were not for the faint-hearted. For long stretches, pole sitters Benjamin Leuchter and Heiko Hammel looked like the sure winners. However, 15 minutes before the finish, the on-board voltage failed and the gearbox could no longer be shifted. Victory went to their teammates at Max Kruse Racing, who had saved fuel throughout the race and thus managed with one less pit stop. “I still can’t quite believe it,” said Hochwind, who drove the final stint. “Many thanks to Volkswagen and the entire team. The car was perfect today and everything worked flawlessly. It’s a shame that the sister car broke down.” Otto added: “We tried to save fuel and drive safely the whole time. Nevertheless, we were always within striking distance of the leaders. In the end, this strategy paid off. It’s an incredible feeling to be at the front with a Golf.”
The Plusline BMW was able to hold its own against Leuchter in the first stint. Philipp Gresek even took the lead for one lap before the final pit stop. Over the distance, however, the duo had nothing left to counter the fast Golf, but remained consistently in the podium positions. “It’s a real shame for Max Kruse Racing that the car in the lead retired,” said the junior driver, showing true sportsmanship. “We ourselves experienced a race with ups and downs. But the class victory and P2 in the overall results is just fantastic.” Dad Richard added: “An indescribable feeling. A super day with a super mood – it couldn’t be better.” He spoke for most of the participants in the NLS Light premiere. In bright sunshine, there were many happy faces in the paddock.
The battle for third place was also decided in the final minutes of the race. Carrie Schreiner and Janina Schall in the BMW M4 GT4 from GITI Tire Motorsport by WS Racing fell short of the minimum pit stop time during their last pit stop. This was penalized by the race organizers with 35+11 seconds. After the penalty, the Japanese team was delighted to take third place. “We had good pace, didn’t incur any penalties, and the car ran very well,” said Kotaka. “My thanks go to the entire Ring Racing team. I am overjoyed.” The all-female team ‘Girls Only – Ready to rock the green Hell’ under the aegis of WS Racing still achieved its best result of the season with fourth place. Fabian Pirrone, Jan Ullrich, and Ulf Steffens gave Matthias Möller’s racing team even more reason to celebrate at the end, as they celebrated their first ever class victory in the BMW M240i Racing Cup class. The trio benefited from the misfortune of the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels, Timis Ionuc, Will Hunt, and Michelangelo Coazzi. The final driver initially took the lead at Döttinger Höhe, but then braked too late in the final chicane and crashed into the track barrier.
The victory in Class Cup 3 of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring went to Schmickler Performance powered by Ravenol. Stefan Schmickler and Horst Baumann prevailed against the asBest Racing duo Kim Berwanger and Christian Kohlhaas. Horst Baumann, who celebrated his 61st birthday on Friday, impressed the race organizers and track announcers with his strong maneuvers, earning him the title of “Driver of the Race.” The award is presented by the ILN (Interessengemeinschaft Langstrecke Nürburgring). Schmickler Performance secured two further class victories: Achim and Volker Waver, together with Maik Rönnefarth, took first place in the SP7 class with their Porsche Cayman GT4 CS. In the V6 class, Christian and Thomas Heuchmer set the standard with a Porsche 911.
Positive conclusion after the NLS Light premiere
VLN Managing Director Mike Jäger drew a positive conclusion at the end of the day. “We saw many happy and satisfied faces at the NLS Light premiere – at our joint barbecue party with the teams in the paddock on Friday evening and on race day. This is a very good basis for further developing this format. Of course, we would have liked to have had a few more participants, but those who did take part got their money’s worth, as did the spectators, who enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere between practice and the race in the pit lane and around the Nordschleife. Personally, I was very pleased to see so many families with children there again.”
Young talent also played a role elsewhere in the paddock. The slalom youngsters were in action in two rounds of the ADAC Mittelrhein Automobile Slalom Championship. The victories went to Tommie Lycklama à Nijeholt and Timon-Etienne Quint in Class 1 and Noah Servos and Finn Grube in Class 2. And who knows? Maybe one or two of these names will appear in the NLS results lists in the near future.
Light is followed by Maxi: 6-hour race on August 16
After the successful NLS Light premiere, the XXL distance race is on the agenda on August 16. The KW 6h ADAC Ruhr Cup race is the highlight of the ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series season. A 50% longer race duration also means more points for the championship. And so the challengers to defending champions Sven Markert and Kevin Wambach in the BMW M240i Racing from Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels will be doing everything they can to score maximum points.
