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Welcome to the live blog for the qualifying race for the 24-hour race 2016
Nobody would get the idea and go on a marathon route without training. Training is part of motorsport, like the award ceremony, like winners and losers, like the smell of gasoline and brake pads. But before the fight for the winner's podium starts, this training must be done. At the Nürburgring, the prologue to the 24h race will take place for the third time this Sunday. Less than a month before the “Green Hell” twice around the clock, the teams can use the qualifying race on the one hand as a dress rehearsal and on the other hand, the first 30 places in the top 3 qualifying will be awarded. The six-hour race will start at 12 noon, my-auto-blog will be accompanying the race with a live blog.
The most important information is available in this article. (constantly new updates!)
[divider] [/divider]Mercedes-AMG GT Team HTP wins the Prolog race for the 24h race 2016
With a “splash & dash” of the Haribo AMG GT 15 minutes before the end of the race, the lead went back to the HTP Mercedes-AMG GT with starting number 30. The time penalty for an offense in a code 60 zone of the Porsche with starting number # 912 was 335 seconds. This finished the podium for one of the two guys from Zuffenhausen used by Porsche Team Manthey. Car number # 911 crossed the finish line in P4. Two Mercedes-AMG GT and a BMW M6 GT3 from Team ROWE (# 23) share the podium.
An exciting prelude to the 24h race in late May. We are looking forward to more hot motorsport!
... full race report will follow ... read the live blog again ->
[divider] [/divider]Update: 17:30 pm
The main thing Nico is doing well!
A bitter departure in the Hohenrain chicane. A rollover, a massive impact. The # 9 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT protects its driver Nico Bastian, but the car itself should be a case to be “written off”. Without being able to know what exactly happened so far. You can see from the crash and the consequences how safe the modern GT3 racers are!
[divider] [/divider]Update: 17:20 pm
punishment is needed
Job message for the start number #912. A penalty for the Porsche 911 GT3 R for an error in a CODE 60 phase. This ends the fight for the podium for the best placed at that time.
Update: 17:15 pm
Zack done
That amounts to a top result for the Zakspeed Nissan GT-R. Hard to believe, but the number 24 is more than comfortably in the top 10. 45 minutes before the end of the race, the Nissan GT-R has only made three pit stops and is in P5. With a best time of 8: 22.045, the Godzilla is really fast in the hands of the Zakspeed team. The cockpit of the GT-R is shared by Strauss, Gassner and Still.
Top 5, or not?
Update: 16:57 pm
Another hour of racing on the clock. Both the HTP and the HARIBO-AMG GT have each made four pit stops. The HARIBO Mercedes-AMG GT is currently 2:27 minutes short of the lead. 7 seconds behind the two AMG GT3s, the two Porsches. The # 911 and the # 912. The race will be really exciting again at the end. Who has to go back in for the “splash & dash”? Who can add more? Who has the bigger knife between his teeth?
Update: 16: 30
When the golden bear knocks twice
90 minutes until the end of the race and again it is the # 8 Mercedes-AMG GT that has taken the lead. The Haribo-Mercedes-AMG GT with Alzen, Arnold, Götz, Seyffarth at the wheel. However, an increasingly courageous driving style is noticeable. A hitchhiker with the Walkenhorst BMW M6, an incident with the Nissan GT-R - the HARIBO team has the knife between their teeth. You can also see that on the watch: an 8: 20.242 !!
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Update: 16: 18
Another hour and 45 minutes to the end of the race. The race calms down. Like the weather. No more hailstorms? Right now it looks like we will finish the race in dry conditions. From time to time the sun winks through the clouds. It will be more peaceful. Also on the racetrack.
After 28 laps, 12 of the 69 remaining vehicles are currently on the same lap. At the top, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 fight against Bergmeister and Cairoli's Porsche.
Update: 16: 00
The race god of the able-bodied
The first two thirds of the prologue race were not particularly pleasant for the “Frikadelli group”. Technical problems with the new Porsche 911 GT3 R mean that there is a long break in the garage. With one lap behind, the race could continue to be tackled.
4 hours after the start of the race they had driven back into the Top 20. However, the times with a 8: 26 were not yet on the level of the top burner. However, the new Porsche seems to need a little more coordination work here. Hardworking and dedicated, as the band around Abbelen and Schmitz are known, despite the backlog, they made an ambitious round of the rounds. Above all, motorsport is when you never give up. We like the sportsmanship of the frenzied meatball.
