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GT Racing
GT: Nürburgring 24 Preview
John Dagys looks ahead to this weekend’s around-the-clock endurance classic on the Nordschleife...
More than 170 cars will take the green in this weekend's 24-hour German marathon. (Photo: Sören Herweg)
While the Rolex 24 at Daytona serves as the traditional kick-off to the international sports car season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans being the crown jewel of endurance racing, neither can compare to the challenges that man and machine are faced with on the “Green Hell” each year.
The 40th edition of the ADAC Zurich 24h-Race at the Nürburgring is no exception, with more than 170 GT and touring cars expected to take part in this weekend’s twice-around-the-clock German classic on the legendary Nordschleife circuit.
Spread across a whopping 20 different categories, ranging from production BMWs and Toyotas all the way up to full-blown GT4 and GT3-spec machinery, this year’s field is as diverse as it’s ever been, particularly in the premier SP9 class, which sees 31 cars representing different eight manufacturers that will be fighting for overall honors.
Defending champions Manthey Racing have returned with two top-line Porsche 911 GT3-R entries, a surprise move by the five-time winners, which has seen a decrease in factory support over previous years.
2011 race winners Lucas Luhr, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb are joined by fellow Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz in Manthey’s No. 11 Wochenspiegel machine, while Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long join the squad’s International GT Open pilots, Marco Holzer and Nick Tandy in the No. 10 Porsche.
Both of Olaf Manthey’s entries are expected to lead the Porsche brigade, especially on heels of back-to-back victories in VLN competition for Lieb and Jochen Krumbach, which has put the GT3-spec Porsche as one of the favorites for the 24-hour.
Another contender comes from sister brand Audi, which is well represented again with a total of seven R8 LMS ultras being fielded by five different teams.
It includes Audi Sport Team Phoenix, the sole factory squad this year, which sees Marcel Fassler, Christopher Mies, Rene Rast and Frank Stippler in the team’s No. 2 entry, with Stippler also listed in sister car of Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock.
The two Phoenix entries are bolstered with an equally strong lineup from FIA GT1 World Championship and Blancpain Endurance Series competitors Team WRT, with Oliver Jarvis joining Edwards Sandstrom, Andrea Piccini and Allan Simonsen at the wheel of the Belgian squad’s R8 LMS ultra.
With Schnitzer focusing on DTM this year, BMW is represented by a handful of works-supported Z4 GT3 efforts, including BMW Team Schubert, which will be carrying the factory colors this weekend. Dirk Muller, Jorg Muller and Dirk Adorf, winners in the opening VLN round this season, are joined by Uwe Alzen in the team’s leading No. 19 entry.
Blancpain runner-ups, Marc VDS, and FIA GT1 contenders Vita4One, will also be flying the flag for the Bavarian manufacturer, which scored outright honors here in 2010 with its GT2-spec M3s, but are no longer eligible for competition.
Dubai 24 winners Black Falcon are among the six-car Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 contingent, with Porsche Supercup aces Jeroen Bleekemolen and Sean Edwards teaming with Manuel Metzger and Ralf Schall in Black Falcon’s No. 15 machine.
Additional gull-winged Mercedes from Hankook Team Heico, featuring the driving strength of Bernd Schneider, Lance-David Arnold and Pierre Kaffer, are also expected to be vying for the win, as well as VLN specialists ROWE Racing with Klaus Graf and Thomas Jager at the wheel of its lead entry.
Aston Martin is represented in the SP9 class for the first time with a pair of factory supported V12 Vantage GT3s for Young Driver AMR. Darren Turner, Tomas Enge, Stefan Mucke and second-generation racing brothers Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck are among set to embark on the V12-powered car’s first 24-hour race.
Another entry that will likely get its share of attention is the Haribo Racing Team Callaway Corvette, driven by GM factory stars Richard Westbrook, Jan Magnussen and Tommy Milner, fresh off victory in last weekend’s American Le Mans Series race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Other ALMS regulars competing this weekend include Wolf Henzler, who will share the wheel of the No. 44 Falken Motorsports Porsche with Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger and Sebastian Asch. This entry is considered to be a likely dark horse pick, especially considering Henzler’s pole run in the opening VLN round of the season in March.
