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The 24h qualifier race wins the Z4 GT3 by Marc VDS.
While the competitors with the four rings, or those with the star on the bonnet, had to deal with the little technical kids and the wrath of the racing god, the four, supported by the factory and with top drivers, drove the BMW Z4 GT3 to places 1 to 4. In doing so, they gave a solid idea of reliability. But some race-watchers couldn't shake the feeling that they were actually attending a “performance”:
Racing vehicles are usually faster in qualification than in the race. The Mercedes-Benz SLS GT AMG from HTP stamped an 8: 20,835 in the Eifel circuit and secured pole position for the first 24-hour qualifying race. In the race you couldn't get past 8: 30,773. Or the much-noticed Audi R8 with the starting number 502. In training, the 8: 25,503 was enough for the second starting position, in the race only an 8: 29,684 was then possible. It was different with the BMW teams and their Z4 GT3. An overview of the four vehicles:
- # 19 Schubert BMW with Werner, Müller, Luhr and Sims - in training an 8: 31.192 in the race then in the fastest lap with 8: 32,058. In the finish place 3
- # 20 Schubert BMW with Klingmann, Baumann, Hürtgen - an 8: 31,192 in training (no typo, actually exactly the same speed as the # 19!) And then an 8: 30,719 in the race. At the end 2
- # 25 MarcVDS BMW with Martin, Alzen and Wittmann - 8: 31,765 in training - then 8: 28,007 in the race much faster. RACE WINNER - 1st place
- # 26 MarcVDS BMW with Leinders, Palttala, Adorf - in training an 8: 36,855 - in the race then with an 8: 32,214 also much faster on the road - Fourth of the race!
Camouflage, deceive, trick
You can draw some opinions from the simple numbers. One thing is clear: before the 24-hour race starts in June, tacting is part of the program from all manufacturers. Nobody wants to lower their pants completely - too much fear of an alleged disadvantage by the BOP (Balance of performance). And while the Schubert Z4 with the start number 19 adhered to the (supposedly internal) marching route and certainly did not let the pants fall - the two Marc VDS rather showed what is really in the BMW Z4 GT3. One should not forget: Last year, the BMW Z4 GT3s in qualifying drove just over eight minutes twenty.
The race itself
In theory, 51 vehicles could have started the race. For some of the teams, the weekend of the qualifying race was only intended as an additional test from the start. Of the 47 vehicles, 38 vehicles have passed the finish line after six hours. The spectators around the track experienced a rather unusual Nürburgring race. Started in a starting group, the field of top vehicles (SP9) pulled away from the rest of the field within a few minutes. In the lead, Maximilian Götz started the race in the HTP SLS with a little zigzag drive down the start and finish straight. In the course of the first few hours, the top was clearly achieved by the SLS AMG from Black Falcon and HTP, as well as the Audi R8 from G-Drive Racing (Rusinov, Ortelli, Sandström, Müller Nico) and the Prosperia C.Abt R8 (Mies, Jöns , Brother-in-law). Exciting rounds with sometimes tough fights and never missing door handle contact were offered.
By the middle of the race, the Nissan GT-R of the Schulze brothers also found more and more racing speed and pulled fast laps over the Eifel circuit. With his fastest lap of 8: 29,468, the sumo racer has not only impressed me.
Meanwhile, the BMW Z4 GT3 had put out their own one make cup and drove the field in the first deliberate parallel flight behind. The not here full Lotte race was driven, was clear in the pit lane all.
But the rushing Mercedes and Audi should not get through without problems. When the HTP-SLS started from the pole, a bonnet bracket broke and forced it to retire. The long-battling C.Abt R8 had to give up after 22 laps due to a gearbox problem.
Even the fast Schulze Nissan did not want to experience the race end on the track and was parked in the pit after 28 laps with a faulty turbocharger.
Thus, the braked Elan, but impressive reliability driving BMW Z4 GT3 came to a presumably unplanned occupation of the podium. Place 1 to 4 and thus all started Z4 stood in the end at the top. With Uwe Alzen sitting on the winning vehicle of Marc VDS a top driver who otherwise uses his own BMW Z4 GT3 and also convinced last year on the Schubert Z4 with an 8: 22 in training.
Why the Z4 were 10 seconds slower this year - although the race track was never as empty as in this qualifying race - will probably remain a secret 🙂
24h-Pre - teams at a glance:
The “VIP vehicle” of the BMW M235i Cup
With at the wheel of the 330 PS strong Cup vehicle the ex-motorcycle professional and today's sport1 moderator Alex Hofmann. The interesting thing about a cup is the comparability of the vehicles. All Cup vehicles also drive the same Dunlop racing look. Here, as with the Toyota GT86 and the Opel Cup, you can clearly see the performance of the individual drivers.
Starting number 235 starts from place 28 in the race and finished the 6-hours race on 16.
Mazda Motorsport MX-5
At the wheel of the Japanese racer turn Wolfgang Kaufmann, Teruaki Kato and Owen Mildenhall. The MX-5 starts in the class V3 (production cars) and went from place 47 in the qualifying race. The most important thing about the result: The car drove through the finish. Because, just minutes before the end of the MX-5 race seemed to end, strange noises and slow ride drew attention to the racer. But the little Japanese held on. At the end with place 30 a decent result retracted!
STL Sport Liechtenstein Golf GTI
The SP3 T is home to the thick-cheeked gulf. The team from Liechtenstein, with the drivers Johann Wanger and Stefan Tribelhorn, went from P31 in the qualifying race, but retired after 5 laps with a technical defect. Better luck in June!
Nissan GT-R nismo GT3
The powerful-looking Nissan GT-R of the Schulze brothers gets better from race weekend to race weekend. With an 8: 29,468, the two brothers showed that they also drive the cars themselves, which has potential in the GT-R. A turbocharger damage ended the otherwise decent performance.
GetSpeed Performance 997 GT3 CUP
The Porsche flags were held high on the ring by the GetSpeed Porsche and the Haribo Porsche. Olaf Manthey came without a vehicle to the 24h qualifying race from Mauspath.
The faster of the two GetSpeed Porsche (with Osieka, Jans, Schornstein) finished in 7. The #60 shown in the picture with Bour, Haezebrouck and Henry became 11. The Cup-Porsche run in the class SP7.
Hyundai Motor Genesis V6
Hyundai takes motorsport seriously on the endurance track in the Eifel and took the opportunity of the additional run to qualify the drivers in the Genesis Coupé. Starting the race from position 21 on the grid, the coupé was over after just as many laps.
Marketing stunt - Felix Baumgartner in the Audi R8 LMS ultra
Much discussed at the ring. But the number 502 clearly caught media attention. That alone could explain the idea behind Felix Baumgartner's commitment. But Felix Baumgartner also spoke at the press conference of a boy’s dream that he is realizing by working on the ring. There was no official comment on whether two vehicles were actually wrecked on the Nordschleife in the preparatory phase. The fact is: While more than 60 seconds were missing in training, Felix Baumgartner could still score 9:02 in the race. Which is still a long way from the times of the rest of the professionals on this vehicle - but you will see how far the stratospheric jumper can still develop. As for the number of photos taken, Felix Baumgartner should have already secured pole this weekend.
