The Mercedes-AMG customer sport teams having completed the usual warm-up session without any incidents, the final preparations for the ADAC TotalEnergies 24-Rennen at the Nürburgring are now underway. Sunny Eifel weather and a record crowd promise an excellent atmosphere around the season highlight in the “Green Hell”. Following a strong performance in Top Qualifying, the situation for Mercedes-AMG at the start of the 24-hour classic is promising. Raffaele Marciello (SUI) is starting the race from pole position for Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN while Maro Engel (GER) for Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed is alongside. Mercedes-AMG also holds the best starting grid positions in both the Pro-Am and the SP-X categories. Arjun Maini (IND) and Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN will start the race from first place of the Pro-Am class, Frank Bird (GBR) of Mercedes-AMG Team HRT is at the front of the SP-X class for the 24-hour race debut of the Mercedes-AMG GT2. At the same time, he is leading starting group 2 for the race, in which the #222 GT2 run by Mercedes-AMG Team Schnitzelalm and the #89 GT4 of the Haupt Racing Team are present as well. The six Mercedes-AMG GT3s are part of the first starting group. In total, 135 cars from 20 different classes will start the 51st running of the 51. ADAC TotalEnergies 24h-Rennen at the Nürburgring at 4pm. The event is broadcast in full by NITRO, Sporttotal and at ran.de.
The starting drivers for Mercedes-AMG in the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h-race at the Nürburgring:
Grid position 1: Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #4
Grid position 2: Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #3
Grid position 7: Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6
Grid position 10: Maximilian Götz, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #2
Grid position 13: Marcel Marchewicz, Schnitzelalm Racing #10
Grid position 18: Patrick Assenheimer, Schnitzelalm Racing #11
Grid position 33: Frank Bird, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #46
Grid position 38: Mikaël Grenier, Mercedes-AMG Team Schnitzelalm #222
Grid position 55: Tobias Wahl, Haupt Racing Team #89
“Of course, our hope and also our goal is to win the race. I am happy about the starting grid positions. First and second place are strong initial positions, especially as the 24-hour race really has become a sprint race in the past years. Therefore, the starting grid position meanwhile has become an important factor. Nevertheless, it isn’t a guarantee for victory and we mustn’t underestimate the opposition. I think that the other manufacturers have a huge potential and I am looking forward to fair and exciting motorsport. The impressive backdrop for it is in place. We are really lucky with the weather and the predicted number of fans shows that it will be one of the biggest races ever. There already was a lot of action during the past few days, also at our Fan Base. From that perspective, we can look forward to a great race. I am proud of our teams and drivers who have put in a top-notch preparation for this event and represent the AMG brand in an outstanding way.”
Christoph Sagemüller, head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
“It will be a long race. In the past, we often pushed at a very early stage which didn’t always have the desired effect. Therefore, we will now concentrate on getting a clean first stint in. Making it through the night without any incidents is crucial. When we are then in a good position tomorrow morning, everything is possible.”
Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #4
“We are happy that the action now finally starts. The grid positions with first and second place for Mercedes-AMG are super. We want to get a clean start and get into the race in a good way. Traditionally, there is quite some action in the first couple of hours. We want to be up there at the front, then find our rhythm and drive a good 24-hour race.”
Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #3
“Being allowed to start the race is an honour for me. Therefore, thanks to my team and my fellow drivers for the confidence. As usual in an endurance race, the strategy is to maintain our position first of all while taking as little risk as possible. At the end of the day, you can’t control everything, so I will just do my utmost.”
Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6
“Tenth place on the grid is a good initial position. Compared to last year, we are in a considerably better position. I was allowed to take the start here a couple of times already. The formation lap is always a dream. The atmosphere, the fans, you can’t compare it to anything else. There has never been such a large crowd, it will be a cool experience for everyone. That is a real boost. However, taking the start also is a huge responsibility. I have to keep the car out of trouble in traffic, which will be a considerable challenge, because I do expect a sprint race at the beginning.”
Maximilian Götz, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #2
“I feel well and I am happy that I am allowed to take the start. It is always unbelievable when you notice the atmosphere around the track during the formation lap. Nevertheless, we have to focus to get the tyres up to temperature. The field is strong, but our goal is to make up a couple of places in the first few hours. We have a good package, but we can only make it work when we manage to avoid any contact in the early stages. As outsiders, we want to extract the maximum from the car. When we manage to do that, we will automatically get to the front.”
Patrick Assenheimer, Schnitzelalm Racing #11
“Thanks to the team that gives me the confidence to start the race with the Mercedes-AMG GT2. We want to get the first couple of laps done in a clean way. We won’t take any too big risk. However, we probably will only see where we really are once the night is over.”
Frank Bird, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #46
