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VLN - Run 6: 38.RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen: Star Wars
The beginning of the sixth round of the season was clearly dominated by the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Three teams, three of the V8 cars, were at the front, separated by just seconds after training on a sunny Saturday morning. The fastest lap was achieved by the ROWE SLS, which now wants to be called “ROWE Marketing GmbH”. Klaus Graf and Christian Hohenadel are at the wheel. Even though the time of the massive SLS GT3 is slowly coming to an end - this sixth round was Mercedes land!
Motorsport is a hot thing
Just ask Uwe Alzen about this race. Even now, many hours after his breakdown, he should still boil with anger. In the starting phase, he dueled, from two starting, with the starting driver of the SLS of team Black Falcon starting from three. Even though Adam Christodoulou denied any responsibility - in the end it was probably the touch on the starting lap that led to the failure of the Haribo-SLS. After the Alzen brothers had recently given Fourore a start-finish win, this time Uwe got no further than the Hatzenbach section. Its departure and impact there may have been the result of contact between the Haribo-SLS and the Black Falcon SLS.
A hot race from start to finish. Just ask the Manthey team. Their Porsche with starting number # 12 had a tire damage on the right rear. Driving back to the pit led to consequential damage which unfortunately developed into a veritable fire shortly before the Grand Prix track. The 19 Porsche 911 GT3 R started smoking and came back to the start and finish line, when entering the pit lane the rear was already on fire. A courageous effort by Frikadelli team boss Lynn at the fire extinguisher ensured the rear to cool down. The rest of the fire was immediately extinguished by the Marshal troops. This of course ended the race for the SP9 Porsche.
Or just ask the audience - because this Saturday the Eifel showed itself from its risk of sunburn!
Departure for low-flying aircraft
Little luck for the Falcon troop too. Starting the race from 4th place, there was also a very spectacular race for the spectators to see. After the Haribo-SLS with Uwe Alzen had left the Hatzenbach, they were temporarily in P2 and fighting for the top positions in close battles for position. However, third place, which was believed to be safe, had to be written off half an hour before the end of the race. A puncture on the Falken Porsche caused “slow” driving and so the Frikadelli team was able to achieve third place. They started from 5th place, but struggled with the race itself. In the meantime, the “raging meatball” threatened to slip out of the top 10 positions, but no real error or problem could be observed. The team “Nedschroef / structure-bau” with start number #168 also demonstrated a clean departure. Traveling in the vehicle: Peter Terting, Czyborra and hut smoke - and there was probably only smoke in the hut after the departure in the mine area!
Finest motorsport
As always, it could be seen within the cup classes. BMW M235i and Opel Astra Cup fascinate with tough, but mostly very fair duels on the track. In practice the fastest M235i was (Powered by Dunlop) once again the #666 with Weidinger, Ebertz and Schrey at the wheel. And the fastest M235i at the end of the race? The #666 again? No. This time it wasn't enough for the fast Scheid BMW in the BMW Cup. An accident caused a longer pit stop, but all the duct tape couldn't help - it was over after 18 laps. Victory in Cup 5 went to the “racing one” M235 with starting number 696 in the sixth race.
In the end, the “good star” of the Nordschleife won
Four hours after the start, two Mercedes-Benz SLS crossed the finish line less than 1.5 minutes apart, demonstrating once again: The Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 is far from being a thing of the past - even if the new AMG GT is showed up for the first race at the Nordschleife! There is still enough for a handful of Porsches at the Ring, thanks to excellent drivability and the stability of a tank! 😉 Until the next run, in a week – and then we’ll drive “six hours”!
All photos: SB-Medien, Stefan Baldauf / Robert Kah