Mercedes-AMG will gun for its first victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in nine years next month with a pair of AMG GT3s run by Team GetSpeed.
The German partner team is AMG’s only true contender for the overall at the ‘Ring 24 this year (last year, six AMG GT3s were entered), which is set to take place on the weekend between the Le Mans 24 Hours and Spa 24 Hours.
It will field two cars in the premier SP9 PRO category. The first is the #14, which will be shared by Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz and race in a Bilstein livery.
The second is the #17 (featured) that will be driven by Ralf Aron, Lucas Auer, Adam Christodoulou and Mikaël Grenier.
It will race in a “PRPL Beast” design that combines elements of the legendary “Beast of the Green Hell”. The choice of base colour refers to the term “Purple Sector”.
“We are travelling to the Nürburgring with great ambition and a clear goal: to secure Mercedes-AMG’s third overall victory in the history of the 24-hour race,” said Christoph Sagemüller, the head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.
“Since our quadruple victory in 2016, we have repeatedly proven our competitiveness with our Mercedes-AMG GT3, strong driver line-ups and well-thought-out race strategies.
“We have always been a serious contender and have impressively underlined this with numerous podium finishes. But it has been nine years since our last overall victory – it is time to change that. With this mindset, we are travelling to the Eifel region this year.”
In addition, Team SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm will enter a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the SP9 PRO-AM class and a Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the SP10 class, adding to AMG’s attack in the race.
Kenneth Heyer, Jannes Fittje and Jay Mo Härtling will take turns at the wheel of the #11 GT3. The fourth driver will be announced shortly.
In the SP10 class, the team is relying on an experienced quartet: Tim Neuser, Reinhold Renger, David Thilenius and Guido Wirtz will be at the start in the Mercedes-AMG GT4.
“The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring stands for emotion, tradition and pure competition,” added Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing.
“With GetSpeed, we are fielding two strong performance card – despite the particular challenge posed by the tight schedule of the three major 24-hour classics at Le Mans, the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps.
“SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm is also competing with a promising line-up of drivers in the SP9 PRO-AM and SP10 classes. Everyone involved has worked hard over the past few weeks. I am looking forward to the event and wish all teams and drivers a successful and safe race.”
Images courtesy of Mercedes-AMG
