The Nürburgring Endurance Series really gets going on 1 April at the NIMEX 47th DMV 4-Hour Race. Entries for 141 vehicles have been received by the organising racing community of Düren, 30 of which are in the GT3 class SP9. The fans can look forward to thrilling motorsport - entertainment is the order of the day. Tickets are available from 20 Euros, children up to 14 years of age have free admission. Those who are not on site can follow the race day in the Green Hell from 08:15 onwards in the livestream.
The range of participants in the NLS is huge - in more ways than one. In the NLS, reigning DTM champion Sheldon Van Der Linde in the BMW M4 GT3 of ROWE RACING will meet rapper Smudo in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Four Motors Bioconcept-Car. One of the Fanta 4 legend's fellow competitors is Tom von Löwis of Menar - the oldest driver in the field. The veteran from Reutlingen is now 75 years old, but is still in top shape and full of energy. His counterpart is Ben Dörr. At just 18 years and two months. The scion of the Frankfurt-based sports car dealer family of the same name shares the cockpit of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with Théo Nouet, who finished second in the ADAC GT4 Germany in 2021 - at that time, by the way, as Ben Dörr's competitor. His brother Phil Dörr will be driving the GT3 version of the British super sports car in race two.
As far as the successes of the drivers in the NLS are concerned, the gap is also wide - and in a positive sense. On the one hand, there is Jürgen Nett, who will be competing in the Volkswagen Scirocco fielded by mathilda racing - Team LAVO Carwash. The driver from Mayen was the eleventh champion in the Endurance Cup at the Nürburgring in 1987, from which the NLS emerged. Opposite him are last season's reigning champions: Daniel Zils and Oskar Sandberg, who will start together with Philipp Leisen in the BMW 330i of Adrenalin Motorsport Team Motec, as well as Sindre Setsaas, who shares the cockpit of the same car with Michael Schrey and Ranko Mikatovic in the service of FK Performance Motorsport.
The Nordschleife captivates racers from all over the world
Further contrasts result from the drivers' travel routes. The Briton Alex Wright resides in Wiesemscheid, just 4.5 kilometres from the Ring. He will contest the race in the Hyundai i30N of Keeevin Sports & Racing. Home sleeper is also David Ackermann, who will be competing in a Porsche Cayman GTS with his team Rent2Drive. At home in Döttingen, his route to the ring is just five kilometres. The two Australians Jordan Love and Joshua Burdon probably have the longest journey - from "Down Under" to the Eifel. Love shares the cockpit of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein with the Indian Arjun Maini and Hubert Haupt. Burdon takes turns in the Toyota Supra GT4 with Edoardo Liberatori from Italy and Martin Rump from Estonia. By the way, the production-based sports car from Japan is entered by the Hong Kong-based team KCMG - pure globalisation, which is also reflected in the participants' countries of origin, as a good third of the drivers come from foreign countries near and far.
Production-based touring cars meet full-blown racing cars
The different vehicles ensure that there is never a dull moment on the track. They range from the fan-favourite Dacia Logan with around 200 hp to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with up to 548 horsepower. The latter will be fielded by the Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed, among others, which will be taking part in the 2023 event for the first time with two well-staffed vehicles. Maro Engel, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella will share the #9 car, while Adam Christodoulou, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller will take turns in the #12. Audi Sport Team Land is also contesting its first race of the season. The racing team from the Westerwald around Wolfgang and Christian Land is known for the fact that poker playing in the run-up to the 24h race is absolutely not one of their strengths. So spectators should definitely keep the trio of Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Patric Niederhauser in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II on their minds.
There is also a breath of fresh air beyond the professional segment of the GT3 class SP9. Christian Kohlhaas and Jody Fannin will pilot the Ferrari 296 GT3 from racing one in the Pro-Am category for the first time. Michael Heimrich, Lorenzo Rocco and 26-time NLS race winner Arno Klasen will enter the race with an Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II. The équipe vitesse is responsible for the entry.
Next to SP9, the class of production cars up to 2,000 cc with turbo and front-wheel drive is the second strongest class. 17 vehicles from a wide range of brands will be competing. Models from BMW, Hyundai, Mini, Opel, Renault and Volkswagen are represented. There is a real splash of colour in the same class with rear- or four-wheel drive: Here Richard Jodexnis, Sophia Menzenbach and 'Ben Herper' will compete with a Toyota Supra from TOYO TIRES with Ring Racing against an armada of eight BMW 328i and 330i. It will be interesting to see whether the team around Uwe Kleen can make up ground on the strong competition over the course of the season.
Dinner is served - get your tickets now!
Tickets for the second race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series are available for 20 Euros (children up to 14 years free of charge) online and at the box offices. This will get you into the open grandstands at the Grand Prix Track, the exclusive spectator areas Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten as well as the paddock, the pit lane, the starting grid and the motorsport experience museum ring°werk.