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ILMC: Imola 6 hour. LMP: Peugeot on Pole; GTE: BMW on Pole

2011-07-03T11:02:00.000+01:00

Anthony Davidson puts the #7 Peugeot 908 on pole for Imola!

Just one week after most of the top drivers were in action at the Nürburgring 24 h, there is another endurance marathon to run!

This time it is the 6 hour race at Imola, part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC).

After Audi's recent triumph at the circuit de la sarthe, it may have been coming here, expecting Peugeot to give way to them, but this was not the case, with Anthony Davidson taking pole by over 0.6 seconds in his 908 HDI.

Audi R18 #2 only qualified 4th on the grid behind the two Peugeots and the sister car

The grid ended up being P1+P3 Peugeot, P2+P4 Audi - and no doubt there will be another tight battle later on this afternoon as the race gets underway.

BMW locked out the top two places in GTE Pro in qualifying

In the GTE Pro cars, BMW took the top two positions on the grid, but with the top 9 cars in GTE being seperated in under a second, or top 10 if you include Patrick Long's stunning lap in the 2010 spec RSR he's running in GTE AM, it is set to be a close and exciting battle!

LMP Qualifying results

1 Davidson/Bourdais (Peugeot) 1m 31.736s
2 Fässler/Berhard (Audi R18 TDI) 1m 32.354s
3 Montagny/Sarrazin (Peugeot) 1m 32.732s
4 McNish/Kristensen (Audi R18 TDI) 1m 32.974s
5 Ragues/Moreau (Oak Pescarolo-Judd) 1m 34.746s
6 Jani/Prost (Lola-Toyota) 1m 35.047s
7 Belicchi/Boullion (Lola-Toyota) 1m 35.700s
8 Collard/Tinseau/Jousse (Pescarolo-Judd) 1m 35.996s
9 Cortes/Geri/Piccini (Zytek) 1m 36.084s
10 Beche/Thiriet/Firth (Oreca-Nissan) 1m 37.208s

GTE Pro Result Qualifying
1. Müller/Farfus (BMW M3) 1:44.468
2. Werner/Lamy (BMW M3) 1:44:683
3. Melo/Vilander (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:44:691
4. Makowiecki/Ortelli (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:44:725
5. Bell/Walker (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:44:730
6. Lietz/Lieb (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) 1:44:895
7. Fisichella/Bruni (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:45:130

8. Farnbacher/Simonsen (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:45:384

9. Pilet/Henzler (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) 1:45:467
10. Holzer/Goosens Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 1:45:767

GTE AM Result Qualifying

1. Long/Roda (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) 1:45.650
2. Cioci/Lemeret/Perazzini (Ferrari F430) 1:45:906
3. Rugolo/Jonsson/Krohn (Ferrari F 430) 1:46:216
4. Armindo/Naroc (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) 1:46:283

5. Bornhauser/Canal/Gardel (Corvette C6-ZR1) 1:46:614

FIA GT1 at Navarra - Qualifying Race - Magnificent Murcielagos master Navarra

2011-07-03T10:26:00.000+01:00

Magnificent Murcielagos master Navarra

All-inkl.com Lamborghini Murcielagos win the GT1 qualifying race in Nvarra

In the qualifying race at the Navarra circuit, for round 6 of the GT1 World championship, the two Murcielagos (#38, #37) of Winkelhock/Basseng and Schwager/Pastorelli of the all-inkl team cleaned up, taking the top two positions on the podium, with a 17 second gap to 3rd placed Marc VDS Ford GT of Baguette/Martin (#41)

The gap to third may have been less, if Martin hadn't made contact with the #23 Nissan GTR of Luhr/Krumm on the first lap!

Close racing as usual in the GT1 world championship

Frustration too for the sister Ford GT of Leinders/Hennerici (#40) which suffered an engine failure, causing it to retire, and also incur a 10 place grid drop, due to the number of engines already changed this year.

As always the finishing line up for the qualifying race is how the grid will line up for the championship race tomorrow.

Qualifying Race
Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap	Avg speed
1	38	GT1	Markus Winkelhock / Marc Basseng	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	1:00:33.245	36
2	37	GT1	Dominik Schwager / Nicky Pastorelli	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	1:00:36.549	36	3.304
3	41	GT1	Bertrand Baguette / Maxime Martin	Ford GT Matech	1:00:53.635	36	20.390
4	21	GT1	Jamie Campbell-Walter / David Brabham	Nissan GT-R	1:01:00.956	36	27.711
5	4	GT1	Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini	Aston Martin DB9	1:01:01.606	36	28.361
6	8	GT1	Darren Turner / Stefan Mücke	Aston Martin DB9	1:01:12.725	36	39.480
7	22	GT1	Peter Dumbreck / Richard Westbrook	Nissan GT-R	1:01:13.252	36	40.007
8	47	GT1	Dimitri Enjalbert / Michael Rossi	Corvette Z06	1:01:15.641	36	42.396
9	23	GT1	Lucas Luhr / Michael Krumm	Nissan GT-R	1:01:17.496	36	44.251
10	3	GT1	Clivio Piccione / Stef Dusseldorp	Aston Martin DB9	1:01:19.580	36	46.335
11	9	GT1	Christoffer Nygaard / Vanina Ickx	Ford GT Matech	1:01:29.012	35	55.767
12	40	GT1	Bas Leinders / Marc Hennerici	Ford GT Matech	53:07.390	31	7:25.855
13	20	GT1	Enrique Bernoldi / Nicky Catsburg	Nissan GT-R	41:09.607	24	19:23.638
14	7	GT1	Tomas Enge / Alex Müller	Aston Martin DB9	38:23.890	22	22:09.355
15	11	GT1	Mike Hezemans / Nico Verdonck	Corvette Z06	31:04.315	18	29:28.930
16	10	GT1	Yann Clairay / Antoine Leclerc	Ford GT Matech	22:09.567	13	38:23.678

How good were our predictions for the Nürburgring 24 hours?

2011-06-28T15:32:00.000+01:00

Before this year's 24 hour race on the Nürburgring, ThePitwall identified, and provided a synopsis on what it thought to be the cars in with a shout of victory - and then again identifying some potential dark horses, which could throw a curve ball at the results.

Now that the 2011 race is over, we have the opportunity to go back and compare the results against predictions. We will do this in order of results for the top 20 cars.

1) Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - Result: P1

Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #18 jumping the kerbs on the way to victory

The biggest doubt over the RSR was whether it would run, with a top team. In the end, two RSRs were entered, and one of those had been entered by Olaf Manthey, with a quartet of drivers who had all won the race before - in fact Timo Bernhard has now won it a record equalling 5 times.

It was clear by the time free practice started, that the RSR was Manthey's preferred car - with the signature red win mirrors being fitted to it, and the GT3 R being fitted with Blue ones - this being the opposite of how they ran in the VLN4 a month earlier.

The RSR did the 6th fastest race lap (8.33.905), but suffered no mechanical problems, largely kept out of trouble from an accident point of view, and was consistently quick, finishing 4m33s ahead of the P2 car.

At the bottom of the dark horses feature, we indicated that our choice for the race would be the Manthey RSR, and are delighted that it did. - The King returned to conquer the 'Ring for the 4th time!

2) BMW M3 GT - Result: P2

BMW M3 GT jumping at Pflanzgarten I

The BMW M3, began with a credible defence of its crown from last year with both cars running P1, P2 early on.

Gremlins struck, and for a while neither M3 was in the top 10. Slowly the #1 car worked its way back up, making it up to P2, but this year, there wasn't a 23rd hour present to the team from Munich - the leading Porsche hung on to win the 24 hours.

Pace wise, the #7 car set the 3rd fastest lap (8:33.369), but retired 14 laps from the end, and the #1 car set the 4th fastest (8:33.656), and the #1 car was the only car to finish on the same lap as the Manthey Porsche. In doing so, it completed 2 more laps (156 in total - a new record) than it managed last year when it ran to victory.

3) Audi R8 LMS - Result: P3,P4,P5,P12,P18,P29

Audi R8 LMS #14 on its way to P3 overall

Audi have been running at the Nürburgring 24 hours for 3 years now, and for them to have not won outright must be infuriating for the company, which has so dominated Le Mans in recent years.

In the press release issued by Audi immediately after the race, some of this frustration showed:

"The dream of a first overall victory for the brand in the endurance classic in the Eifel was, however, not fulfilled. The GT2 cars of Porsche, BMW and Ferrari were superior to the GT3 cars during the 39th running of the 24-hour race. "

Thing is though, Audi set the 2nd fastest lap overall ( #17 car, 8.33.244), so they had the pace, but all their top cars got entangled in incidents, loosing time throughout the race.

#14, which finished 3rd - the highest Audi, which finished around 1 lap, or 9 minutes behind the winner, lost around 7 minutes due to losing the front splitter - and no doubt track position as a result. #15 had an accident early on in the race, necessitating an extra pit stop for a repair, and then suffered from headlight malfunction, requiring a steering wheel change.. #16 had an accident too, and #17 also suffered electronic gremlins.

So I think its a case, as mentioned in our predictions, that the R8 is simply too frail over a 24 hour distance, and this is the area which will need to be resolved if success is to follow.

4) Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 - Result: P6, P7, P11, P17, P49

Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 #22 - finished 6th

For Mercedes, it was an eminently credible debut in the ADAC 24h Rennen on the Nürburgring, even if results didn't quite match up to expectations.

Certainly the performance was there - but after the quickest Merc (the Mamerow one) crashed out in the early hours, it was a challenge for the others to keep pace with the leading Porsche.

The Heico #32 car ran 2nd or 3rd for most of the race, before unfortunately succumbing to misfortune a couple of hours from the end, which lost them 2 laps, and dropped them to 7th. This meant the highest placed Mercedes was the Black Falcon #22 car, which finished 6th.

Interestingly the Mercedes' fastest laptime in the race wasn't that hot - an 8m37 - but this is probably due to the quickest cars suffering problems - as most of the quickest times, were set in the last few hours, as temperatures rose.

5) Ferrari F458

Farnbacher Racing Ferrari F458 finished 8th, but set the fastest lap

After qualifying on pole, talk in the paddock was that the Ferrari was going to walk away with this race - it seemed so much quicker than anything else.

So it must have been some surprise to be over taken by Chris Mamerow in his SLS on the first lap! Once things settled down, the Farnbacher car did return to first place, and ran more or less there for the first 4 hours.

Unfortunately at around 8pm, it came into the pits for an unscheduled stop, with suspension trouble. This lost it about 4 laps, and with that the chance of victory.

What happened next embodied the spirit of this great race, as the driver quartet of Farnbacher, Simonsen, Melo and Seefried, set about some thrilling driving, setting fastest lap after fastest lap (the quickest one of the race an 8m31.407 - coming just 6 laps from the end), and flying back up the order.

To secure a top 10 finish and a class win, may sound disappointing compared to the 2nd overall last year for Farnbacher, but it was a classy performance in a new car, and I'm sure they will return to do battle again next year.

6) Porsche 911 GT3 R - Result: P8, P13, P16, P22, P48

Frikadelli Racing GT3 R #26 finished P9

For the GT3 R, the odds were against it, once the latest Balance of Performance was announced. Being heavily restricted from a power perspective, limited its ability to cut through traffic compared to some of its peers in the GT3 Class (e.g. Mercedes, Audi)

One of the top teams, Manthey Racing clearly felt the restrictions went too far to the point of making the car uncompetitive for outright victory, which is why they brought their old RSR out of retirement.

Even without the big Manthey car, there were several top GT3 Rs running, including the Haribo Manthey car, the Frikadelli one, and the one from Falken Motorsports.

The Falken one suffered an engine failure after 3 hours, requiring it top be replaced, ruining chances of a top finish, but they returned to action, to evaluate how well the Falken Tyres on it worked compared to the Michelins, on the other cars - and were suitably impressed, as their 8:35:310 was the quickest GT3 R lap.

The Haribo car experienced some difficulties mid morning, dropping it out of a clear top 10 position, to 13th overall, leaving the Frikadelli #26 car to be the only GT3 R with its finish in P9.

7) Porsche 911 GT3 MR - Result: P10

Wochen Spiegel Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 MR #12

The only car in the top 20, which wasn't strictly in our predictions was the #12 Porsche GT3 MR, sponsored by WochenSpiegel.

This car started life as a GT3 R, but has been modified by Manthey to the point that it no longer met the GT3 homologation required for the FIA GT3 SP9 class. As such it was running in the SP7 class, along with the RSR.

8) Audi TT RS - Result: P14

Raeder Motorsport Audi TT RS

The mini Audi - the TT RS, scored the result of being the best front wheel drive car in the race, winning the SP4T class in the progress.
The cars looked very trick - with dive plates and huge rear wing, and the pace of them (8m49) was very impressive.

9) Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 - Result: P15

"Team Stuck" - Reiter engineering Lamborghini LP600 #34

The Reiter Lamborghini LP600 driven by 3 Stucks (Hans-Joachim, Ferdinand, and Johannes) along with Denis Rotek was in line for a top 10 finish before suffering a gearbox trouble.

It was I believe the first time the 3 Stucks had raced together, and fitting that for Hans-Joachim Stuck's final race that they scored a good result.

10) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup #55

The final different model in the top 20 overall, was the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. In fact two cars, finished the #55 in 19th, and #56 in 20th place.

Considering the Cup car is designed around sprint races, rather than endurance, its a very impressive finish for both of these entrants.

Obviously there were some disappointments, such as the Golf GT24, the Lexus LFAs and the Aston Martin Zagatos, but overall I think our predictions were pretty good.

Congratulations to all those who took part, and especially the winning squad led by Olaf Manthey, driven by Lucas Luhr, Timo Bernard, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb!

Am looking forward to 2011 already!

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Race Result (Report after 24h)

2011-06-26T17:15:00.001+01:00

Manthey Porsche winning the ADAC 24h Rennen 2011 on the Nürburgring

4 Starts, 4 Wins.

The Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 RSR has an unrivalled record in the ADAC 24h Rennen on the Nürburgring. It has been champion in 2007, 2008, 2009 and now 2011 as well.

It didn't run last year, as the balance of performance favoured the GT3 R (GT3 Spec) over the RSR (GT2 spec). This year however, with the performance of the GT3 R reined in, following the revised balance of performance, it was possible, to return the RSR to action,with a little ingenuity on the part of Olaf Manthey, and no doubt Porsche themselves.

Going for more power was not an option here, the RSR having to run at 430bhp only with restrictors to enforce that so the solution for performance was found through aerodynamics - keeping the high downforce which makes the RSR unbeatable through the corners, but reducing drag, to improve economy and top speed.

The top 3 finishers! Porsche, BMW, Audi!

It was an unbelievably close race though, with last year's winner - the BMW M3 GT #1 finishing 2nd, just 4 minutes behind, after a record setting 156 laps of the hallowed circuit through the Eifel.

After strong performances throughout the race, last our gremlins pushed the #32 Heico Mercedes SLS down to 7th, and thus enabling the #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS to take the last spot on the podium

The podium!

As a closing comment, it has been an awesome race from start to finish this year, definitely rivalling those of the last two encounters. The determination of the contestants - for example the #2 Farnbacher Ferrari, which fought up to finish 8th, after the set back it suffered in early evening, and also the #4 Falken Motorsports Porsche GT3 R, which was at the back after a requiring an engine swap out overnight, but continued putting quick laps in throughout.

Top 10 - Results

1: #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr)
2: #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT (Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy)
3: #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler)
4: #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ( Stippler/Hennerici/Haase/Winkelhock)
5: #16 ABT Sports Line Audi R8 LMS ( Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt)
6: #22 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG ( Heyer/Jäger/Bleekmolen/Seyffarth)
7 #32 Heico Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG (Arnold/Margartis/Brück/Frankenhout)
8: #2 Farnbacher Ferrari F458 (Farnbacher/Melo/Simonsen/Seefried)
9: #26 Frikadelli Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Abbelen/Schmitz/Kentenich/Bergmeister)
10: #12 Wochenspiegel Team Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 MR ( Weiss/Kainz/Jacobs/Krumbach)

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Report after 20 hours

2011-06-26T14:12:00.001+01:00

Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (#18) continues to lead

Nerves are on edge now as we enter the final 4 hours of the 2011 ADAC 24 Rennen on the Nürburgring. Manthey are still leading with their #18 RSR, but we just had a big demonstration of how frail one's place in the race can be, ~~as the Porsche Hybrid crashed out at Schwedenkreuz~~.

Edit: There was misinformation there, circulated by Audi_sport on twitter - the hybrid was tagged and spun just before SX, but encountered no damage, and continued to lap, eventually finishing 28th overall, due to the two delays due to the differential flange replacement.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

In second place last year's winner continues to lurk just a few minutes behind - the BMW Motorsport #1 M3 GT, along with the 3rd placed #32 Heico Mercedes SLS, and the #14 Audi R8 LMS.

Many cars are now showing battle scars from the night!

Top 10 after 20 hours:

1: #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr)
2: #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT (Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy)
3: #32 Heico Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG (Arnold/Margartis/Brück/Frankenhout)
4: #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ( Stippler/Hennerici/Haase/Winkelhock)
5: #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler)
6: #16 ABT Sports Line Audi R8 LMS ( Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt)
7: #22 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG ( Heyer/Jäger/Bleekmolen/Seyffarth)
8: #8 Haribo Team Manthey Porsche GT3 R (Westbrook/Menzel/Sturgsberg/Riegel)
9: #12 Wochenspiegel Team Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 MR ( Weiss/Kainz/Jacobs/Krumbach)
10: #26 Frikadelli Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Abbelen/Schmitz/Kentenich/Bergmeister)

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Report after 16 hours

2011-06-26T14:00:00.000+01:00

Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 RSR sparking as its splitter bottoms out on landing at Pflanzgarten

After 16 hours, Manthey Porsche continue to lead from the front with their #18 911 GT3 RSR. Closely following them is the #32 Mercedes SLS of Heico motorsport, and the #1 factory BMW M3 GT.

The #32 Mercedes is somewhat hampered by the loss of its front splitter, in an accident with an Audi in the night, this meaning that it is suffering from high tire wear, and a lot of understeer.

Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG currently running 7th.

As night turned to dawn, and then into fully fledged daylight, it was a welcome sight to see so many cars still running, although some wearing a few bruises from battles during the night!

