At the ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal race, Falken Motorsports once again impressively proved that the Porsche GT3 team in the Nürburgring Endurance Series suits the long distances. David Pittard and Joel Eriksson celebrated the first victory for the new Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) on the Nordschleife in midsummer temperatures ahead of Dennis Fetzer and Martin Ragginger in the sister car. However, the second-placed Falken Porsche was excluded from the classification after the race because the setting angle of the rear wing did not comply with the regulations. Second place went to Patrick Assenheimer, Marcel Marchewicz and Tim Neuser in the Schnitzelalm Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Third place went to Phil and Ben Dörr in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
Frank Stippler secured the second pole position in a row for Scherer Sport Team PHX in qualifying. In the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, the veteran lapped the 24.358-kilometre combination of Grand Prix circuit short circuit and Nordschleife in 7:54.210 minutes. Behind them followed a colourful mix of brands in the other positions: BMW, Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, BMW and Mercedes-AMG. In the opening phase, Stippler then fought a duel worth watching with Axcil Jefferies in the Ferrari 296 GT3 from racing one. However, the Scherer Audi remained on the track after a puncture and retired. "We already had these problems at NLS4 and now have to check exactly where the cause lies," Stippler stated. Jefferies and Christian Kohlhaas were classified sixth in the end. Starting from second position, the Walkenhorst-BMW suffered a technical defect in the steering after 15 laps. The NLS4 winners Christian Krognes and Jakub Giermaziak also had to retire early.
While the competition stumbled, the two Falken Porsches relied on consistency. After a Code 60 phase at the end of qualifying, Fetzer and Ragginger were only 20th on the grid. However, the duo quickly made up ground in the race and were already in second place behind Pittard and Eriksson after the first pit stops. "That was a perfect race," said Pittard, who crowned his debut in the Falken Porsche with a victory straight away. This year, the Briton was part of the Frikadelli squad that took victory in the 24h race at the Nürburgring. "The team welcomed me very well and I felt very comfortable in the Porsche straight away. The fact that we are now winning as well is mega." Eriksson confirmed, "We had a real rocket today!"
No shift in the championship
The leading drivers at the top of the Nürburgring Endurance Series standings continued their winning streaks at the ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr Cup Race. The two Adrenalin Motorsport Team Motec trios - Daniel Zils, Oskar Sandberg and Philipp Leisen in the BMW 330i and Yannick Fübrich, Sven Markert and Nils Steinberg in the BMW M240i Racing Cup - lead the championship after five races with 79 points. Eight points behind are second-placed Heiko Eichenberg, Fabio Grosse and Patrik Grütter, who are competing for SRS Team Sorg Rennsport in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. The trio prevailed in a thrilling finish in CUP3 against Moritz Oberheim, Marius Rauer and Finn Zulauf in the AVIA W&S Motorsport Cayman. In third place in the championship are Marcus Willhardt, Michael Bohrer and Gerrit Holthaus, who won the V2T-FWD class in the Hyundai i30N Fastback. With its first win of the season, the number three Falken Porsche has taken the lead in the NLS Speed Trophy. The medienkraftwerk Junior Trophy is led by Adrenalin driver Nils Steinberg (BMW M240i Racing Cup).
12h Nürburgring: Formula 1 cars on the Nürburgring Nordschleife
The second season highlight of the 2023 Nürburgring Endurance Series already follows at the beginning of September. On 9 and 10 September, the 12h Nürburgring will take place as two independent 6-hour races. On Saturday, things will get legendary at the Red Bull Formula Nürburgring. As part of show runs, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, among others, will drive Formula 1 cars on the Nordschleife. As a current Formula 1 driver, Yuki Tsunoda will also take on the challenge of the 'Green Hell'. The 23-year-old Japanese will be driving a Honda NSX GT3 Evo. Further highlights will be announced shortly.
Combination weekend tickets for the Red Bull Formula Nürburgring and the 12h Nürburgring are available for 59 Euros (children up to 14 years 29 Euros), day tickets Saturday for 39 Euros (children up to 14 years 29 Euros). These tickets take you to the event area in the Müllenbachschleife (Saturday only), to the open grandstands at the Grand Prix circuit, to the exclusive spectator areas Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten as well as to the paddock, the pit lane, the starting grid and the motorsport experience museum ring°werk.
Schnitzelalm driver Assenheimer was happy about second place: "The team has had a long dry spell. That's why the podium is doubly valuable. It feels good." Marchewicz confirmed that even professional racers are affected by the hot temperatures: "That was quite a hot number today. But first and foremost, I'm glad we finished the race."
Behind third-placed and winners of the SP9 Pro-Am classification, Mike David Ortmann and Maxime Dumarey in the PROsport-Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Nico Otto and Benjamin Leuchter steered the fastest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to the finish. The duo from Max Kruse Racing thus also won the highly competitive CUP2 class ahead of Ben Bünnagel, Noah Nagelsdiek and Hendrick Von Danwitz in the service of BLACK FALCON Team IDENTICA.