Just five weeks until the Nürburgring 24 hours and the final VLN round before the big race is on tap this weekend. There are 188 cars on the provisional entry list with none less then 26 GT3 cars signed up and we expect the entry list to keep on growing by some cars come Saturday. There are some notable absentees due to the fact that there is a clash with the Blancpain Sprint Series and DTM Phoenix Racing won’t field an Audi R8 LMS this weekend.
Also missing from the entry list is the Uwe Alzen Automotive BMW Z4 GT3, teamboss Uwe Alzen is on duty at BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS sharing a car with Jörg Müller. The second VDS sees last race’s winner Dirk Adorf and Nicky Catsburg joined by Bas Leinders. After sitting out last round due to their ADAC GT Masters commitment Schubert Motorsport is back with their two Z4 GT4, all of their Nürburgring 24 drivers apart from Martin Tomczyk will turn laps this weekend. Just one BMW comes from Walkenhorst Motorsport this weekend, they suffered a nasty crash last race and haven’t gotten their second car ready to race again.
Also back for another race is Rowe – Racing, for the first time this year they are fielding two Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 and all of their eight confirmed drivers will be racing on Saturday. Fielding another pair of the gullwinged sportscar is Black Falcon where apart from Jeroen Bleekemolen and Hubert Haupt all of their N24 drivers will be driving this Saturday. Other SLSs come from Weiland Racing and CarCollection Motorsport, where among others former Le Mans Racer Horst Felbermayr is slated to drive.
Prosperia C.Abt Racing is once again fielding two Audi R8 LMS ultra, but we see some newcomers to the team in Niclas Kentenich, Richard Westbrook and Alexander Müller. They’ll join the previous announced Marco Seefried, Dominik Schwager, Christopher Mies and Christer Jöns. If and how Jamie Melo fits into their line up for the Nürburgring 24 Hours is still up in the air. Felix Baumgartner and the Audi race experience are back for another N24 prep race.
Richard Westbrook’s usual team Haribo Racing sees Hans Guido Riegel, Mike Stursberg and Norbert Siedler behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. The other usual suspects Falken Motorsport, Manthey Racing and Frikadelli Racing Team are all back for another crack. Frank Stippler has found a drive this weekend alongside Klaus Abbelen, Sabine Schmitz and Patrick Huisman in the Frikadelli 911. Falken Motorsport sees the return of Peter Dumbreck after his nasty crash during the Nürburgring 24 Hours qualifying race.
For Nissan the prep for the 24 hours is on in earnest with all three Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 signed up, all 12 of the previous announced drivers will take a turn this Saturday. Joining them on the grid is Aston Martin Racing with their V12 Vantage GT3 for Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner.
Soren Herweg