[divider] [/divider]Update: 15:50 pm
The "powered by Dunlop”Race Gallery
Dunlop is not only one of the major tire suppliers for the black gold of racing cars, Dunlop is also a partner of mein-auto-blog for the 24h race at the Nürburgring. This wonderful gallery with absolute highlights was presented in cooperation with Dunlop.
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Update: 15:25 pm
The best lap times at halftime
- Porsche 911 GT3R - 8: 25.144
- Audi R8 GT3 - 8: 22.957
- Glickenhaus SCG 003 - 8: 21.777
- BMW M6 GT3 - 8: 18.873
- Mercedes-AMG GT3 - 8: 18.608
Update: 15:15 pm
Gallery of outsiders
Of course, at the top you often share the “tools” that the major automobile manufacturers offer. The right vehicle class currently? The GT3, of course. Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche dominate the face with their works vehicles. You can see it again in this race. Whereby the hottest burner for the racetrack should currently carry the star in the grill. The new BMW M6 GT3s supposedly still have a little work ahead of them, Audi has taken a step back and Porsche’s 911 GT3R seems to have slowly reached its own system limit.
It is all the more gratifying when there are cars that are just different. Cars loosening the field.
The Nissan GT-R NISMO is a balancing act according to GT3 regulations. And that, even though the vehicle has now seen some racing series and was also on the Nordschleife already on the way. The Japanese GT3 is a mere change due to its massive appearance. Very fresh and very short-term enriched the field, has the team Zakspeed. There, too, you will now use the GT-R for the 24h race.
The varied picture of the 24h race is also joined by the Lexus RC, which is also available as a GT3 on the racetrack, and a very special car: The three-man Glickenhaus SCG drive around the race track in this race.
The strangest car, however, clearly comes from TOYOTA. A CH-R (SP2-T), a compact SUV, is sent to the race track by the Gazoo Racing team. Another pleasant change is the Ford Mustang from the MSC Adenau.
We'll take a closer look at the “outsiders” of the race track before the highlight of the year in a separate article.
[divider] [/divider]Update: 14:45 pm
The sun shows
Hail, sleet, rain and of course sunshine. The first half of the 6-hour race was already marked by changeable weather and tough fights on the track. The lead changed 9 times to half time. It was clear until then: The BMW M6 GT3 are absolutely in the music, but the strongest performance deliver the Mercedes-AMG GT. It does not matter if it is about the brilliant catching up of the HARIBO-AMG or the strong performance of the Black Falcon GT3.
Although Bernd Schneider can be quoted as saying: "The car is very good, but not yet perfect." - Well, that's why you compete in such a prologue race.
At the race half time, the field had already decimated neatly. Among other things, the TwinBusch brothers stretched out their legs in the camping chair. A wrong tire choice threw back the strikingly painted R8. The brothers then decided to give the new Audi R8 GT3 the planned daily mileage and retreated to the garage.
And the best time fell again in this race. This time an 8: 18.608 from the HTP Mercedes-AMG GT with start number #30
[divider] [/divider]Update: 14:30 pm
A strange situation on the Döttinger-Höhe has spoiled the Haribo-Mercedes AMG GT in the meantime, the top placement. From the onboard camera, it looked as if the driver Seyffarth had remained confused behind the WRT-R8, because there were previously double-yellow flag signals, but apparently no flag signals for lifting the caution zone. The following Black Falcon AMG GT # 4 take advantage of the situation. On the onboard footage you can clearly see a wildly gesticulating driver. We will try to resolve the situation later.
[divider] [/divider]Update: 14:00 pm
After 2 hours Abbelen hands over the “raging meatball” to Sabine Schmitz. At this point in time, the Porsche 911 GT3R was only 33rd in the overall ranking. There were some problems with the car and the resulting long downtime in the pit lane.
Update: 13:50 pm
For Team Walkenhorst, the first 2 hours were also an emotional roller coaster. While the BMW M6 (powered by DUNLOP) with start number #100 swiftly headed for the top group, 90 Walkenhorst BMW left the race after just over 2 minutes. The #101 in the area of mine with an accident, the BMW M235i with the #319 remained smoldering in the Breitscheid Bridge area. That's motorsport. Not always funny. But always exciting.
Update: 13:22 pm
After 90 minutes it was clear: the BMW M6 GT3s are not quite as slow as you had previously felt. From the underdog to the fastest lap time. Once again, BMW is playing on the piano keyboard of politics. At the beginning of the weekend, the M6 were still rather “manageable”, but the accelerator was probably released for the race. With a 8: 18.873 the ROWE # 23 BMW M6 GT3 suddenly belonged to the absolutely fastest in the race!