The 40th edition of the ADAC Zurich 24h-Race at the Nürburgring is no exception, with more than 170 GT and touring cars expected to take part in this weekend’s twice-around-the-clock German classic on the legendary Nordschleife circuit.
Spread across a whopping 20 different categories, ranging from production BMWs and Toyotas all the way up to full-blown GT4 and GT3-spec machinery, this year’s field is as diverse as it’s ever been, particularly in the premier SP9 class, which sees 31 cars representing different eight manufacturers that will be fighting for overall honors.
Defending champions Manthey Racing have returned with two top-line Porsche 911 GT3-R entries, a surprise move by the five-time winners, which has seen a decrease in factory support over previous years.
2011 race winners Lucas Luhr, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb are joined by fellow Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz in Manthey’s No. 11 Wochenspiegel machine, while Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long join the squad’s International GT Open pilots, Marco Holzer and Nick Tandy in the No. 10 Porsche.
Both of Olaf Manthey’s entries are expected to lead the Porsche brigade, especially on heels of back-to-back victories in VLN competition for Lieb and Jochen Krumbach, which has put the GT3-spec Porsche as one of the favorites for the 24-hour.
Another contender comes from sister brand Audi, which is well represented again with a total of seven R8 LMS ultras being fielded by five different teams.
It includes Audi Sport Team Phoenix, the sole factory squad this year, which sees Marcel Fassler, Christopher Mies, Rene Rast and Frank Stippler in the team’s No. 2 entry, with Stippler also listed in sister car of Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock.
The two Phoenix entries are bolstered with an equally strong lineup from FIA GT1 World Championship and Blancpain Endurance Series competitors Team WRT, with Oliver Jarvis joining Edwards Sandstrom, Andrea Piccini and Allan Simonsen at the wheel of the Belgian squad’s R8 LMS ultra.
With Schnitzer focusing on DTM this year, BMW is represented by a handful of works-supported Z4 GT3 efforts, including BMW Team Schubert, which will be carrying the factory colors this weekend. Dirk Muller, Jorg Muller and Dirk Adorf, winners in the opening VLN round this season, are joined by Uwe Alzen in the team’s leading No. 19 entry.
Blancpain runner-ups, Marc VDS, and FIA GT1 contenders Vita4One, will also be flying the flag for the Bavarian manufacturer, which scored outright honors here in 2010 with its GT2-spec M3s, but are no longer eligible for competition.
Dubai 24 winners Black Falcon are among the six-car Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 contingent, with Porsche Supercup aces Jeroen Bleekemolen and Sean Edwards teaming with Manuel Metzger and Ralf Schall in Black Falcon’s No. 15 machine.
Additional gull-winged Mercedes from Hankook Team Heico, featuring the driving strength of Bernd Schneider, Lance-David Arnold and Pierre Kaffer, are also expected to be vying for the win, as well as VLN specialists ROWE Racing with Klaus Graf and Thomas Jager at the wheel of its lead entry.
Aston Martin is represented in the SP9 class for the first time with a pair of factory supported V12 Vantage GT3s for Young Driver AMR. Darren Turner, Tomas Enge, Stefan Mucke and second-generation racing brothers Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck are among set to embark on the V12-powered car’s first 24-hour race.
Another entry that will likely get its share of attention is the Haribo Racing Team Callaway Corvette, driven by GM factory stars Richard Westbrook, Jan Magnussen and Tommy Milner, fresh off victory in last weekend’s American Le Mans Series race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Other ALMS regulars competing this weekend include Wolf Henzler, who will share the wheel of the No. 44 Falken Motorsports Porsche with Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger and Sebastian Asch. This entry is considered to be a likely dark horse pick, especially considering Henzler’s pole run in the opening VLN round of the season in March.
FIA GT Nogaro
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