The race refused to settle down completely with one hour to go in the 42nd running of the 24 around the Green Hell. There was still a lot still to be decided in what is usually a wind-down period for the teams.
The #23 Rowe Mercedes, went into the garage for repairs to the back end, which was already a mess from the incident in the first hour. Those working on the car decided that taking the car out to the tent for the work would be necessary. It was sitting eighth when it went in, and unfortunately had to give up its spot in the top 10 due to the lengthy repairs.
Leading the race was still the #4 Phoenix Audi during the final 60 minutes. René Rast got in for the final stint after a quick check-up by the mechanics during its final routine stop.
Meanwhile down in the Black Falcon pits, the #1 also had a driver change, Jeroen Bleekemolen got out and handed over to Andreas Simonsen for his final drive of the race. The #1 was still on the lead lap, and just over three minutes behind.
The battle for fifth place continued throughout the hour, with the #007 Aston managing to get by the #20 Schubert BMW once again to get in the top five.
The pair stayed within a second of each other, flying through the forest and past traffic, creating some scary moments all the way to the flag. Outstanding defensive driving by five-time N24 winner Pedro Lamy held the Z4 at bay until the finish to give the guys in the Aston garage the reward of a fifth place for their efforts.
With under 10 minutes to go, the Rowe team confirmed that their #23 SLS was a late retirement due to the accident damage – heartbreaking that close to the end.
Taking the win was the #4 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra of Christian Mamerow, Christopher Hasse, Markus Winkelhock and René Rast. A faultless drive all the way through by the team and a well deserved victory.
Second was the #1 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Andreas Simonsen, Christian Menzel and Lance David Arnold. After their turn-one crash in practice, finishing second was a very satisfying result for the 2013 winners.
And third was the #22 Rowe Racing Mercedes SLS of Michael Zehe, Christian Hohenadel, Nico Bastian and Maro Engel. Staying in the fight throughout was eventually rewarded in the form of a podium for the perennially competitive VLN squad.
Full analysis to follow.