BMW still in with a chance to defend their title. Running 3rd

Interesting facts:

Farnbacher Ferrari back up to 12th now
Raeder Motorsport Audi TT RS in 14th is highest placed front wheel drive car
Team "stuck" - Reiter engineering Lamborghini is up to 16th
Highest placed Golf24 is #235 in 33rd place

Top 10 after 16 hours:

1: #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr)

2: #32 Heico Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG (Arnold/Margartis/Brück/Frankenhout)

3: #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT (Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy)

4: #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ( Stippler/Hennerici/Haase/Winkelhock)

5: #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler)

6: #16 ABT Sports Line Audi R8 LMS ( Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt)

7: #22 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG ( Heyer/Jäger/Bleekmolen/Seyffarth)

8: #8 Haribo Team Manthey Porsche GT3 R (Westbrook/Menzel/Sturgsberg/Riegel)

9: #4 Team Schubert BMW Z4 (Hartung/Viebahn/Coronel/Hürtgen)

10: #12 Wochenspiegel Team Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 MR ( Weiss/Kainz/Jacobs/Krumbach)

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Report after 12 hours

2011-06-26T13:30:00.001+01:00

Manthey Porsche GT3 R which spun at Weirseifen

As the half way point approached, attrition resulted in more retirements - the #76 Schubert z4, succumbing to accident damage after a collision in pflanzgarten with an SLS, eliminating it from the running.

Further back the Farnbacher Ferrari had begun its slow climb back toward the front, reaching first in class (SP8) by 2am, but still down in 20th odd place.

Heico Mercedes SLS AMG running well

Mercedes were being affected a little too - with the highly fancied Mamerow SLS crashing out on the gong of midnight.

Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is leading after 12 hours

At the front though, by a few minutes, the Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was establishing itself as the leader, and seemed to have enough in reserve to combat the pace threat from Audi, Mercedes and BMW.

Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS is up to 2nd

Top 10 overall after 12 hours (half way point):

1: #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr)
2: #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ( Stippler/Hennerici/Haase/Winkelhock)
3: #32 Heico Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG (Arnold/Margartis/Brück/Frankenhout)
4: #16 ABT Sports Line Audi R8 LMS ( Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt)
5: #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT (Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy)
6: #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler)
7: #8 Haribo Team Manthey Porsche GT3 R (Westbrook/Menzel/Sturgsberg/Riegel)
8: #12 Wochenspiegel Team Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 MR ( Weiss/Kainz/Jacobs/Krumbach)
9: #10 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Gindorf/Kohler/Scharmach/Wlazik)
10: #26 Frikadelli Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Abbelen/Schmitz/Kentenich/Bergmeister)

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Report after 8 hours

2011-06-26T00:57:00.000+01:00

Manthey Porsche 911 doing battle with a Mercedes SLS

What a difference 4 hours can make! Well actually what a difference a few minutes can make - just after 8pm, the Farnbacher Ferrari came into the pits with a suspension problem - handing the lead to the Porsche Hybrid.

The Hybrid's held on the lead wasn't for long though - it suffered a gear box issue around 8:40, and lost 9 laps, whilst it was being repaired.

#32 Heico Mercedes SLS is running 2nd currently

Since then there has been a tussle at the front between various Mercedes SLS AMGs, and the Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

#18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is currently leading.

The Manthey car looks the stronger, but lost 30 seconds due to the fuel being turned off when it came in to pit.

What should also not be overlooked is the three Audis in P4-P6, waiting to pounce on any trouble ahead.

Audi R8 LMS are placed in P4-P6. This one #16 Phoenix Racing, is 4th

Interesting Facts:

Only the top 7 are on the lead lap
Each of the top 4 cars, is a different make (Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi)
Stucks are up to 10th!
Golf GT 24s have dropped back - closest one is about 2 laps behidn the leaders

#76 Schubert BMW Z4 is running 3rd

Top 10 overall after 8 hours:

1: #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr)
2: #32 Heico Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG (Arnold/Margartis/Brück/Frankenhout)
3: #76 Team Schubert BMW Z4 (Sandström/Milner/Larsson/Hürtgen)
4: #16 ABT Sports Line Audi R8 LMS ( Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt)
5: #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ( Stippler/Hennerici/Haase/Winkelhock)
6: #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler)
7: #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT (Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy)
8: #12 Wochenspiegel Team Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 MR ( Weiss/Kainz/Jacobs/Krumbach)
9: #8 Haribo Team Manthey Porsche GT3 R (Westbrook/Menzel/Sturgsberg/Riegel)
10: #34 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 (Stuck/Stuck/Stuck/Rostek)

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Report after 4 hours

2011-06-25T20:00:00.001+01:00

Farnbacher Ferrari F458 Italia leads after 4 hours

We are now a sixth of the way into the 2011 ADAC 24h Rennen on the Nürburgring, and I'm exhausted already!

The lead has been bouncing backwards and forwards - with 6 changes of the lead within the first 90 minutes!

This year, by the time the cars came off the GP Strecke, rather than it being the Manthey car which had leapt through the field, it was just Mamerow in his #30 Mercedes SLS passing the Ferrari F458 for the lead.

Mamerow Mercedes leading from Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, BMW at the start

There were some changes further back, with for example Claudia Hürtgen leaping forward to 5th ovverall in the #76 Schubert BMW Z4, in the tricky conditions.

Despite a little bit of lingering drizzle, a dry line soon formed, and the lap times started tumbling, in this, the BMW M3 GTs took initial advantage, charging forward, with the #7 car taking the lead after 4 laps, with the #1 car running in 2nd behind it.

Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R has now retired, as Olaf Manthey favours his RSR for the race instead.

At this point the #11 Manthey Porsche GT3 R was running in 3rd, but was unable to break free in the front, and so after 13 laps it was retired - confirming suspicions that with the 'red' wing mirrors switching to the #18 Porsche GT3 RSR for the race indicated that the RSR would be Olaf Manthey's favourite car for the race. (it was the plan to run both cars for the first stint to see which one had the chance of doing the best).

The weather continued to improve as afternoon descended into evening, and the lead continued to flip back and forth between cars. Currently the Ferrari just leads out from the #9 Porsche GT3 R Hybrid with a margin of about 30 seconds.

The top 10 is below, but first a couple of Interesting facts on the race so far:

15 cars are still on the lead lap
4 Brands in the top 10 (Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi)
Highest placed BMW is a Z4 in 11, with the quickest M3 now in 12th
Best Golf GT 24 is in 16th
The Stuck Lamborghini is in 17th
Evo Journalists Dickie Meaden (#5 Aston Martin V12 Zagato) and Chris Harris (#56 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) are 31st and 32nd respectively, and just a couple of seconds apart!
The experimental P4/5 Competizone is 43rd, 2 laps behind the leaders.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid is running 2nd

After 25 laps, and 4 hours the top 10 for the race is as follows:

1: #2 Farnbacher Ferrari F458 (Farnbacher/Melo/Simonsen/Seefried)

2: #9 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Bergmeister/Leitz/Holzer/Long)

3: #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr)

4: #30 Mamerow Racing Mercedes SLS AMG (Mamerow/Hahne/Kaffer)

5: #16 ABT Sports Line Audi R8 LMS ( Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt)

6: #14 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler)

7: #22 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG ( Heyer/Jäger/Bleekmolen/Seyffarth)

8: #32 Heico Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG (Arnold/Margartis/Brück/Frankenhout)

9: #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ( Stippler/Hennerici/Haase/Winkelhock)

10: #8 Haribo Team Manthey Porsche GT3 R (Westbrook/Menzel/Sturgsberg/Riegel)

Porsche Carrera World Cup: Rast romps to victory!

2011-06-25T12:41:00.001+01:00

René Rast flying through the mini Karussel

René Rast scored a home victory at the Nürburgring in the inaugural Porsche Carrera World Cup, which is serving as the warm up event to this year's ADAC 24h Rennen.

Rast being challenged by Siedler

He led from the start, and despite coming under some close challenges, kept it on the black stuff, and impressed with some quick times, despite the treacherous conditions.

Conditions were treacherous - lots of cars were sliding!

A full writeup up will come later - now we need to head out to ready ourselves for the 24h itself... and it has just started raining again!

Thoughts on the Golf GT24 after qualification

2011-06-25T02:17:00.000+01:00

#135 Volkswagen Motorsport Golf GT 24 at Miss-Hit-Miss

Seeing the Golf GT 24 rocket out of miss-hit-miss was an experience - the traction it has from its 4WD, combined with the torque from the turboed lump, results in mind boggling acceleration, with a noise which is quite hard to explain. If you've seen/heard a Veyron, it is similar - a kind of woosh, but with an underlying roar.

The sound of the Golf GT 24 is not musical like the song of the Lexus LFA, but the big Volkswagen is soon instantly recognisable from noise alone.

Of the 3 cars, two seem to be running well, with #135 and #35 qualifying 27th, and 28th respectively, with sub 8m40 times, but #235 has had some problems, and qualified 54th with a 9m13.511.

Volkwagen Motorsport Golf GT 24 #235 after doing some gardening!

If you've not spotted the reference already - the 35 in each car's number, relates to the 35th birthday of the Volkswagen Golf. VW's attention to detail is meticulous!

As for predictions for the race - many of the fans in the various campsite wish it will do well, as it would be seen as a bit of an upset... a 'hot hatch' taking on the sport cars of the rest.

