The seventh round of the TMG GT86 Cup at the Nürburgring finished with a surprise and earlier than expected. At 15:35 hours, 25 minutes before the scheduled race distance of four hours, the race was stopped with the red flag as, due to an accident in the area of Fuchsröhre (nobody injured), continuing the race would have been too dangerous. At the moment when the red flag came out, the Toyota Swiss Racing Team was in the lead of the TOYOTA Motorsport one-make cuo, but the regultions state that the classification will in this case be established based on the results at the end of the lap before the race was stopped. The Belgian Team Pit Lane – AMV Sank Vith thus secured a one-two win for their cars number 531 and 532. Another surpruse was the third position for the team of AM Motorsport. The drivers of Toyota Swiss Racing Team and of Milltek Racing had dominated the race for long periods but, at the point of time when the race was stopped, had dropped back due to long pit stops and technical problems and were finally classified in fourth and sixth places respectively.
Following the saying that you should use the chances when they are there, the Team Pit Lane – AMC Sankt Vith took the opportunity and secured their success in this seventh round of the season. “We were not able to go the pace of the two leading cars, but we had a fast and trouble-free race. And we were ready when our competitors encountered some problems. That’s motorsport“, was the summary of Team Principle Olivier Muytjens. The victory was secured by the two US Americans and guest starters John Uglum and Grant Maiman. They both are experienced sports car drivers and had previously already been able to gain experience in racing at the Nordschleifen in some races. They both made their debut in the TMG GT86 Cup and managed to score a class win right away.
“Finally, luck was on our side today,“ said Alexander Müller, AM Motorsport driver and Team Principle happily regarding the second result on the podium for his team in the season. “Our car ran perfectly for a long time and we actually had a good race. But just on the lap when the race was red-flagged, we also got some technical problems and just made it over the line and into the Parc Fermé,” said Müller who joined the TMG GT86 Cup with his team only this year.
Due to this surprising result, the battle for the title in this TOYOTA one-make cup remains a thriller. This weekend, championship leaders Milltek Racing took ten points for finishing fifth and two for the pole so twelve points in total just like the Toyota Swiss Racing Team took for their fourth place. Milltek Racing thus defends their lead with now 115 points ahead of the Swiss team (now 106 points) with a gap of nine points behind. So, the final two rounds of the season promise to become a true final in the battle for the title.
Nico Ehlert, Principal Engineer Customer Sport: “Once again, the participants in our cup have provided extremely exciting racing action over long periods. It’s a pity that the two leading teams who had a superb battle about the lead both dropped back with technical problems. Congratulations to the Team Pit Lane – AMC Sankt Vith which deserved the win with their constant fast lap times. I am likewise very happy with third place for AM Motorsport. During the running of the season, the team has really improved a lot, they have been working hard and were rewarded today with this top result.“
