Drivers and fans of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie have had to wait eleven weeks. This Saturday, October 19, 2024, race action is finally back on the agenda in the 'Green Hell'. The teams in the traditional Nordschleife championship are just as hardy as the loyal spectators. Neither are deterred by mixed weather forecasts. The provisional entry list includes 126 cars and the 55th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy promises a thrilling race day, with the focus not only on the fight for victory on the day.
The winning team from this year's ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring is returning to the Nordschleife. Frank Stippler and Nico Bastian will be driving the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO 2 from Scherer Sport PHX. Among the main opponents are the two Falken Porsches, which have so far notched up four victories. Klaus Bachler and Alessio Picariello, as well as Joel Eriksson and Tim Heinemann, will be at the wheel for the 55th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy. After winning the 6-hour race, Dennis Fetzer, Michele Beretta and Jusuf Owega, driving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Team ADVAN x HRT, are also a force to be reckoned with. In addition, the two Audis from JUTARACING and équipe vitesse, a Porsche 911 GT3 R from Dinamic GT and the PROsport-Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be competing in the GT3 class.
Max Kruse Racing launches AT offensive
The team around football star Max Kruse and Benny Leuchter is taking sustainability to the next level at NLS5. Of the six cars in the team from Duisburg, five will start in the 'Alternative Fuels' class. In addition to the spectacular VW Golf GTI Clubsport 24h, which celebrated its NLS debut with a strong second place in the 6-hour race, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with starting number #105 will also rely on a sustainable Shell E20 fuel with 102 octane for the first time. For the first time, a fast refueling system will be used in the Max Kruse Racing garage for this car for testing purposes.
“This is an important step for the future,” explains VLN sports director Christian Vormann. ”The approval of these systems will enable our teams to work with individual fuel partners to advance sustainability in our series in the future. So we are no longer limited in the range of different concepts. The ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie is once again taking on a pioneering role as a technology-open championship.”
MKR will field two more VW Golf GTI TCRs and an 'alternative' Audi RS3 TCR. Three Porsches from Four Motors Bioconcept-Car, built by rapper SMUDO (Die Fantastischen Vier) and Tom von Löwis, will also be competing in sustainable motorsport at NLS5.
A preliminary decision in the championship is possible
With two races remaining, the fight for the championship is slowly but surely coming to a head. Four teams can still win the title. Joshua Bednarski, Lucas Daugaard and Moritz Oberheim lead the table with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS from AVIA W&S Motorsport. The trio took five class victories, including the 6-hour race, which earns more points, as well as a second place. If they manage another victory, they will be uncatchable in the standings.
In certain constellations in the remaining two races, the second-placed Daniel Merten and Joshua Hislop could still become champions with the Hyundai i30N of Team Mertens Motorsport. Steve Jans and Tobias Müller in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of the BLACK FALCON Team 48 LOSCH and Sven Markert, Ranko Mijatovic and Toby Goodman in the BMW M240i Racing Cup of the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhatten Wheels also have at least a theoretical chance.
The situation in the Junior Trophy, which is open to drivers born after January 1, 1999, is similar: Daugaard leads the standings ahead of Hislop and Goodman. In the production car category, Mertens Motorsport leads the standings. They have a nine-point lead over Jan-Piet Ooms, who races for SRS Team Sorg Rennsport in a BMW 330i (G20). There are still a number of permutations in which the championship will be decided.
Age is no barrier to racing speed!
The newly created Gentleman Trophy, which was launched this year, is set to be exciting. Drivers born in 1973 and earlier compete against each other. With 30 points still to be awarded, about a dozen drivers still have a chance of winning the title. Michael Eichhorn (Cupra, Auto Thomas by Jung Motorsport) is in the lead, ahead of Michael Tischner (Toyota Supra GT4, TOYO TIRES with Ring Racing) and Eichhorn's teammate Michael Winterwerber.
In the NLS Speed Trophy, the classification for the top cars, the #4 Porsche 911 GT3 R from Falken Motorsports is in first place. Its lead over the #911 Manthey EMA 911 is 18 points. However, since 'Grello' will not be competing due to a scheduling conflict, Falken can wrap things up with a third-place finish. Desiree Müller (BMW 325i, Eifelkind Racing) is leading the Ladies Trophy ahead of Flavia Pellegrino Fernandes (BMW 325i, Keeevin Sports and Racing), who won the classification last year. Both ladies are competing in the V4 class and the result is still open.
The Goodyear Wingfoot Award, which has been announced for the first time this year, is given to all vehicles across all classes that rely on Goodyear's black gold. The #50 Audi R8 LMS GT3 from équipe vitesse has a good chance of winning the title for the first time. Its lead over the two BMW M240i Racing Cup #650 and #651 from Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhatten Wheels is 116 points.
Tickets are available for €22 (children up to 14 years of age are free) and can also be purchased at the box office. These include access to the open grandstands at the Grand Prix circuit, the exclusive Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten spectator areas, the paddock, the pit lane, the starting grid and the ring°werk motorsport experience museum. The positions on the starting grid will be determined between 8:30 and 10 am. During the pit walk starting at 10:20 am and the visit to the starting grid starting at 11:10 am, fans will experience motorsport up close.