Update: 13:09 pm
The wild track conditions also played a trick on last year's winner with the four rings. Pierre Kaffer spoke of “incredibly difficult conditions” and a constantly changing race track. As a result, he had a take-off at Döttinger-Höhe and damaged his vehicle at the rear left.
Update: 13:00 pm
The man of the first 60 minutes? Clearly Uwe Alzen. No man went more focused and focused into the attack. The helmet must be quite large, because Uwe Alzen drove with a fat knife between teeth back at the top with place 2 (unadjusted to the pit stops).
Exciting, in the true sense of the word, the appearance of the Glickenhaus SCG P4 / 5. The only hybrid vehicle in the field. At the wheel, among others, the British journalist Chris Harris.
Update: 12: 46
After about an hour, the 6-hour Prolog race had already offered more than many other motorsport series over an entire season.
The fastest man in the field? Clearly: Uwe Alzen. With an 8:31 he was significantly faster than the rest of the field at that time. He had made a good 15 seconds to the top within 45 minutes. Meanwhile, things didn't go as well for the Porsche team. Both the “raging meatball” and the Wochenspiegel-Porsche had massive problems.
Update: 12: 30
Capricious weather. Then came the hail
Rule and hail, but not on the entire route, but - how could it be otherwise - only in some parts of the Nürburgring. Most of the drivers master this changeable weather without any problems. Meanwhile, Uwe Alzen bites his steering wheel and fights down the 30 seconds that the lathe operator had cost him.
Not everything went smoothly for the meatball team either. The team's 20 had to be in the pit lane just 911 minutes after the start of the race. Meanwhile, the Wochenspiegel-Porsche returned to the racetrack. The spin before the start of the race was due to a “highly motivated” start driver whose efforts to get the tires up to temperature were unfortunately punished with cold deformation.
The rain pulled over the entire course during the third lap. Time for rain tires? Almost all teams played it safe.
Update: 12: 05
"That's not how we imagined ourselves."
What a prelude. The weekly mirror Porsche Team Manthey still turned on the Döttinger height, before the start of the 6-hours race raus. And the HARIBO Mercedes-AMG GT with Uwe Alzen was at the wheel just as far as the Mercedes Arena. There was also a contact there. Uwe had to let the top field go.
The next failure was the #22 ROWE BMW M6 GT3, this stand with a broken front in the short connection. He had had the touch of the Haribo-Mercedes.
Update: 12: 00
The race starts wild!
It's cold in the Eifel, as always. But all the hotter, the top group for the qualification race. When the starting flag fell, the 69 starting teams started their 6-hour chase! Now it counts. And even before the starting flag fell, the Wochenspiegel-Porsche had said goodbye on the Döttinger-Höhe. And the HARIBO-Mercedes with Uwe Alzen didn’t get over the Grand Prix course unscathed.
..This is going to be exciting…
The starting drivers in the Top 10 are:
- P1: # 23 Maxime Martin
- P2: # 8 Uwe Alzen
- P3: # 1 Pierre Kaffer
- P4: #4 Maro Angel
- P5: # 100 Christian Krognes
- P6: # 29 Christian Hohenadel
- P7: # 9 Yelmer Burmann
- P8: # 30 Dominik Baumann
- P9: #912 Joerg Bergmeister
- P10: # 35 Michael Krumm
Update: 11: 30
Starting grid for the qualifying race for the 24h race 2016
In 24h qualifying, the times crashed in the second qualifying: After the first day of training made rain difficult conditions on the Nordschleife, the track dried up noticeably in the one-hour qualifying session on Sunday morning. Accordingly, the original best time of DTM record champion Bernd Schneider did not last. The Saarland native had set the fastest time on Saturday with 8: 53.384 Min. On Sunday, Maxime Martin in the ROWE-BMW M6 GT3 in 8: 19.017 Min. Was over half a minute faster on the 25,378 km track. Martin and his teammates Alexander Sims and Philipp Eng share the first row with the second-placed Haribo-Mercedes-AMG GT3 by Uwe Alzen, Lance David Arnold, Maximilian Götz and Jan Seyffarth. The six-hour race will start on Sunday at 12: 00. Live Stream, Rennticker and results are under www.24h-Raen.de.
