Denne helgen er det klart for et av årets mest prestisjefylte langdistanseløp da 24-timersløpet på tyske Nürburgring går av stabelen foran 200 000 tilskuere og flere norske førere. Christian Krognes, Dennis Olsen og Anders Buchardt kjører alle toppklassen GT3, mens Oskar Sandberg kjører GT4. Les mer i denne pressemeldingen fra Krognes sitt team Walkenhorst Motorsport.
The first absolute highlight of the season is coming up for Walkenhorst Motorsport – the racing team will start with five cars at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring.
The ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring is one of the absolute highlights of the season for Walkenhorst Motorsport. The racing team from Melle in Lower Saxony will enter five cars in the endurance classic in the Eifel. The team has also set itself the goal of fighting for overall victory.
“We were only able to reel off a manageable number of race and test kilometres on the challenging Nürburgring-Nordschleife in preparation, but we are nevertheless going into the race fully prepared and with all our experience. I can already promise our fans that we will be on the attack and, in particular with our Pro-Aston Martin Vantage, will clearly have our sights set on the overall podium. We also reckon we have a good chance of a top result in the other classes,” says Managing Director Niclas Königbauer.
The Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with starting number #34 will be driven by the two factory drivers Nicki Thiim and David Pittard, who won the race last year. The driver quartet is completed by the proven Nordschleife experts Christian Krognes and Kuba Giermaziak, who have already claimed many victories on the traditional circuit. “We are very proud of our line-up with Nicki, David, Chris and Kuba – now it’s time to translate this expertise into a top result. We are looking forward to the 24-hour classic and are ready!” explains Niclas Königbauer.
“It’s one of the most important weeks of the year! I can hardly wait to be back at this great event,” says last year’s overall winner David Pittard. ” It’s fantastic to be racing the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo on the unique Nordschleife and I’m very grateful to the Walkenhorst engineers, mechanics and my team-mates for their hard work in preparation. I’m highly motivated and can’t wait to get back in the Aston Martin on Thursday.”
Two-time ADAC GT4 Germany champion Mike David Ortmann, who won the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy last year, will be competing in the #35 Vantage GT3. With long-time Walkenhorst Motorsport driver Chandler Hull, Patrick Assenheimer and Benjamin Mazatis, three other powerful drivers will be competing in the SP9 PRO-AM class.
Patrick Assenheimer, who is competing for WMS for the first time this year, has the most Nordschleife experience on the car. The veteran is looking forward to the 24-hour race with great anticipation: “I’m looking forward to the Nürburgring 24 Hours! I think we have a good chance of being among the front runners in the PRO-AM class. If we remain fault-free and drive through without any problems, we can also go far up the overall standings.”
The #36 Aston Martin will be driven by four experienced GT3 drivers. Christian Bollrath, Anders Buchardt and Stefan Aust will join team founder Henry Walkenhorst at the start.
Henry Walkenhorst is looking forward to the upcoming endurance race with great anticipation: “Ever since the team was founded, it has always been our goal to win the big 24-hour endurance classics. We achieved this at Spa in 2018, but so far we have been chasing a podium in the 24-hour race on our home motorsport circuit. We are confident that we can change that this year. We have worked hard throughout the team to ensure that we are as well prepared as possible for the race, and our new partner Aston Martin Racing has also given us a lot of support. In addition, I am of course happy to be able to take the wheel of the GT3 myself at this fantastic event.”
“I’m delighted to be returning to my old team Walkenhorst Motorsport after many years,” said Stefan Aust, looking forward to the endurance classic. “The team is incredibly strong and has already proven that on so many tracks. I’m also looking forward to the new challenge with the Aston Martin. The team has already done some good development work. The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring has always been something special for me, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”
Walkenhorst Motorsport will also field two BMW M4 GT4s in the SP10 class for homologated GT4 cars. Nico Hantke, who competed successfully for the team in the ADAC GT4 Germany last year and is contesting the ADAC GT Masters with WMS this year, will share a car with Tobias Wahl, Arias Balanian and Jörg Breuer.
“I’m delighted that we’ll also be competing in the SP10 with two powerful cars. We have a good combination of fast and experienced Nordschleife drivers in the cars and therefore the best prerequisites for a top result,” says Managing Director Jörg Breuer.
Tobias Wahl, who has a lot of experience with various GT4 cars on the Nordschleife, has set himself high goals for the race: “I’m really looking forward to a successful 24-hour race with Walkenhorst Motorsport in the strongly contested SP10 class. We have a good driver line-up and want to be among the front runners.”
Managing Director Jörg Breuer will also be behind the wheel of the second BMW M4 GT4 with starting number #192. Florian Wahl, Andreas Ziegler and Jean-Christophe David complete the car’s driver quartet.
“I’ve been dreaming of taking part in this race for 20 years and I’m very happy to have the opportunity to join the Walkenhorst team for this adventure with a perfect car for the Ring,” says Jean-Christophe David, who will be taking part in the 24-hour classic for the first time after preparing for the start with WMS. “It’s been a long preparation and I can’t wait to experience these unforgettable moments of motorsport!”
The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring will start on 1 June at 16:00. Once again, a huge crowd of spectators is expected in the Eifel, which will create a special atmosphere on the 25.378-kilometre race track. Prior to this, the starting positions will be determined in three qualifying sessions on Thursday and Friday.
The entire race will be broadcast live on NITRO on German free-to-air TV again this year. The race will also be streamed in full length with German and English commentary on YouTube. All qualifying sessions will also be broadcast in full on the YouTube stream.