I think its best chances are, if the weather is wet - due to the traction advantages, but otherwise it may be hindered by the aero limiting its top speed.

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring: Quali 2 - Farnbacher F458 on Pole

2011-06-25T01:43:00.001+01:00

Farnbacher Ferrari F458 Italia qualified on Pole position

For those of you who are just looking to find out who will be starting first in the 2011 ADAC 24h on the Nürburgring, well see the headline! - The Farnbacher racing Ferrari F458 Italia starts on pole, with its quickest time from yesterday (8m23.754) remaining unbeaten.

The order behind the quick fezza has changed quite a lot though. Unlike last year when Audi locked out P1-4 on the grid, now you need to look to row 4 to find the quickest R8 LMS (#14 Audi Sport Team Phoenix - 8m28.555). Similarly the fastest Porsche is beside the Audi in P9 - the Manthey 911 GT3 R #18 (8m28.791).

Mamerow Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 shares the front row, qualified P2

Between the Ferrari and the Audi, are 3 Mercedes SLS AMGs, and the two Factory BMW M3 GTs.
The gap to the Ferrari closed down a lot compared to last night - with the quickest Mercedes (#30 Mamerow/Rowe racing) finishing just 1.8 seconds behind with a 8m25.661.

Of the two BMWs, the #7 'Dirk' car was the quickest - so called because it has Dirk Muller, Dirk Adorf, and Dirk Werner along with Pedro Lamy (who is lucky enough to drive both) in it, edging out the sister car by a few tenths.

BMW's #7 "Dirk" M3 GT (Dirk Werner, Dirk Adorf, Dirk Muller + Pedro Lamy)

The full breakdown of the Top 10 qualifying times is below... but before you go diving into the numbers, there's a couple of things which should perhaps be considered.

Are Manthey hiding their performance?

The Manthey GT3 R only did one lap in qualifying 2, Marc Lieb didn't get a entirely clear run and was held a little in traffic. Last year this car started 7th on the grid, and was in the lead before leaving the GP Strecke.. so it's definitely not game over for Porsche.

Secondly Audi seem to have taken a very different approach to last year - qualifying in a good position for a 24h race is good for the ego, but ultimately it means little - and so I suspect they've been doing some tuning to attempt to improve their tyre wear.

Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS was the quickest of the Audis

Also, it rained mid way through qualifying today, so a number of cars may have had their best laps ruined... really for the big cars, so long as you are in the top 30, so you get the magic blue flashing light (which is supposed to help with over taking), then you're ok.

#76 Schubert BMW Z4 qualified 10th, revised Z4 looks strong

Other notable mentions in qualifying, are the Z4 V8s - the quickest of the 3 Schubert (#76) cars snuck into the top 10 - in 10th position, with an 8m30.198, but all 3 of them, plus the similar Dörr Motorsport one, seem a definite step up from last year in pace.

The Porsche Hybrid (#9) qualified just behind in P11 with a 8m30.851, and also of interest is the #18 Manthey RSR, which qualified P16, using last night's time of 8m32.079. Today it was frustrated due to the weather compromising Romain Dumas' hot lap, with Timo Bernhard just running some installation laps afterward part charges. The drivers however sound very positive about the car, so it will be interesting to see how the race turns out.

Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid, will do well if its wet, due to psuedo AWD

Will write up a report on some of the other classes, and cars of interest in the morning!

Top 10 overall Qualifying for 39th ADAC 24h Rennen / Nürburgring (2011):

1. Farnbacher/Simonsen/Seefried/Melo (D/MC/D/I), #2 Farnbacher Ferrari F 458, 8:23.764 minutes
2. Mamerow/Hahne/Kaffer (D/D/CH), #30 Mamerow Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 1.897 seconds
3. Heyer/Jäger/Bleekemolen/Seyffarth (D/D/NL/D), #22 Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 3.016
4. Müller/Werner/Adorf/Lamy (D/D/D/P), #7 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT, + 3.666
5. Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy (D/BRA/D/P), #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT, +4.151
6. Arnold/Margaritis/Brück/Frankenhout (D/D/D/NL), #32 Heico Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 4.503
7. Basseng/Fässler/Piccini/Stippler (D/CH/I/D), #14 Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS, +4.791
8. Lieb/Luhr/Bernhard/Dumas (D/CH/D/F), #11 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 5.027
9. Ludwig/Mies/Jöns/Abt (D/D/D/D), #17 ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS, +6.405
10. Sandström/Milner/Larrson/Hürtgen (CH/USA/S/D), #76 Team Schubert BMW Z4 GT3, +6.434

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburg: Night Quali - Farnbacher Ferrari Flies

2011-06-24T01:54:00.002+01:00

Hankook Tyres sponsored Ferrari F458 Italia GT on the way to setting provisional pole

I talked earlier about some things not changing. Well comparing first (night) qualifying this year to last for the ADAC 24h Rennen at Nürburgring, whilst the weather was much better, one thing was the same - the fastest car on provisional pole ended up being the Hankook Tyres sponsored Farnbacher Ferrari.

This year however, its the new F458 Italia GT, as opposed to the F430 GTC they ran last year (to score 2nd place at the end). With the same experienced quartet behind the wheel, they're showing they're up for the challenge, and I'm sure they're hoping to move up one rung on the ladder come sunday afternoon!

The provisional pole time was 8m23.754 - much quicker than the times set in free practice earlier - this is due to the track being properly dry - and also potentially the cooler evening air may be helping the engines somewhat.

Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 #22

Next two quickest cars were both Mercedes SLS AMGs, with the Black Falcon #22 (8m30.381) car just edging out the #30 Mamerow car (8m30.957), but they were quite a long way back (~7 seconds)

It is understood that the manufacturer backed teams were generally just setting 'banker' laps this evening, and preparing for race set up, rather than going for all out pace... but should it rain during Qualification 2 tomorrow, the grid now is how it will end up.

Audi Sport Team ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS #16 throwing sparks!

The quickest Audi R8 was 4th, and was the #16 Team Audi ABT Sportsline one, with a 8m31.536, which can be seen above showering the track in sparks after grounding its splitter on the mini karussel!

Fastest Porsche was the Manthey RSR (#18) in 6th, with a 8m32.079.

More tomorrow when I can string sentences together coherently again...but what I can say is its shaping up to be an excellent race weekend!

ADAC 24h 2011 @ Nürburgring - Free Practice [Thursday 23/06/2011]

2011-06-23T16:40:00.000+01:00

Manthey Porsche GT3 R #11 (Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr)

Some things seemingly never change. One such thing is the pace of the yellow and green Manthey cars. They've been front runners for over 6 years now, including four consecutive victories at the 24h Rennen on the Nürburgring.

#36 Rowe Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 ( Alexander Roloff, Roland Rehfeld, Hubert Haupt, Marco Schlep)

In the mixed conditions free practice today, the #11 Porsche 911 GT3 R from Manthey set the pace with an 8m40.641, ahead of the #36 Rowe Motorsport Mercedes SLS GT3 (8m40.772) , and the #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS (8m41.018).

#15 Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS (Frank Stippler, Marc Hennerici, Christopher Haase, Markus Winkelhock)

As you can see the top 3 were seperated by just a few tenths!

A couple of seconds further back , was last year's winner, the #1 BMW Motorsport M3 GT, followed by the #9 Porsche Hybrid GT3 R.

The qualifying for the Carrera World cup is about to start now, followed by the Night qualifying.
More later!

Humour, or a coincidence?

2011-06-23T12:38:00.000+01:00

I noticed this when at the VLN last month... took a photo and promptly forgot to write about it.

Going through the entry list for the 24 hour at Nürburg, I saw the same car was entered so remembered, and dug out the photo.

Now it may be entirely by accident, but what intrigued me was the placing of the name 'Hoffmeister', it was by the bend in the C pillar, which often gets referred to as the "Hofmeister kink".

Obviously the spelling is off by one, but I did wonder if someone at Manthey racing was smiling when they placed this name?

Arrival in Nürburg

2011-06-23T09:55:00.000+01:00

Porsches through Wipperman in the ADAC Classic

ThePitwall has arrived in Nürburg, ahead of the 39th ADAC 24h Rennen this weekend.

The ADAC Classic qualifying is on at the minute, with the 24 hour cars being rolled out this afternoon for their first practice.

Updates will follow throughout the day and throughout the weekend!

The timetable for the 2011 ADAC 24h at Nurburgring (in English!)

2011-06-20T00:30:00.003+01:00

The start in 2009!

ADAC have helpfully printed the timetable for the 2011 ADAC 24 h festival at the Nürburgring on their website.

Unfortunately it was in German - luckily we're helpful souls on ThePitwall, and have translated it for you.. and highlighted what we expect to be the key events.

Bright Red and Bold = Top event, do not miss at all costs
Blue = Interesting, try not to miss!

