The countdown has started: the ADAC 24h Race is casting its shadow ahead. The traditional race on the longest race track of the world captivates the whole of the motorsport family. The Ring rocks. A lot of emotions can be felt at the Eifel circuit when the about 160 cars with all kinds of different concepts will start their uncertain journey towards the Green Hell. Right in their middle are the well-known teams of the VLN endurance championship Nürburgring and they all are perfectly prepared for this challenge. Many experts have the VLN teams such as Manthey Racing, Black Falcon, Phoenix, Konrad Motorsport, Car Collection, GetSpeed Performance or Falken Motorsports on top of their list when they discuss the candidates for the prestigious overall victory.
At the ADAC Qualification Race already, the VLN teams have delivered a good promotion on their own account. Walkenhorst Motorsport and ROWE Racing shared all of the top three positions at this last test race before the 24h Race to take place on the weekend of the Feast of Corpus Christi (20 to 23 June). The dominating car was the BMW M6 GT3. Christian Krognes, David Pittard and Nicholas Yelloly took the victory ahead of Jesse Krohn and John Edwards as well as Connor de Philippi, Tom Blomqvist and Mikkel Jensen. The Porsche 911 GT3 R of Frikadelli Racing with drivers Romain Dumas, Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell moreover finished fourth, followed by the fastest Mercedes-AMG of Black Falcon driven by Dirk Müller, Patrick Assenheimer, Gabriele Piana and Yelmer Buurman who finished fifth.
Sven Müller, who competed last year for Falken Motorsport, is now sitting in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of the Frikadelli Racing Team. Müller specifically remembers his lap in the top qualifying: “That was most probably the toughest lap of my life at the Nordschleife. I felt having breathed only twice during that lap as you have to go beyond your limits in each corner if you wish to set a fast lap. On the other hand, though, you are proud and you have a lot of fun – because this is one of the very rare moments in which you are alone on the Nordschleife, without any traffic and you can push throughout the whole of the eight minutes driving.”“
Müller wishes to finish in the top
In consideration of his participation in the “fastest meatball of the world”, Müller is happy as can be and he is well expecting a surprise to be provided by the team around team principle Klaus Abbelen: “I have a very good impression of Frikadelli. It may look easy from the outside when the team gathers in the paddocks for a barbecue. It is a cool, relaxed atmosphere. On the other hand, the team is working incredibly hard. I am very optimistic. We are well-positioned and, with that little bit of luck, we will be able to finish in a top position.” Müller’s colleagues are the Nordschleife-experienced Matt Campbell, the four times 24h Race winner Romain Dumas and Mathieu Jaminet.
Kelvin van der Linde has already experienced the great moment of a triumph at the Eifel circuit. He won in 2017 and will this time be sitting behind the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS of the Audi Sport Team Land. For the chase around the 25.378 kilometres long lap, he will be supported by the triple 24h Race winner Christopher Mies, DTM driver René Rast and Christopher Haase. “Our expectations are on a high level. New year means new luck – because that is also what you need at a 24h Race. The VLN went quite well for us, even though this is not reflected in the results. The reason was last but not least the weather, as we’ve had snow, rain and hail, as you know. You must be a good poker player. We thus made a turn around in the 2017 race when we took a last minute decision to run on rain tyres whilst the competitors were out on slicks. Last year, we took the wrong decision and finally finished only in sixth place as best Audi car. There are no safety car phases like in Spa-Francorchamps. So you have to go full attack all the time and you cannot play any tactical games”, says van der Linde.
Maro Engel, too, knows how to handle things. The driver of the Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon won the race in 2016 in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. He will once again compete together with Manuel Metzger and Adam Christodoulou. The fourth driver in the quartet for 2019 is Bernd Schneider. “The victory in 2016 was one of the most impressive moments in my career. It is really hard to win this race. The competition is very close, the weather plays an important factor, it gets to the point from the very first minute. The term ‘toughest car race of the world’ really describes the reality correctly. My target is to repeat this win. This is one of the absolute highlights for all of us – if not at all the highlight of the year. We finished second in 2018 and now we wish to climb up one step more on the podium. The great thing in relation to the 24h Race is that nobody is able to predict the result.”
Adorf bets on BMW as overall winner
It is not only Dirk Adorf who has selected BMW to be his top favourite at the 47thedition of the classical long-distance race. “Mercedes is currently nowhere part of the forecasts, they are below the radar waves. I believe that a BMW will be the winner. It’s their turn again finally. In the rain, I see Porsche in the lead due to the combination with the tyres.”
The triple VLN Champion will once again be active as commentator in the pit lane, as expert for RTL Nitro and as driver in the 24h Race. Together with the current VLN Champions Philipp Leisen, Danny Brink and Christopher Rink, Adorf will drive a BMW M4 GT 4 in class SP10 for the Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport. During his chase around the circuit, he will comment the action live from behind the steering wheel. “On Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, I will complete only five or six laps. I cannot do more due to my various other tasks at the track. My team will hence have to proceed to two extra stops. The 24h Race is something very special. I hope that I will be able to convey this fantastic feeling to the many viewers at home. I wish to help them to understand what at all is happening there at the Ring”, says Adorf.
Jens Klingmann, who will drive the BMW M6 GT3 together with Peter Dumbreck, Stef Dusseldorp and Alexandre Imperatori, does not necessarily see himself in the pole position for glory and honour. “BMW seems to be in a good starting position after the victory at the 24 Qualification Race – but this does not mean a lot. In 2015, we won the Qualification Race but we were not however the winners at the 24h Race. Compared to the previous years, BMW has entered more vehicles. To be the only BMW competing with Falken tyres has both advantages and disadvantages. We are able to choose from the available specifications the one which suits us most. The test work, though, is not spread over several cars so that we may be proceeding at a slower pace in this respect compared to others. We seem to have a slight advantage in cold conditions. On the other hand, we may need to still catch up a little in the rain. The common target is that, after 2010, it will again be a BMW on top of the podium – I would of course be very pleased if this were our car then.”
Peucker and Unteroberdörster switch
It is, however, not only within the top group that hard fights for victories are going on. The two youngsters Finn Unteroberdörster and Lars Peucker even change both car and team for the 24h Race. Peucker is normally competing in the VLN with Nico Otto in the Cup5 in the ‘Eifelblitz’ of Johannes Scheid. The BMW M240i Racing Cup is now replaced by a Toyota 86. Unteroberdörster, too, changes from the Renault Megane RS in class VT2 to complete the team of TMG United in class SP3 with Alex Fielenbach, Adrian Brusius Peucker himself. “If nothing unexpected happens, it is our target to fight for the class win which is definitely possible with our car”, says Unteroberdörster, who has already taken a class victory and a second place in the VLN 2019. “I can only stress that point. Last year, we were unlucky with our accident, it took one hour to repair the car which is difficult to make up. We will attack again this year”, adds Peucker who is part of TMG United for the second time at the 24h Race. He, too, has this year already scored two second places in his VLN class.
