Walkenhorst Motorsport’s hot preparation phase for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring has begun. The team is taking part in the ADAC 24h Qualifiers with five cars.
Walkenhorst Motorsport’s intensive weeks continue: Just a few days after competing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup and the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, the team from Melle in Lower Saxony is entering five cars (three Aston Martin Vantage GT3s, a BMW M4 GT4 and a Hyundai i30 N) in the ADAC 24h Qualifiers on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
“Huge praise to our team for preparing the cars in the few days after the races last weekend for the new outing”, says Jörg Breuer, Managing Director Walkenhorst Motorsport. “The repairs following the fire damage to the PRO-Aston Martin GT3 in Le Castellet were particularly time-consuming and caused us to work a few hours overtime. But the team is highly motivated and we would like to gather more data and important experience on the Nordschleife for the ADAC Ravenol 24h Race.”
The GT3 line-up will be led by the two Aston Martin factory drivers David Pittard and Nicki Thiim. In the #34 car, the two Aston Martin aces will start together with the proven Nordschleife experts Christian Krognes and Kuba Giermaziak. The objective for the 24h race is high: The four drivers want to fight for a podium result in the endurance classic for Walkenhorst Motorsport, so top preparation at the ADAC 24h Qualifiers is essential.
The two WMS ADAC GT Masters drivers Chandler Hull and Mike David Ortmann will line up on the #35 car. The driver quartet will be rounded off by Nordschleife veteran Patrick Assenheimer and Benjamin Mazatis, who will be driving a GT3 on the Nordschleife for the first time. Team founder Henry Walkenhorst will compete together with the ambitious and experienced drivers Stefan Aust, Christian Bollrath and Anders Buchardt in the third Vantage GT3 with the #36.
Walkenhorst Motorsport will not only be represented in the top class, but will also enter a BMW M4 GT4 in the SP10 class. The two Nordschleife experts Tobias Wahl and Aris Balanian – who already showed a strong performance at the season opener of the ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series with two top 5 finishes – will be deployed. Young driver Bennet Ehrl, who successfully completed the Permit Nordschleife with Walkenhorst Motorsport last year, will be the third driver.
The Hyundai i30 N in the VT2 FWD class will once again be driven by drivers who will be gaining their first experience on the Nordschleife under racing conditions with the production-based vehicle. Micah Stanley from Monaco, Joseph Warhurst from Great Britain and Frenchman Jean-Christophe David will drive the Hyundai.
“In preparation for the ADAC Ravenol 24h Race Nürburgring, the ADAC 24h Qualifiers are a fundamentally important part of our programme,” says Managing Director Niclas Königbauer. “We will complete our first race outing with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo on the Nordschleife and collect a lot of important data in the process. In the current phase, every racing kilometre is of great importance to us.”
The two four-hour races of the ADAC 24h Qualifiers will be part of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie for the first time this year. The races will start at 17:30 on Saturday and 13:00 on Sunday. Both races can be followed in the livestream on YouTube.
Foto-Credits: Swoosh Motorsport Communications