With victories of the Frikadelli-Ferrari #30 (Race 2 / Sunday) and the GetSpeed-Mercedes-AMG #2 (Race 1 / Saturday), the last qualifying before the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring (18th to 21st May) ended. The omens for an exciting climax to the endurance season on the legendary Nordschleife are good after the thrilling weekend, as the sporting chances at this 24h Prologue were even: All makes represented in the top category put exclamation marks on the two races of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers this weekend. In the four-hour race on Sunday, four makes were in the top four at the end. The winning Ferrari 296 GT3 with Earl Bamber, Nick Catsburg, David Pittard and Felipe Fernandez Laser was separated at the finish by 1.935 seconds from Adam Christodoulou / Daniel Juncadella in the second-placed GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG #2, while Tim Heinemann and Martin Ragginger in the Falken Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R #44 finished third.

There was jubilation in the victorious Frikadelli team after the second race of the Qualifiers weekend, because the top spot on the podium was a successful conclusion to the 24h preparations: "We had a great weekend without any problems, and we also learned a lot for the 24h race. And of course the victory is the crowning glory. That's how it can stay," Nicky Catsburg was pleased, and Earl Bamber added: "Super! That was a really good race for us. Nicky did a good qualifying and then put in a very good first stint. Perfect preparation for the big 24h race in May." The runners-up were also delighted with their podium finish, having lost a car in an accident at the NLS round the weekend before the Qualifiers. Driver Adam Christodoulou summed up, "It was a great weekend for us. Especially after the last race, which was a complete disaster for us. At first it looked like we wouldn't be able to race at all this weekend. It's a miracle that the team and Mercedes-AMG were able to finish a car. Yesterday was a dream: pole position and victory. Today the start was not so good, but now we are second. We had a good strategy."

Pole sitters could not defend top position
In the top qualifying session, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars of Falken Motorsport (#33) and Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport (#24) had taken the first row of the grid, but were unable to defend their position. Right from the start, the #30 Frikadelli Ferrari pulled ahead and set the pace at the front until the first pit stop. The role of the leader of the 911s was taken over by the runners-up of Saturday's race. The Manthey-Porsche 911 GT3 R #911 was permanently in the leading group and ended up in fifth place. Kevin Estre analysed the weekend: "We made a few steps forward, but we're still missing some performance. We want to fight for the win and that was not possible here. We're not miles away from the top, but there's still some work to do because we're not fast enough on the straights." Elsewhere, the action at the front was also even with alternating leads for Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Ferrari.

Saturday race: GetSpeed-Mercedes ahead of Manthey-Porsche
Already on Saturday evening, the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers had seen the first race run over two hours. Despite the compact distance, the evening race demanded a lot from the teams and their drivers, because as darkness fell, changeable weather conditions made for difficult track conditions. The GetSpeed duo Adam Christodoulou / Daniel Juncadella coped best, taking the narrow victory in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 ahead of the two Porsches #911 from Manthey and Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport. In fourth place: the team of ex-DTM champions Martin Tomczyk, Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfenfeller, who in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II formed a spearhead for the Ingolstadt team this weekend. This role was then taken over by Kim-Luis Schramm and Alexander Sims in the Audi R8 #16 of Scherer Sport PHX in the race on Sunday: the Audi teams thus also showed themselves to be well sorted and competitive in the final 24h test.

24h Nürburgring: Hot preparation phase for fans and teams
The 24h Qualifiers also marked the end of the phase of preparatory races in which the teams and pilots were able to test their strengths and weaknesses in competition. Now the final phase of preparations begins, in which the cars are meticulously maintained before they return to the Nürburgring on the Ascension weekend (18-21 May). Many fans who are planning their trip to the giant festival of motorsport probably feel the same way. Traditionally, they already populate the camping areas around the world's most beautiful race track in the days before the sporting programme begins. The weekend will kick off with the Adenauer Racing Day from 4 p.m. on Wednesday (17 May), when teams and fans will meet in the afternoon for a big come-together in the racing city at the Ring. From Thursday to Sunday, the wheels will finally turn - and those who want to be there live can secure their ticket in advance. All information is available at www.24h-rennen.de/ticketbestellung on the official homepage of the event. It also offers all other important news and information for visitors.