Phoenix Racing’s full-season pairing of Vincent Kolb and Frank Stippler delivered a first NLS win of 2021 in the fog-shortened season finale on Saturday, the race running to 3 hours and 15 minutes, but only after two cars that crossed the line ahead of the #5 Audi were penalised post-race.
Both the #4 Falken Motorsport Porsche of Martin Ragginger and Sven Mueller, and the #7 Konrad Lamborghini of Axcil Jefferies and Jordan Pepper received 35 second time penalties for overtaking in yellow flag zones, enough to promote the Phoenix squad to the win, the penalised pair dropping to second and third respectively.
That result also sealed the NLS Speed Trophy for the Phoenix squad, the win and no fewer than five further podium finishes enough to seal the title (not the overall NLS Championship) ahead of the #42 BMW Junior Team M6 GT3 which failed to finish the race after a clash in traffic put the car into the barriers.
The result saw yet another “what might have been” for the Konrad effort, the Huracan leading in the hands of polesetter Jordan Pepper, and then Jeffries before another yellow flag infringement saw the #7 serve a drive through, ceding the lead to Mueller.
“That was a pretty chaotic day, shortened qualifying, shortened race, for us it was also mixed. But, with a bit of luck and bad luck with the others, it was enough to win. After three and a half years of hard work, we were rewarded, ”said Kolb, happily about his first NLS success. Team mate Stippler added: “It was extremely bumpy for us today. I always got stuck in my last stint while the Lambo was just able to slip through. I am especially happy for Vincent that it still worked out in the end. It’s a nice development, he deserves it, even if you don’t really want to win like that. But, we’ll stay on the ball and maybe we’ll be able to do it on our own next year. ”
“There was a lot of action on the track. It was mega for the spectators, that was a cool GT3 race. If there should have been something, we have to look at it first. We were the first to cross the finish line, ”said Martin Ragginger. Teammate Sven Müller, who was able to work his way up from ninth to third right after the start, agreed with him: “We were particularly able to attack well at the start. The first stint was the best that I’ve had on the Nordschleife so far. A couple of kilometres of guided tours later were also very cool. It was an exciting race. Sometimes there is a yellow flag in the blind spot, but I don’t believe it until I’ve seen it on the onboard. ”
Jordan Pepper: “We accept the penalties, the stewards make the decisions. I am still very happy. Taking pole position and third place on my return to the Nordschleife is certainly not a bad result for the day. Big thanks to Axcil, who brought me into the car at short notice. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.”
