Nürburgring (GER). The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring was a challenging affair. Especially the demanding weather conditions in the first half of the race called on all the skills of the teams and drivers. Fans around the legendary Nordschleife got to see thrilling battles for positions throughout the race. For most of the AMG Customer Sport Teams, however the event, probably the toughest endurance race of the year, brought a lot of bad luck. For the Black Falcon car with starting number #5, on the other hand, the 24-hour race was largely trouble-free. Drivers Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal (KSA), Hubert Haupt (GER), Yelmer Buurman and Jaap van Lagen (both NED) convinced with consistently fast lap times and thus finished in fifth place overall.
Team Premio with starting number #33 also enjoyed a faultless 24-hour race. Philipp Frommenwiler (SUI), Kenneth Heyer (GER), Rob Huff (GBR) and Christian Krognes (NOR) started from 30th place on the grid on Saturday. In the race, the four drivers also remained in control in the difficult conditions on Saturday evening. With a very solid drive, the quartet continuously worked its way up through the ranks and brought its competition gullwing home in a very successful tenth place.
There was real misfortune for the ROWE RACING car with starting number #23, for which the 24-hour race came to an end approximately one hour before the finish. Klaus Graf, Christian Hohenadel, Nico Bastian and Thomas Jäger (all GER) had to park their car due to consequential damage. Up to that point, the team had several minor issues throughout the race, but had worked its way up to sixth place at the time of retirement.
Jaap van Lagen, Black Falcon: “Yesterday, I didn’t think that we would score a top 5 result. The teams out in front were very strong and the level was incredibly high. Nevertheless, we showed that you can make it to the front with a consistent and faultless way of driving. There is not a single scratch on our car, there were no problems whatsoever. Personally, I am really happy, because this is my first top 5 result in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.”
Philipp Frommenwiler, Team Premio: “We are super happy with tenth place! Our SLS AMG GT3 worked without any problems, we didn’t have the slightest issue. It was the first time for the four of us to race together in one team, so this is a great success in such a tough race. The entire team has done a perfect job. And now it is time to celebrate.”
Klaus Graf, ROWE RACING: “I had to turn into the pits because there were unusual noises coming from the right rear. After all the problems, it is incredibly sad for the team that we now still have to retire. They have all been working so hard.”
Jochen Bitzer, Head of AMG Customer Sports: “First of all, congratulations to the winners of this exciting race. Of course, we had hoped for a little bit more, too, but this year, the motor racing gods weren’t on our side. Symbolic for that probably was the massive bad luck for ROWE RACING with about one hour remaining in the race. Our sincere thanks go out to our teams for their continuing commitment in the preparation and their great work during this weekend. In any case, the lap times achieved by the AMG Customer Sport Teams have shown how strong the SLS AMG GT3 is. Congratulations to Black Falcon for their great fifth place and Team Premio for another top 10 result.”
Tobias Moers, CEO Mercedes-AMG: “This weekend, we have seen almost everything that is so typical for a 24-hour race. A top result in qualifying, miles in the lead of the race, but unfortunately, also many setbacks. I would like to thank all our AMG Customer Sport Teams for their sensational performance and their enormous competitive spirit. We have provided a very good show for the fans, both on the track and with our AMG Experience. Congratulations to Black Falcon and Team Premio. And, of course, heartfelt congratulations to the winners, Audi Sport Team WRT, as well as to BMW with the Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS and Porsche with Falken Motorsports.”
Further information about the race:
www.24h-rennen.de
