The Nürburgring will be the venue for the second ADAC Racing Weekend of 2024 next weekend (28th to 30th June). Fans can expect a varied program with eight series in the Eifel: GTC Race, Special Touring Car Trophy (STT), ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup, ADAC Graf Berghe von Trips Cup, Porsche Club Historic Challenge (PCHC), DMV Super Touring & GT Cup (STGT), DMV BMW 318ti Cup and VFV GLPpro will be hitting the sprint track.
The GTC Race has used the past few weeks to start with a new management team and a stronger field of 18 cars. Among the new additions to the field is Liqui Moly Team Engstler, well-known from the ADAC GT Masters, with the driver duo Pablo Schumm and Jannik Julius-Bernhart (both Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II). As GT3 table leaders in both race formats - the 60-minute GT60 powered by Pirelli and the GT Sprint format will be held as part of the GTC Race - the GTC support drivers Julian Hanses and Jay Mo Härtling (both Mercedes-AMG GT3) will come to the Eifel, where they will be looking to defend their top positions.
The STT is currently seeing an influx of participants and is expecting almost 30 cars next weekend. Stefan Wieninger (Audi R8 LMS Evo), who has won the last four STT races he has contested at the Nürburgring, will be joining the field. He wants to make life difficult for Oschersleben one-two winner Jürgen Bender (Chevrolet Corvette C7 GT3) and his rival Henk Thuis (Pumaxs RT). However, the overall leader is Bastian Hein, who is classified in division two with his BMW M4 GT4 G82. At the season opener, he climbed onto the overall podium once in third place and won his division in both rounds.
In the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup, in which all starters drive a standardized VW up! GTI, Mike Müller and Cedric Fuchs were both delighted with a trophy for first place at the first race weekend of the year. As Müller retired in the second race, Fuchs is currently listed in first place in the overall standings. However, Maxim Felix Dacher, who brought home two second places in Oschersleben, is lurking directly behind him, and Julian Konrad and Müller are not far away from the top positions either. Marco Kolb will also be making his debut in the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup at the Nürburgring: The 35-year-old is the new permanent Race Director of the junior racing series with immediate effect.
The ADAC Graf Berghe von Trips Cup is particularly popular with fans of historic formula cars. Formula 3, Formula Ford and Formula Opel cars from the years 1964 to 1990 in particular take spectators back to the days of motorsport long gone. The Graf Berghe von Trips Cup has already had one race weekend, which Davide Leone (Dallara F390 Alfa-Novamotor) and Alexander Weiss (Reynard 873 Alfa-Novamotor) left as winners. The PCHC also relies on historic racers, but these must come from Porsche. Klaus Horn (Porsche 911 GT3 R) has completed the season so far with a spotless record: He won all four races held. Jürgen Albert (Porsche 911 GT3 R) was able to challenge Horn, especially in Zolder, but when the final reckoning came, he had to settle for second place despite leading several laps.
The DMV BMW 318ti Cup is currently offering a thrilling battle for first place in the drivers' standings. Leon Hoffmann, who has collected just four points more than perennial champion Sebastian Vollak, is currently in the lead. And in third place, Peter Elkmann, who won his first race in the BMW 318ti Cup a few weeks ago, is waiting for his chance. Speaking of chances: equality of opportunity is a top priority in the Cup, as all starters drive a BMW 318ti. So far, the participants in the DMV STGT have completed two race weekends, with a double winner to celebrate in both Hockenheim and Zolder. Michael Golz (Lamborghini Huracan GT3) was unbeatable at the Motodrom in Baden, while Ioannis Smyrlis (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) repeated the feat a little later on the former Belgian Grand Prix circuit at Zolder.
Over 90 participants from six nations have registered for the VFV GLPpro regularity tests, meaning that the schedule includes two races for touring cars and one for formula and sports cars. There are also historic cars in the VFV GLPpro field; the oldest is a Ford Daytona from 1964, driven by Jürgen Weis. In the group of formula and sports cars, the Chevron B16, built in 1970 and driven by Carsten Behrens, has the longest history.
The weekend in the Eifel begins on Friday at 8:50 am with free practice for the VFV GLPpro. The first day will conclude with the end of qualifying for the GT60 powered by Pirelli at 16:40. On Saturday, the action on the race track starts at 8:05 am with the first qualifying session of the ADAC Graf Berghe von Trips Cup, while the DMV BMW 318ti Cup qualifying session from 5:30 pm to 5:50 pm is the last item on the day's program. The youngsters of the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup will kick off Sunday at 8:15 am with their second qualifying session before the DMV BMW 318ti Cup ends the second ADAC Racing Weekend 2024 with the finish of race two at 5:01 pm.