The Nürburgring Endurance Series starts its fourth race of the season on Saturday. A world premiere is in the offing. The new BMW M4 GT3 will be making its first race appearance. For the first time this year, spectators will again be able to follow the Nürburgring Endurance Series live on site. Tickets for the experience in the grandstands are already sold out. However, for all those who want to follow the race live on race day, the coverage and streams on the Nürburgring Youtube channel will be available as usual from 08:15 onwards, starting with the german livestream. The starting lights will turn green at 12 noon.
The entire motorsport world will be looking towards the Nürburgring on Saturday lunchtime when Jens Klingmann and Sheldon Van Der Linde contest the first race with the BMW M4 GT3. The roll-out of the new car took place less than a year ago, on 18 July 2020. To date, the BMW team has completed more than 14,000 test kilometres - equivalent to more than 70 hours of track time - to put the successor to the M6 through its paces for racing. Now the first kilometers under real racing conditions will follow. "I'm incredibly looking forward to the premiere of the BMW M4 GT3. For me, this closes the M6 chapter and opens the new M4 chapter," says Klingmann. "The race entry already serves as preparation for 2022, when we will also compete in the Green Hell with the finished race car. The Nordschleife is always an important point in terms of development, because it has its own charm and pitfalls. For me, it's a great honour to be part of the first race."
Growth in the GT3 class SP9
The BMW M4 GT3 does not yet have GT3 homologation at the test stage and will therefore compete in the specially designated SPX class. The GT3 class itself is well represented with 16 cars. Audi R8 LMS, BMW M6 GT3, Ferrari 488 GT3, Lamborghini GT3 Evo, Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 - there is hardly anything left to be desired. A new team from Italy will be taking to the Nürburgring Nordschleife for the first time in race four: Dinamic Motorsport from Reggio Emilia near Modena. The team attracted attention with a third-place finish at last year's 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps. The drivers, however, are no newcomers to the Ring. Michele Beretta finished third in the 45th NIMEX DMV 4-Hour Race 2021 together with Nicki Thiim in the Phoenix Audi. Adrien De Leener last competed in the NLS in 2019 with IronForce.
GT3 drivers make school
Youngsters in GT racing are also finding their way to the Green Hell again. Jusuf Owega from Cologne and Swiss driver Ricardo Feller will start for Team Mathol Racing in a Porsche Cayman S. On his way to the Nordschleife licence (DPN), Feller, who competes in the ADAC GT Masters for Land-Motorsport, already took the first step at the third race and celebrated a class win in VT3. Owega, driving for Phoenix-Racing in the German GT Championship, celebrates his Nordschleife premiere.
MSC Adenau drivers celebrate home race
There is also growth in the smaller classes. For example, Marcel Senn and Oliver Füllgrabe are bringing a Seat Leon to the start for the first time this year in VT2 - with 22 touring cars, the most heavily populated class. The duo will start under the sponsorship of the organising MSC Adenau just like rent2drive-FAMILIA-racing with two Porsches and a Renault, Manheller Racing with two BMWs, Wagner Tuning Team Mertens Motorsport with a Hyundai i30N, Teichmann Racing with a KTM X-Bow GT4, X85racing with a Renault Clio or Ken, Ludo and Marc Stessens from Belgium, who will bring their Ford Mustang to the start in the H4 class for the first time.
The Nürburgring Endurance Series livestream will bring the action from the Green Hell to fans' homes on the Nürburgring's Youtube channel. The broadcast starts at 08:15. The qualifying session from 08:30 to 10 a.m. will decide on the positions for the start at 12 noon.
© Nürburgring Endurance Series / Daniel Reinhard