( We do not mean any slight on the events not highlighted - we just have a strong preference for GT racing here :) )

Thursday 23 June 2011

08.20 - 11.15 RCN Circuit Racing Challenge

11:30 - 13:30 ADAC 24-hour Classic Qualifying

14.30 - 16.00 ADAC Zurich 24h-Race Free Practice

16.30 - 17.30 MINI Challenge / SEAT Leon Supercopa / Renault Race Festival 1st qualifying

18.00 - 19.00 Porsche Carrera World Cup Free Practice

19.30 - 23.30 ADAC Zurich 24h-Race 1st (night) qualifying

Friday 24 June 2011

09.45 - 12.45 ADAC 24-hour Classic race (3 hours)

13.55 - 14.55 MINI Challenge / SEAT Leon Supercopa / Renault Race Festival 2 qualifying

15.25 - 16.25 Porsche Carrera World Cup qualifying

16.55 - 18.55 ADAC Zurich 24h-Race 2nd (day) qualifying

19.30 - 21.00 Drift Challenge (Müllenbachschleife)

Saturday 25 June 2011

09.05 - 10.05 MINI Challenge / SEAT Leon Supercopa / Renault Race Festival Race (4 laps)

11.20 - 12.35 Porsche Carrera World Cup race (6 laps)

13.00 - 14.00 ADAC Zurich 24h-race drivers' parade

13.30 - 15.10 ADAC Zurich 24h-race grid walk

16.00 ADAC Zurich 24h-Race Start

Sunday 26 June 2011

16.00 ADAC Zurich 24h-race Finish!

The dark horses for the ADAC 24h 2011 at the Nurburgring

2011-06-19T20:01:00.004+01:00

Following on from the previous post (on the favourites ) for the ADAC 24h at the Nürburgring this year, this is to point some suggestions to some outsiders who may, conditions depending, spring a surprise.

Due to the nature of the race, and the current weather forecast (which is looking as if it will be at least partially wet), it is entirely possible that an unexpected upset may occur, and the racing will be all the richer for it!

Here are our 9 choices for those with an outsider chance. (there were 10, but the BMW Alpina B6 GT3 has unfortunately withdrawn.)

1) Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 (SP9 GT3)

Reiter Engineering Lamborghini LP600 GT3 in the VLN on 28th May 2011

Piloted by legendary racer Hans-Joachim Stuck, with his two sons Johannes, and Ferdinand along with the experienced Dutch racer Peter Cox, the Reiter Engineering Gallardo is in with a chance for certain.

The race is intended to be the swan-song for Hans-Joachim, with the 60 year old racer intending to retire from top line racing afterwards... and for him to race with his two sons will hopefully provide a special memory to look back on. Johannes finished 7th overall last year in an Audi R8, so will be looking to improve upon that.

Preparations for the race have been mixed, with success in the most recent ADAC GT Masters round at Zolder (run to FIA GT3 regulations), but the last outing in the VLN ending with a crash at Hatzenbach.

There is only one car entered, so we'll be hoping that it can complete the distance!

2) Porsche 997 Cup S (SP9 GT3)

Jurgen Alzen Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S

Porsche's former GT3 spec car, the Cup S has fallen out of favour with many of the top teams, due to the newer GT3 R offering more power, and more downforce.

However with the GT3 R being reigned in for 2011, with the revised balance of performance, the old dog may be given a chance to show off its tricks once more.

Just one Cup S is on the entry list, that entered by Jurgen Alzen, which incidentally finished as the highest running Porsche in last year's marathon, so is not one to be discounted lightly!

3) Nissan 370z (SP8)

RJN Motorsports / Falken Tyres Nissan 370z

RJN Motorsports have been bringing Nissan Z cars to the Nürburgring 24hr since 2007 - and this year, with the new SP8 370z, is perhaps their biggest chance yet.

The driver line up for this, the "bigger" of the two cars they're running is very strong, with FIA GT1 racer Michael Krumm, The Eifel's favourite girl - ring-meister Sabine Schmitz, experience japanese racer Tetsuya Tanaka, and journalist-racer Holger Eckhardt.

4) Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

The programme of motorsport that Ulrich Bez kicked off since becoming CEO of Aston Martin hasn't yet risked endangering his former company, Porsche, as the leading company in world motorsport.

Clearly though he sees motorsport as crucial to Aston's future success - and certainly their entrants in both the Le Mans Series, and the VLN/ Nürburgring 24h are very popular with the crowds - with the V8 and V12 powered machines grunting and snarling on their way round the Nordschleife.

In 2007, hopes were very high, with the GT1 spec DBR9 qualifying on pole, and running highly until it ran into difficulties. Since then the V8, and later V12 Vantages has been the main highlight, until now.

Continuing a modern Aston tradition of proving endurability on the race track before going on sale, the new V12 Zagato is being run this year. With this comes some trick aero, to go with the pretty body work, and a solid driver line up, so should provide a chance to do quite well.

5) Porsche 997 GT3 Cup (SP7)

Porsche 911 (997) GT3 Cup

Sorry, yes - yet another Porsche. However with the many cars running, it is not sensible to discount the Cup Class.
The latest 2010 spec cars lap within a few seconds of the faster-on-paper SP9-GT3 cars already, and with the revised balance of power, may be closer still.
The Cup chassis being narrow bodied, and with less aero, loses out to the bigger cars through the more technical sections of the Nürburgring, but claws back down the straights, due to less drag. With most top cars, except the Audis and Mercedes being heavily restricted, this surely opens the door for one of the many Cups.

6) N. Technology P4/5 (SP8)

N. Technology P 4/5

On paper the P4/5 makes a very strong case. It is built on top of the very successful Ferrari F430 GT2 car, which finished 2nd in the ADAC 24h last year, and has scored many victories in the FIA GT, LMS, and ALMS series.
Furthermore, with a driver line up boasting former F1 star, Miko Salo, touring car legends Fabrizio Giovanardi and Nichola Larini, and the highly successful endurance racer Luca Cappelerrari, there is no weakness there.
However in early testing the car was plagued with cooling problems, and whilst these seem to be sorted, there has not been the time to test or develop the car. As such it remains an outsider, which if everything aligns may throw a curve ball to the establishment.

7) Audi TT RS

Rader Motorsport / Quatto GMBH Audi TT RS

Audi's junior car the TT RS makes for a formidable entrant. Sharing some components with the R8 LMS, and already boasting many class wins in the SP4T class, the TT RS is shaping up to be quite a racer.

Being in one of the 'smaller' classes, the aero restrictions are much freer, thus the rear wing is able extend a long way behind the car, enabling massive downforce without much in the way of drag.

The car is built by Raeder Motorsport in partnership with Audi's Quattro GMBH specialist division and is in effect a factory entry.

8) Holden Commodore

Holden Commodore V8 Supercar

Perhaps not so much a chance of outright victory as much as being a crowd favorite, Mal Rose and his team bring back the big V8 powered monster for another outing. It was much missed last year, with Mal opting to run in a Subaru Imprezza, but the Eifel hills will be alive to the sound of Aussie thunder once more in 2011.

9) Volkswagen Scirocco GT24

VW Scirocco GT24

With VW's big focus for this year being on the Golf GT 24 it is easy to forget the bright blue Sciroccos which have graced the 'ring with their presence since 2008. If its dry, and incident free, it would be difficult to see the Sciroccos scoring well, however should the weather be somewhat inclement, the tables could easily turn in their favour.

With one week to go, it is not long to find out how close ThePitwall's projections are! (as a reminder if you've not already read it, check out our article on the favourites here )

For me if I were to pick one car, which I want to win, it would be the Manthey GT3 RSR. It won when I went to my first Nürburg 24 hour in 2007, and again in 2008, and in 2009.

It would be a fitting tribute to Marcel Tiemann for the RSR to win again. Here is hoping Marcel is back to racing by this time next year!

British GT at Brands (Round 4) - 19th June 2011

2011-06-19T19:00:00.001+01:00

MTech F458 leading away from Trackspeed GT3 Rs

With so much motorsport happening overseas at the minute (Le Mans 24h last weekend, Nürburg 24h next), one could be forgiven for forgetting about the races happening within the UK.

Happily ThePitwall hasn't - we made the trek down to Brands today for 4th round of British GT.

British GT is more or less a formulae SRO/FIA nationale championship, similar to Belcar in Belgium and the GT Masters in Germany, run to the FIA GT3 / SRO GT4 regulations.

Here they opted for a single 2 hour race, rather than the 2 x 1 hour race, generally favoured elsewhere.

After a mess up at the start - where seemingly half the cars failed to notice the start, it quickly became a thrilling battle at the front, between the Stuttgart stallions, represented by the Trackspeed Porsche GT3 R, and the Prancing ponies of Modena represented by the Ferrari F458 Italias of CRS and MTech Racing.

Conditons were typical british summer - ideal for drifting

Eventually the Trackspeed GT3 R of Bridgman/Fiseken won out, securing the checkered flag with a under 5 second gap to 2nd placed Griffin/Cameron in their MTech 458.

