Real Eifel local heroes are the winners of the ADAC 24h-Qualirrace. After six hours of racing and 41 laps, two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs driven by Frikadelli-Racing (Barweiler) were able to prevail: Patrick Pilet (FRA), Frederic Makowiecki (FRA), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Dennis Olsen (NOR) were at the end of an exciting race ahead of their team-mates Mathieu Jaminet (LUX), Nick Tandy (GBR), Earl Bamber (MYS) and Matt Campell (Stuttgart). Third were the pole setters of the Phoenix team, which is also located close to the Nürburgring: Michele Beretta (ITA), Frank Stippler (Bad Münstereifel), Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Vincent Kolb (DEU) crowned a successful race weekend with their Audi R8 LMS GT3. For the teams, the race weekend was the final battle of strength at the place where the highlight of the Nordschleife season is scheduled to take place from 3rd to 6th June with the ADAC TOTAL 24h Race. For this reason alone, balancing the balance of power was just as much a focus for them as the intensive test under competitive conditions: After this last opportunity, all the participants have to do is prepare their cars perfectly right down to the final wheel nut to fight for victory and seconds in the Nordschleife classic.

“Today, for the second time in a row, we have won a double at the Nordschleife”, said Frikadelli rider Maxime Martin after the fall of the finish flag. “This is perfect, of course. This weekend was completely different from the conditions at the NLS races. This was very important for the preparation of the ADAC TOTAL 24h Race. We drove a clean race and learned a lot. ” The flawless work was the key to success, because the teams were extremely close together and there were fierce position battles right up to the last minute of the race right across the starting field. At the same time, cars from almost all manufacturers represented in the starting field collected kilometers in the leading group and showed that the competitors are fighting with their sights open. “That was a successful prologue for the ADAC TOTAL 24h Race”, said race director Walter Hornung. “The more than 30 cars in the top classes showed great, balanced motorsport and once again proved that endurance racing at the Nordschleife is something very special. Now we are looking forward to the season highlight in June with even more action in the fight for the overall victory.”

The teams also used the ADAC 24h Quali race to optimise their setups and – thanks to the spring weather – to test their tyres for the forecast temperatures in June. “Today’s temperatures are the highest of the season so far, and it is important for us to collect this data.  

This is crucial in terms of tyre performance at the 24h Race”, said former DTM champion Martin Tomczyk, who drives one of the BMW M6 GT3s in the team of previous year’s winners at Rowe Racing. His assessment of the balance of power was clear after the weekend: “It’s incredibly tight – we’ve seen that in the last NLS races, and it’s now confirmed again.” Driver colleague Thomas Jäger, who took the wheel in the fastest Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the qualifying session, shares the same horn: “In order to analyse the strengths and weaknesses in detail, we will certainly have to take a closer look at the data after this weekend. But you can see that the competitors are all close together. Especially when you see the cars in the flock, this becomes visible. The last adjustments of the BoP were a good step. ” Ernst Moser, team manager of the Phoenix Audi #11, which started the race from Pole, knows: “We are very close to the goal of what the regulation experts achieved with the BOP.

Porsche is strong on the road – but they’re not just driving away from the rest of the field. That’s how I like to race. ” Clearly, the Porsche teams were highly satisfied: “The Porsches are currently well positioned”, said Frikadelli team boss Klaus Abelen, adding: “We have done the best job so far.” Other team leaders see the same thing: “At the moment, it looks like Porsche is doing very well”, said Torsten Schubert, whose BMW team has made a strong impression in the previous NLS races. “But that also applies to Audi and Mercedes. I think it’s going to be exciting between the four brands. Our M6 also works properly. ”