Half of the drivers that will be contesting the ADAC 24h Nürburgring on May 15th and 16th grew up only the proverbial stone’s throw away. Marc Hennerici, Pierre Kaffer, Frank Stippler and Mike Rockenfeller are all at home within 50 kilometres from the Nürburgring, and for Luca Ludwig and Marc Basseng, the distance isn’t much longer either.
However, for the team itself, Phoenix Racing, the marathon at the ‘Ring is a home round in the true sense of the world. For ten years, Ernst Moser’s successful racing team has had its premises in the Nürburgring industrial zone at Meuspath. From there, where the race cars for DTM, FIA GT1 World Championship, International GT Open and the endurance races at the Nürburgring are being prepared, you just can’t miss the sound of the engines coming over from the Nordschleife and you can actually see the roofs of the cars that are roaring down the ‘Döttinger Höhe’ straight. Within less than four kilometres, you are in the middle of the paddock, so it hardly pays off to load the race cars into the trailers. “For us, the Nürburgring is the ideal venue, this is where our home is”, says Swabian-born Ernst Moser, who himself has been feeling well in the Eifel for many years. Many of his team members are genuine Eifel guys. For instance, team manager Frank Lynn and data engineer Jörg Baldes come from Adenau, mechanic Thomas Hoffmann from Gilgenbach – all within visual and acoustic distance from the ‘Ring and therefore bitten by the motor racing bug from the very moment they were born.
The vicinity to the Nürburgring also had its effect on the careers of the local heroes within the Phoenix team. Marc Hennerici, a member of a successful motor racing dynasty, is living in Mayen and, at only 25 kilometres, he is closest to the ‘Ring. “Already as a kid, I was at the ‘Ring with my uncle Heinz when he had his races there”, says the 28-year old, who is a regular competitor with a Phoenix-Corvette in the GT1 World Championship. For Pierre Kaffer, the road from Burgbrohl am Rhein to the ‘Ring is only 27 kilometres, so it is hardly surprising that he rates the Nordschleife as his favourite track. The same goes for Frank Stippler, who is living 40 kilometres down the road in Bad Münstereifel. Mike Rockenfeller grew up less than 50 kilometres away from the ‘Ring in Neuwied near Koblenz, on the right side of the river Rhine. This year, he is racing a Phoenix-Audi in the DTM. “Already as a kid, the Nürburgring had a magic effect on me”, says 26-year old Rockenfeller. For Luca Ludwig from Bonn, 60 kilometres away and only 21 years old, the motorsport bug was also a family affair. After all, the ‘Green Hell’ had always been the favourite hunting ground of his successful father Klaus Ludwig. Marc Basseng from Cologne also only needs one hour in the car for the 85 kilometres to the Nürburgring. And even Frank Biela, who was born in Neuss, considers the ‘Ring as his home track and his favourite circuit.
There is no such thing as a home advantage, but still, Phoenix Racing intends to shine in its home race. After all, the team has already won the ADAC 24h Nürburgring twice. Not only the local heroes are bringing huge experience to the Nordschleife, the other Phoenix drivers do so, too. “For every driver, the 24-hour race on the Nordschleife is a real challenge one is looking forward to all year long”, says three times’ winner Hans-Joachim Stuck, for whom the ‘Ring has long become his second home.
In the ADAC 24h Nürburgring, Hans-Joachim Stuck is sharing driving duties with Frank Stippler, Marc Basseng and Mike Rockenfeller in the number 98-Bilstein Audi R8 LMS. The line-up in the number 99 S-Line-Audi includes Frank Biela, Pierre Kaffer, Marcel Fässler and Marc Hennerici, while the number 97-Porta-R8 is being raced by Luca Ludwig, Dennis Rostek, Marc Bronzel and Markus Winkelhock.