Trackspeed GT3 passing a F430

Full results below:

Race 1 Result
Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap
1	2	GT3	FISKEN-BRIDGMAN:	Porsche 911 GT3 R	2:01:14.055	75
2	21	GT3	CAMERON-GRIFFIN:	Ferrari F458 Italia	2:01:19.454	75	5.399
3	10	GT3	GEDDIE-GEDDIE:	Ferrari F458 Italia	2:02:09.095	75	55.040
4	3	GT3	LESTER-SIMONSEN:	Ferrari F430 Scuderia	2:02:18.262	75	1:04.207
5	5	GT3	BATEMAN-LYONS:	Ferrari F458 Italia	2:02:32.540	75	1:18.485
6	22	GT3	JONES-JONES:	Mercedes AMG SLS GT3	2:01:32.821	74	-- 1 laps
7	11	GT3	TATE-MORTIMER:	Ferrari F458 Italia	2:02:34.478	74	-- 1 laps
8	24	GT3	PALMER-BINTCLIFFE:	Audi R8 LMS	2:02:36.464	74	-- 1 laps
9	12	GT3	BURTON-WILCOX:	Ferrari F430 Scuderia	2:01:43.434	73	-- 2 laps
10	25	GT3	STINTON-SIMPSON:	Ginetta G55	2:01:29.680	71	-- 4 laps
11	44	GT4	BELSHAW-CLUTTON:	KTM X Bow	2:01:41.334	71	-- 4 laps
12	97	GTC	REID-WITT:	Chevron GT8	2:01:42.016	71	-- 4 laps
13	13	GT3B	DHILLON-SCOTT:	Ferrari 430 GT3	2:01:54.523	71	-- 4 laps
14	49	GT4	NORDSTROM-CLARKE:	Lotus Evora GT4	2:02:05.487	71	-- 4 laps
15	50	GT4	DENIS-MCDONALD:	Ginetta G50	2:00:05.220	70	-- 5 laps
16	28	GT3	DRAPER-HETHERINGTON:	Ginetta G55	2:02:11.739	70	-- 5 laps
17	42	GT4	RATTENBURY-WAKEFIELD:	Ginetta G50	2:02:30.154	70	-- 5 laps
18	47	GT4	ERCEG-HOLMES:	Aston Martin Vantage	2:02:19.318	69	-- 6 laps
19	32	GT3B	WILMOTT-ALEXANDER:	Aston Martin DBRS 9	2:02:23.504	69	-- 6 laps
20	7	GT3	HOWARD-ADAM:	Aston Martin DBRS 9	2:01:47.788	67	-- 8 laps
21	48	GT4	GLEW-JACKSON:	Lotus Evora GT4	1:53:34.658	63	-- 12 laps
22	43	GT4	HERREMAN-HERREMAN:	Aston Martin Vantage	2:02:05.814	63	-- 12 laps
23	63	GTC	GUSTAVSON-GUSTAVSON:	Ginetta G50M	2:01:42.477	56	-- 19 laps
24	45	GT4	LADAS-MALLOCK:	KTM X Bow	1:40:06.633	52	-- 23 laps

VLN - 11/06/2011 - Victory for Audi R8 LMS at the Nürburgring

2011-06-11T23:27:00.001+01:00

Audi R8 over taking Porsche 911 GT3 R at the first corner

With the 24 Heures du Mans at the circuit de la Sarthe starting today, F1 qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, MotoGP qualifying at Silverstone, you may be forgiven for thinking that that's enough motorsport for one day.

You would be mistaken though! - With 2 weeks until the ADAC 24 hour at the Nürburgring, it was the last opportunity for preparation and testing on the Eifel circuit before hand, and also an opportunity for success for some smaller teams, due to the factory teams sitting out this round, due to driver/team commitments at Le Mans.

With this, the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Eifel favourite Sabine Schmitz / Klaus Abbelen secured pole, with a time of 8m20s, just ahead of the Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS of of Mattias Ekström/Timo Schieder / Frank Stippler.

However at the first corner, Ekström took the lead and pulled away throughout his stint - being 20 seconds ahead after 5 laps, and this was a pattern which continued throughout the race, no matter who was driving.

Also running were Aston Martin with their V12 Zagato, hoping for better success than the last race, where they didn't make it past the first two laps.

This time it did, with both cars making it to the finish - securing P2 and P3 in the SP8 class, admittedly out of only 4 runners.

The race was ended early, under red flag, due to the onset of heavy rain at 15:52 CEST.

With Phoenix Racing's R8 LMS winning overall, this means so far in 2011, in 5 VLN races, there have been 5 winners... with BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari and Porsche sharing the honours thus far.

All is set for it to continue to build up as an exciting season!

Top 10 finishers:

Pl.	Nr.	Kl.	Sponsor Bewerber Fahrer, Ort	Fahrzeug Lizenznummer	Rd.	Gesamtzeit Schnitt	Rückstand Intervall	Schnellste Schnitt	in Rd.
1	24	SP9	B PHOENIX RACING F Ekström Mattias, Schweden F Scheider Timo, Kempten i.A. F Stippler Frank, Bad Münstereifel	Audi R8 LMS S197807147199 A1670 IB1039089	24	3:30:49.154 166.452		8:24.575 173.866	17
2	30	SP9	S MSC Adenau e.V. im ADAC F Abbelen Klaus, Barweiler F Schmitz Sabine, Barweiler	Porsche 911 GT3 R IC1049933 IC1051485	24	3:32:21.108 165.251	1:31.954 1:31.954	8:27.913 172.723	1
3	80	CUP2	B Manthey Racing F Kohler Wolfgang, Aldingen F Kräling Frank, Winterberg F Menzel Christian, Kelberg	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997 IC1107982 IC1054618 IC1061155	24	3:36:07.563 162.365	5:18.409 3:46.455	8:32.316 171.239	17
4	91	CUP2	B Verva Racing Team F Rosina Stefan, Slowakei F Giermaziak Jakub, Polen	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997 SK167 PL00611	24	3:37:14.344 161.533	6:25.190 1:06.781	8:36.199 169.951	21
5	111	SP8	B Gazoo Racing F Iida Akira, Japan F Oshima Kazuya, Japan F Ishiura Hiroaki, Japan	Lexus LF-A J133989200220 J859818930520 J835349570920	24	3:37:46.216 161.139	6:57.062 31.872	8:34.416 170.540	7
6	84	CUP2a	B Schnabl Engineering GmbH & Co. KG F Ragginger Martin, Österreich F Wendt Stefan, Papenburg	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997 A1050 IC1067626	23	3:31:08.597 159.272	1 Runde 1 Runde	8:36.520 169.845	2
7	108	CUP2	F Engelhart Christian, Kösching F Lauda Mathias, Österreich F Mayerl Andreas, Österreich	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997 IC1075458 A1118 A1183	23	3:32:17.538 158.410	1 Runde 1:08.941	8:35.769 170.092	22
8	76	CUP2	B Rheydter Club für Motorsport F Otto Jörg, Grevenbroich F Becker Peter, Grevenbroich	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997 IC1049377 IC1049073	23	3:32:24.692 158.321	1 Runde 07.154	8:53.253 164.516	2
9	301	SP3T	B LMS Engineering F Rosenberg Maik, Attendorn F Krognes Christian, Norwegen F Akata Emin, Friedrichshafen	VW Scirocco IC1113893 N31791 IC1098107	23	3:33:36.499 157.434	1 Runde 1:11.807	8:51.334 165.110	23
10	90	CUP2	F Neuffer Philipp, Stuttgart F Huber Reinhard, Albaching F Babini Merlo Carlo, Schweiz	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 997 IC1134102 IC1046869 CH1407	23	3:33:58.097 157.169	1 Runde 21.598	8:44.771 167.175	17

Audi #1 collides with Ferrari at Le Mans

2011-06-11T22:26:00.003+01:00

Flying carbon everywhere, as Mike Rockenfeller's Audi R18 hits the armco on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans shortly after 22:30 CEST / 21:30 BST / 20:30 UTC.

Rockenfeller (Rocky) had just overtaken the #7 Peugeot (Gene) a few laps before, and was charging, lapping continually in 3m28-3m30s range, with both remaining Audis taking advantage of the cooling temperatures.

However it was not to be a repeat of the victory he, and his team mate (Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard) celebrated last year.

Instead it was to end roughly 8 hours in, in a frightening fashion.

The circumstances which led to the impact were almost a repeat of those which Alan McNish encountered earlier on in the race

In both accidents, it was an Prototype (LMP1) Audi making progress, which got tangled up with a GTE Ferrari 458.

Where as McNish tagged a Ferrari approaching the Dunlop curve, Rocky was flying down the Mulsanne straight, when contact was made.

In this case a Ferrari 458 (#71 / Rob Kauffman ) drifted right onto the path of the over taking Audi, leaving Rocky no where to go.

You can clearly see the Ferrari drifting across the centre line as the Audi approaches in the freeze frames from the onboard video above and below.

Following contact, the Audi pirouetted across the track and straight into the armco.

I strongly believe, the close cabin's of this year's Audi R18 is providing a significant safety benefit compared to the open top cars raced before - and would not have liked to seen the same incident with one of the previous R15s.

It is a testament to the strength of the R18 that both Rocky and McNish were able to walk away from their massive accidents at the 24h du Mans today.

This leaves just one Audi out in front, taking the challenge to Peugeot.

Video:

Watch 24h du Mans - Live online!

2011-06-11T16:53:00.010+01:00

Courtesy of Peugeot, and Daily Motion , with alternating English/French commentary, here we have live online video coverage throughout the 24 hour race at Le Mans.

Despite the demise of the #3 Audi with McNish earlier, it poses be an exciting battle at the front between Audi and Peugeot!
Further back in the GTE classes, battle royale is under way between Corvette, Ferrari, BMW and Porsche. Enjoy!

