Walkenhorst Motorsport celebrates victory at NLS 2

As in the first qualifying of the NLS season, the BMW M4 GT3 with starting number 34 dominated the top-class field. The outstanding performance of Jakub Giermaziak and Jesse Krohn was rewarded with the victory under difficult weather conditions on the Nordschleife.

Nürburgring. The Nordschleife showed its most exciting side on Saturday. The weather conditions and the associated track conditions demanded the highest level of skill from the drivers at the second Nürburgring long-distance series event.

Walkenhorst Motorsport had already shown at NLS 1 that the BMW M4 GT3 can lead the field. Unfortunately, the pole position went unrewarded in the first race. This should change in the second 4-hour run. The #34, driven by Jakub Giermaziak and endurance veteran Jesse Krohn, showed its class on wet roads. In qualifying, the duo placed fourth on the grid for an optimal starting position. The #35 sister car followed in 16th place with Thomas Neubauer and Jens Klingmann. Both vehicles started for the first time in the new Yokohama design, which was presented a few days earlier.

Right from the start, the first starting group demonstrated that the right choice of tires was crucial on the partially drying track. In exciting duels and with a very good pace, Jakub Giermaziak and Jesse Krohn dominated the field of 132 vehicles. The black and white flag allowed the team to triumph after 27 laps with a sensational lead of 21 seconds over the runner-up. The #35 BMW M4 GT3 also improved on its original grid position and crossed the finish line in 12th place overall.

Victory with 30 Pro vehicles in the run-up to the 24-hour race marks a special event for Walkenhorst Motorsport. The last overall win was achieved in July 2021. It is also Walkenhorst’s first triumph in the Nürburgring Endurance Series with the BMW M4 GT3.

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The Hyundai i30N with Micah Stanley, Ben Barnicoat and Alexander Connor was strong in qualifying. They finished second in the VT2 class, while the #466 was piloted to fifth qualifying place with Jarno D’Hauw, James Kell and Tazio Ottis. Aris Balanian, Florian Weber and Ace Robey qualified for ninth place on the grid in the SP10 field.

The #470 and #466 finished fifth and seventh in their class, respectively. The BMW M4 GT4 also came through the race with similar consistency – the trio finished the race in sixth place.

After the positive results of the first two races of the season and the dominance in NLS 2, Walkenhorst Motorsport is now preparing for the 24-hour classic. The next NLS run will take place on April 15th.

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Jesse Krohn: „I’m very happy with the result from the weekend. I’m delighted to be working with Walkenhorst Motorsport again and I’m proud of the work done by the team. A big thank you also goes to Yokohama for the great tires. We were able to keep up with the leaders in all track conditions. It’s also great to share the car with Kuba. He is a great and very fast driver! The race was a good start, that’s how it can continue.”

Jakub Giermaziak: “I am very happy for the team and for Yokohama. We had the pace in NLS 1 too, so we deserved this win all the more. Our BMW M4 GT3 was definitely one of the fastest vehicles in the field and we didn’t allow ourselves any mistakes. We were able to try out a lot over the weekend and thus prepare ourselves perfectly for the next races and especially the 24-hours of Nürburgring.”