At the beginning of the second qualifying, the Eifel was at its best - and at the end of its typical: on the drying track, the teams fought a thrilling battle for pole position, in which the best time was undercut again and again. It was only after the checkered flag had fallen that it became clear that Belgian Maxime Martin once again confirmed his reputation as a fast-paced Nordschleife specialist. He had driven the BMW M6 GT3 with start number 23 through the entire second qualifying session and was happy about the best time: "The lap was good. Only here and there were a few wet spots. Starting from the pole is always good. We'll see what it brings to the race. But we're here in the Green Hell and that's where a lot can happen. "And that's exactly how it was: Just in time for the second qualifying session, Hagel started.
Also the second fastest of the qualifying was a proven Nordschleife specialist: Uwe Alzen placed the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the Haribo Racing Team AMG in 8: 20.387 Min. On grid position two. "I am very satisfied with that," said the Betzdorfer afterwards. "I had to overtake another brand colleague in my fast lap. That cost me a little time. The conditions have become better towards the end. I wanted to drive one more lap, but then I was turned down. Unfortunately, the timing did not quite fit. But the front row one is fine. "Third in the qualifying were the best from Q1: Bernd Schneider, Maro Engel, Adam Christodoulou and Manuel Metzger in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the AMG team Black Falcon. They share the starting row with the Audi R8 LMS defending champion: Nico Müller, Pierre Kaffer and Mike Rockenfeller start the race from fourth on the grid for the Audi Sport Team WRT.
Update: 11: 00
Voices from the press conference
The 24h qualifying race sets the stage for the hot phase of the preparation phase for the ADAC Zurich 24h race. If many of the top teams cross the blades for the second time after the start of the VLN this weekend, then the true balance of power on the endurance classic could slowly become apparent. Or not? At the press conference prominent pilots took a look at the sporting situation and reported on the status of the preparations.
Nico Müller (#1 - Audi Sport Team WRT, Audi R8 LMS)
"Of course it is nice to be allowed to drive here with the number 1 on the car. The clear goal is to repeat our success of the previous year. But I think the competition has not slept over the winter, because there are many new cars at the start. The field seems to me very balanced and I am looking forward to a tough fight. It is certainly not a disadvantage that other teams have allowed themselves a little more development time. We work on every little part to be better than last year. The debut of our new car with the victory in the 24h race was certainly unique last year. For me, the 24h qualifying race is the first 2016 on the Nordschleife. We want to improve on this weekend details - be it in terms of set-up, or as regards the procedures. We focus on our thing and pay less attention to the competition. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's qualifying and especially to the 24h race. To get in the mood and lock myself up on the Nordschleife, I also spent some time at the Play Station. "
Jens Klingmann (#22 - Rowe Racing, BMW M6 GT3)
"Our car is the latest GT3 model, so maybe our approach is a little different from the other manufacturers. We only did one test last year, so every kilometer driven this weekend is good for the car and driving. The M6 is different than Z4. Each driver must therefore first adapt to the new conditions. Therefore, we do not see this weekend as a dress rehearsal, but as a big party. We have to vote a lot today and tomorrow in a short time. First the gross things are sorted out, then we go to the fine tuning. In this respect, a certain amount of time pressure is already on our shoulders. The Z4 was smaller, the M6 is bigger. This is noticeable especially in the busy traffic on the Nordschleife. Nevertheless, the driving experience is not so much different. The car has a very good aerodynamics, and I was surprised how well it already works. Since everything is new and still needs to be tested, we are not there yet where we want to be at the end. Of course, every BMW driver wants to compete in the 24h race and of course win. That means our GT driver squad will be further strengthened with Nordschleife experienced DTM drivers. "
Thomas Jäger (#30 - HTP Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG GT3)
"Due to the new competitive situation in the past year, we have seen that we can be successful here with a pure customer-sporting engagement, but that we may not be 100-certified in the future. That's why we decided to bring the so-called AMG performance teams to life. These are teams with special qualities who work very closely with AMG and HWA. In customer sport, we want to share a lot of knowledge with these teams to ultimately guarantee success for Mercedes. That's why we also turned off mechanics and data engineers for these teams, for example. We just want to make the most of the resources we have at AMG and HWA. Of course, that takes some time to get started. But I hope that proves that. It's hard to tell where our new car is currently under development, as the new 65 Millimeter Rule sets all teams up to new challenges. We're on the right track, as you've already seen at the VLN's first race. But we still have to fine-tune and still can not judge how competitive we are. 2016, we probably see here the largest performance density in recent years. The teams and the manufacturers have become extremely professional in recent years. It's going to be a very intense and tough race.
All photos: SB-Medien / Stefan Baldauf / Guido ten Brink