Live

How to drive the Nürburgring Nordschliefe

2011-06-11T08:09:00.000+01:00

With the Porsche Carrera World cup happening over the same weekend as the ADAC 24h at the Nürburgring, there will be over 200 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, racing at once over the circuit through the Eifel hills.

They'll be starting in 3 groups of 70, and racing for 6 laps - or around an hour.

The cars are all being given the same suspension, camber and other settings, in order to minimise the risk of either bottoming out, or a blow out due to too much camber.

The drivers taking part have been provided some instruction, with some taking part in recent VLN races to get their eye in, and Porsche driver Sascha Massen, provides the commentary through the lap in the video below.

Desktop of the month: June - Traffic jam in the Eifel

2011-06-09T15:00:00.000+01:00

Mamerow SLS AMG leads from Audi R8 LMs, and Porsche GT3 R Hybrid

Taken during the VLN race on 28th May, this is the Mamerow SLS AMG taking the jump at Pflanzgarten, whilst being hounded closely by an Audi R8 and the Porsche GT3 R Hybrid.

The battle was close and frenetic, as is often the case in the VLN, and will surely be the case this weekend!

As ever it is a 1400x960 image, and to download it, simply click on the image above, and it will display om your browser, and can then be saved through the Browser's file menu.

Flying Falken GT3 R at the Nürburgring

2011-06-07T11:09:00.004+01:00

Warming up for the annual 24 hour race, is the Falken Motorsports team. For the past few years, they've run a Z33 Nissan 350z car, but all change for 2011 - with their FIA GT3 spec, Porsche 911 GT3 R.

They actually began testing it at the end of last year, without the logos, and have been running it in most of the VLNs so far this year.

The team has a strong driver line up, including GT1 racer Peter Dumbreck, GT Masters racer, Sebastian Asch and Porsche factory drivers Martin Ragginger and Wolf Henzler.

They can be seen in the video below during one of the VLN races earlier in the year:

FIA GT1 at Silverstone - Championship Race

2011-06-06T21:56:00.001+01:00

After the close battle at the front on Saturday in the qualifying race, it was repeat business between the #23 JRM Nissan GTR of Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr, and the #7 Young Driver Aston Martin DB9 of Enge/Muller, and the #11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06 of Hezemans/Zuber.

As mentioned in another article ( http://www.thepitwall.com/2011/06/another-gt1-race-another-collision.html ) there was a collision between a DB9 and another GTR further back, which brought out the safety car around the time of the pit stops.

This time though, luck was with the #23 Nissan at the pit stops, and it got out in front and stayed there. At the end of the race, the top 3 were all within half a second, as the big Nissan's tyres went off Lucas Luhr had a difficult battle to keep the DB9 and the Corvette behind.

Full Results below:

Championship Race


Pos.Cl.	Car	Team / Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap
1	23	Michael Krumm / Lucas Luhr	Nissan GT-R	1:00:27.957	28
2	7	Tomas Enge / Alex Müller	Aston Martin DB9	1:00:28.177	28	0.220
3	11	Mike Hezemans / Andreas Zuber	Corvette Z06	1:00:28.448	28	0.491
4	3	Stef Dusseldorp / Clivio Piccione	Aston Martin DB9	1:00:30.374	28	2.417
5	38	Marc Basseng / Markus Winkelhock	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	1:00:35.393	28	7.436
6	40	Bas Leinders / Marc Hennerici	Ford GT Matech	1:00:38.788	28	10.831
7	20	Warren Hughes / Enrique Bernoldi	Nissan GT-R	1:00:41.020	28	13.063
8	10	Antoine Leclerc / Markus Palttala	Ford GT Matech	1:00:52.074	28	24.117
9	9	Vanina Ickx / Christoffer Nygaard	Ford GT Matech	1:01:26.472	28	58.515
10	37	Nicky Pastorelli / Dominik Schwager	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	54:35.665	25	5:52.292
11	41	Frederic Makowiecki / Maxime Martin	Ford GT Matech	38:46.955	17	21:41.002
12	21	Jamie Campbell-Walter / David Brabham	Nissan GT-R	36:10.461	16	24:17.496
13	4	Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini	Aston Martin DB9	36:10.860	16	24:17.097
14	47	Dimitri Enjalbert / Michael Rossi	Corvette Z06	36:11.713	16	24:16.244
15	8	Stefan Mücke / Darren Turner	Aston Martin DB9	20:36.502	10	39:51.455
16	22	Richard Westbrook / Peter Dumbreck	Nissan GT-R	20:36.743	10	39:51.214

Another GT1 race at Silverstone - Another collision between DB9 and GTR!

2011-06-05T16:35:00.003+01:00

Nissan GT-R of Richard Westbrook / Peter Dumbreck before the damage

The full race report will follow soon, however having seen the GT1 championship race at Silverstone I felt compelled to ensure others do too.

Following from starting far back, due to retiring in the Qualifying race yesterday, Richard Westbrook in the #22 JRM Nissan GT-R had begun one of his trademark charges up the field, getting to P12 after lap 1, P10 by lap 7, P9 by lap 8, and then spent 3 laps cooped up behind the Number 8 Young Driver Aston Martin DB9 piloted by Stefan Mücke.

Westbrook saw a possibility of a gap, but Mücke closed the door, leaving Westbrook with no where to go, as he locked up under braking.

Young Driver Aston Martin DB9 of Enge/Turner

The result was contact, spinning Mücke off, and bits of carbon Fibre going flying from both cars.

I would put this down to a racing incident, but then following from Mücke catching Westbrook up again, after drawing level, it appears that Mücke drove into Westbrook, spearing both cars off the race track, and doing considerable amount of damage.

It is not clear if this was deliberate action, accidental, or a result something breaking on the Aston, but it is with relief that both drivers seem to be ok.

Update: as pointed out by Jochen (Frozenspeed) - it looks like that Mücke wandered off path whilst gesticulating, with only 1 hand on the wheel... so probably not the intended result!

I hope the damage isn't too costly for the teams! -

Update: initial reports indicate that both chassis may be written off, hopefully this is not the case... as it brings back memories to Silverstone last year where Phoenix Racing lost a Corvette due to fire damage, which reduced the grid sizes for the rest of the year.

See the Video:

FIA GT3 at Silverstone - Race 2 (Round 4)

2011-06-05T16:16:00.004+01:00

The start - BMW #35 leads away

Victory for BMW, once again. The revised Z4 is proving to be a star so far this season, following up the success at Portimao last month with a 1-2 today for dutch squad Faster Racing DB Motorsport, with #35 piloted by Hoevert Vos and Jeroen den Boer narrowly beating #36 which was driven by Harrie Kolen and Nicky Catsburg

BMW Z4 leading away from Ferrari 458s

The #9 LMP Motorsport Aston Martin DB9 piloted by Gael Lesoudier and Maxime Martin (who switched from Ford GT to Aston for 2011), took up 3rd position, with Glynn Geddie and Daniel Brown finally getting a decent result in their AF Corse Ferrari 458, with their #51 car edging out their team mates in #50.

Race 2 Result
Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap	Avg speed
1	35	GT3	Hoevert Vos/Jeroen den Boer	BMW Z4 GT3	1:00:57.286	27
2	36	GT3	Harrie Kolen/Nicky Catsburg	BMW Z4 GT3	1:00:58.381	27	1.095
3	9	GT3	Gael Lesoudier/Maxime Martin	Aston Martin DBRS 9	1:01:02.706	27	5.420
4	51	GT3	Daniel Brown/Glynn Geddie	Ferrari 458 Italia	1:01:08.304	27	11.018
5	50	GT3	Federico Le/Francesco Castellacci	Ferrari 458 Italia	1:01:14.004	27	16.718
6	4	GT3	Joakim Lambotte/Gary Hirsch	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	1:01:18.509	27	21.223
7	6	GT3	Edward Sandström/Abdulaziz Al Faisal	BMW Z4 GT3	1:01:19.210	27	21.924
8	15	GT3	Jerome Demay/Dino Lunardi	Audi R8 LMS	1:01:26.107	27	28.821
9	7	GT3	Csaba Walter/Claudia Hürtgen	BMW Z4 GT3	1:01:27.252	27	29.966
10	3	GT3	Philippe Giauque/Mike Parisy	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	1:01:27.701	27	30.415
11	45	GT3	Filip Sladecka/Patrick Hirsch	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	1:01:29.693	27	32.407
12	1	GT3	Paul van Splunteren/Maxime Soulet	Porsche 911 GT3 R	1:01:34.956	27	37.670
13	25	GT3	Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof/Albert von Thurn und Taxis	Lamborghini Gallardo LP600	1:01:42.995	27	45.709
14	2	GT3	Petri Lappalainen/Jan Heylen	Porsche 911 GT3 R	1:01:44.481	27	47.195
15	14	GT3	Mikko Eskelinen/Christoffer Nygaard	Ford GT	1:01:54.565	27	57.279
16	22	GT3	Mark Patterson/Joseph Osborne	Audi R8 LMS	1:02:03.899	27	1:06.613
17	23	GT3	Zakary Brown/Matthew Bell	Audi R8 LMS	1:02:26.407	27	1:29.121
18	11	GT3	Leonid Machitski/Tomas Kostka	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	1:02:35.543	27	1:38.257
19	32	GT3	Tobias Neuser/Didier Andre	Audi R8 LMS	1:02:41.472	27	1:44.186
20	12	GT3	Jan Stovicek/Jakub Knoll	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	1:03:02.242	27	2:04.956
21	16	GT3	Pierre Hirschi/Michael Rossi	Audi R8 LMS	59:42.694	25	1:14.592
22	21	GT3	Duncan Cameron/Matthew Griffin	Ferrari 458 Italia	50:43.341	22	10:13.945
23	13	GT3	Markus Palttala/Stephane Lemeret	Ford GT	35:27.279	14	25:30.007
24	20	GT3	Luca Pirri/Michael Lyons	Ferrari 458 Italia	11:06.654	4	49:50.632
25	8	GT3	Bernard Delhez/Dimitri Enjalbert	Aston Martin DBRS 9	2:51.681	1	58:05.605

The Golf GT 24

2011-06-05T12:23:00.001+01:00

The road car - Golf Edition 35

VW have a habit of celebrating the significant birthdays of their Golf hatchback, and with this year marking the 35th birthday, they decided to do it in style.

