Walkenhorst Motorsport ends the Nordschleife season with two top positions

Jakub Giermaziak and Christian Krognes secured another top-5 placement at the last NLS race of the year. Walkenhorst Motorsport draws positive conclusions about the season and celebrates Speed Trophy victory.

Nürburgring. Walkenhorst Motorsport was represented with three vehicles last weekend at the season finale. On the #34 as usual with Jakub Giermaziak and Christian Krognes, the #35 was again driven by Dylan Pereira and Sami-Matti Trogen. This time the use of the pro cars was rounded off with the Hyundai and the strong drivers Jack Aitken, Manuel Maldonado and Bailey Voisin. Manuel and Bailey in particular have already taken the steering wheel of the Hyundai several times this year and have set themselves the goal of obtaining the permit for 2024.

The qualifying session was once again a bit complicated. Long yellow or code 60 phases only allowed the hunt for top times at the beginning. Fortunately, both Pro vehicles were on the track early and were therefore able to deliver good lap times in qualifying. The #34 recorded the second fastest time, the sister car #35 took fifth place.

The start of the race did not go smoothly. Dylan Pereira, in the #35, was spun in turn one through no fault of his own and had to chase after the entire starting group. Jakub Giermaziak also struggled in the #34. He dropped from second to fifth place and needed some time until the tires were at optimal operating temperature. At the beginning of the run there was a great four-way battle in which Giermaziak was also involved. Bumper to bumper they went over the Nordschleife. The Walkenhorst Motorsport driver was able to work his way up to second place thanks to an ideal pit stop strategy and establish himself in this position. Due to a slow puncture and a cracked rim, as it later turned out, the team was forced to advance the second pit stop by one lap. This circumstance led to a decisive disadvantage later in the race. Christian Krognes was always able to keep up with the leaders during his stint and determine the field with his performance. Shortly before the end of the race, the BMW M4 GT3 was in a very good second place overall, but had to come into the pits for a splash & dash on the last lap. This resulted from the early second stop and so the #34 fell back to fourth place.

Dylan Pereira and Sami-Matti Trogen delivered a great race in the #35 despite the spin in the first corner and finished the finale in sixth place overall.

The trio of the Hyundai i30N with the #470, consisting of Jack Aitken, Manuel Maldonado and Bailey Voisin, achieved victory in the VT2-FW. For this driver constellation it was the first time together in the Walkenhorst Motorsport permit vehicle. “As a team, we are very pleased that Bailey Voisin and Manuel Maldonado were able to successfully complete the permit,” said Jörg Breuer.

Walkenhorst Motorsport can look back on a very successful 2023 season. Thanks to the top performance of Christian Krognes and Jakub Giermaziak, five out of nine races were won. This is not only a team record, but also secured victory in the NLS 2023 Speed Trophy, of which the team from Melle is very proud.

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Christian Krognes: “P4 at the end of the season. A small rim problem, which unfortunately led to a gradual puncture in the third stint, ruined our chances of a podium, although we were pretty close in the end. Nevertheless, we can be very satisfied with a strong fourth place. My thanks for a great 2023 season especially goes to the outstanding teams at Walkenhorst Motorsport & Yokohama, as well as all my teammates.”

Jack Aitken: “We were able to finish my first race in the “Green Hell” with a class win. What an experience. Getting a permit for the infamous Nordschleife is not easy, and for good reason. However, I was very lucky to work with the Walkenhorst Motorsport team, who know exactly what they are doing. I drove the first half of our 4 hour race and managed to get us to the top of the class from P4 at the halfway point. My teammates were then able to take home class victory!”