A special edition of the legendary GTI was launched, the "Edition 35", which features more power, styling tweaks, and a return of the nostalgic golfball style gear stick.

Normally this is sufficient, a sop to the fans, and a desirable model for years to come, but not this year... I think some of the engineers at VW have got "Ring Fever" - and after having run highly tuned Sciroccos for the past 3 years, which have won their classes, and finished high up the order, I believe the desire was to see if VW could score an outright victory!

The racer, jumping kerbs at Hatzenbach

With this, the GT24 was launched, this ditched the 2 litre four pot turbo of the GTI, and R models, and gained a 2.5 litres, 5 cylinder motor, which still being turbocharged, produces around 440bhp, and over half a kilo-newton metre of torque.

Being fearful of torque steer with that much power, the decision was to choose 4 wheel drive, which was followed by some huge aero tweaks, to produce downforce, to improve cornering speeds.

On paper the car should be competitive with the big Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes and Audis, but as with any new car, a few problems have troubled its progress so far, with a first lap retirement in the last VLN compounding this.

However, there is promise - in practice it was lapping in the 8m30 mark, which is a stonking pace, and pretty close (within 15 seconds/lap) of the leaders.

Furthermore VW have opted to enter, not 1, not 2, but 3 Golf24s in the 24hr, race, with some highly experienced drivers, including Johnny Herbert, Rene Rast, Patrick Simon, Thomas Mutsch and Mark Blundell!

With the Golf expected to be significantly more economical than its competitors, save for perhaps the Hybrid Porsche, if it can last the distance, it may go well at the 24 hour later on this month, and if the weather throws a curve ball, that could be very well.

GT4 at Silverstone - Race 2 (Round 5)

2011-06-05T00:23:00.005+01:00

Following on from the tight battle in Race 1, Ricard van Der Ende/Duncan Huisman scored a win in their BMW M3, by just over a second from Stefano D'Aste in the Lotus Evora.

Following on from success earlier in the day, Alex Buncombe/Jordan Tresson managed to keep their RJN Nissan 370z on the podium, but only just, with a strong challenge from Oliver Jackson/Hall Stewart in another Evora throughout the race.

GT4 has another race tomorrow, lets see if the 3rd race, will bring a 3rd different victor.

Full results below.

Race Two Result
Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap	Avg speed
1	50	GT4	Ricardo van der Ende/Duncan Huisman	BMW M3 GT4	27:14.156	12
2	22	GT4	Stefano D Aste	Lotus Evora GT4	27:15.062	12	0.906
3	24	GT4	Alex Buncombe/Jordan Tresson	Nissan 370Z	27:26.871	12	12.715
4	36	GT4	Oliver Jackson/Hall Stewart	Lotus Evora GT4	27:27.080	12	12.924
5	35	GT4	Dan Denis	Ginetta G50	27:27.313	12	13.157
6	6	GT4	James Appleby/Ant Scragg	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	27:33.016	12	18.860
7	7	GT4	Dennis Retera/Jan Joris Verheul	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	27:39.528	12	25.372
8	3	GT4	Cor Euser/Dick Freebird	Lotus Evora GT4	27:58.709	12	44.553
9	21	GT4	Donald Molenaar/Ronald Morien	Camaro GT4	27:59.266	12	45.110
10	28	GT4	Christopher Stockton/Steven Brady	Ginetta G50	28:01.056	12	46.900
11	63	GT4	Jeroen van den Heuvel/Peter van der Kolk	Corvette C6 GT4	28:13.062	12	58.906
12	30	GT4	Michael Draebing	Ginetta G50	28:42.621	12	1:28.465
13	4	GT4	Hal Prewitt	Lotus Evora GT4	28:45.755	12	1:31.599
14	19	GT4	Wim Vangenderen/Luc Braams	Camaro GT4	28:50.491	12	1:36.335
15	23	GT4	Andrea Perlini/Marco Fumagalli	Lotus Evora GT4	28:51.430	12	1:37.274
16	15	GT4	Ales Jirasek/Jiri Gottwald	Ginetta G50	29:15.967	12	2:01.811
17	211	SPS	Gianni Giudici	Lotus 2 Eleven	29:22.286	12	2:08.130
18	18	GT4	Henry Taylor/Jake Rattenbury	Ginetta G50	12:03.413	5	15:10.743

FIA GT1 at Silverstone - Qualifying Race

2011-06-04T21:46:00.004+01:00

It was at this race last year, where a Nissan GT-R its first victory, although there it was due to an infringement (ride height too low), causing the Aston Martin of Enge/Turner to be disqualified.

So with the number 23 JRM GT-R of Krumm / Luhr lining up on on the front row, it was expected that they'd go well again.

Unfortunately first lap disaster struck, with the #21 GT-R of Brabham/Campbell-Walter colliding with the #22 GT-R of Westbrook/Dumbreck, and the #8 DB9 of Mücke/Turner, which thinned the field out somewhat, and halved the numbers of GT-Rs on the grid.

#23 kept up the GT-R charge up front, until the pit stops, where a delay here, gifted the lead to the #7 Young Driver Racing DB9 of Enge/Müller, which it was able to hold on until the end.

Third place was taken by the #11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette z06 of Hezemans/Zuber, which held that place more or less since dropping back from pole at the start, with the only big mover through the field being the #3 Aston DB9 of Dusseldorp/Piccione, which got up from 11th to 5th by the end, albeit mostly through the pit stops.

Hopefully the Championship race tomorrow will bring up some tighter racing - I strongly suspect the first lap carnage destroyed the chances of that happening in the Qualifying Race.

Full results below.

Qualifying Race
Pos. Car Team / Drivers Nat Car Time Laps Gap
1 7 Tomas Enge / Alex Müller Aston Martin DB9 1:01:48.056 30
2 23 Michael Krumm / Lucas Luhr Nissan GT-R 1:01:49.896 30 1.840
3 11 Mike Hezemans / Andreas Zuber Corvette Z06 1:02:06.979 30 18.923
4 20 Warren Hughes / Enrique Bernoldi Nissan GT-R 1:02:14.737 30 26.681
5 3 Stef Dusseldorp / Clivio Piccione Aston Martin DB9 1:02:20.814 30 32.758
6 37 Nicky Pastorelli / Dominik Schwager Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:02:43.992 30 55.936
7 9 Vanina Ickx / Christoffer Nygaard Ford GT Matech 1:03:09.899 30 1:21.843
8 10 Antoine Leclerc / Markus Palttala Ford GT Matech 1:03:29.618 30 1:41.562
9 47 Dimitri Enjalbert / Michael Rossi Corvette Z06 1:03:38.233 30 1:50.177
10 4 Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini Aston Martin DB9 1:03:18.068 29 1:30.012
11 40 Bas Leinders / Marc Hennerici Ford GT Matech 48:54.589 23 12:53.467
12 41 Frederic Makowiecki / Maxime Martin Ford GT Matech 1:03:30.086 12 1:42.030
13 38 Marc Basseng / Markus Winkelhock Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 16:49.499 8 44:58.557
14 21 Jamie Campbell-Walter / David Brabham Nissan GT-R 2:16.932 1 59:31.124
15 8 Stefan Mücke / Darren Turner Aston Martin DB9 2:43.123 1 59:04.933
0 22 Richard Westbrook / Peter Dumbreck Nissan GT-R 0

FIA GT3 at Silverstone - Race 1 (Round 3)

2011-06-04T18:07:00.003+01:00

Qualifying for the first race was tight, with less than 1 second separating the top 7 drivers, and as a demonstration of the balance of performance working well, 5 of those top 7 cars, were different models.

The big changes in the line up for this year, are the addition of the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, and the new Ferrari 458 GT3, which is what lined up on pole for AF Corse.

Off the start, the number 50 AF Corse Ferrari kept its pole position, but further back the #25 Reiter Engineering Lamboghini LP600 of Mayr-Melnof / von Thurn and Taxis made a flying start, moving up to 3rd, ahead of a Schubert BMW Z4 (#6) , and just behind the Fischer Ford GT of Palttala/Lemeret (#13).

Unfortunately number 13 proved to unlucky for the Fisher Ford GT as it got a puncture on lap 10, which somewhat reduced the challenge to the 458 out in front, which ended winning by 10 seconds.

However there were battles going on throughout the field, as usual, with the number 3 Mercedes SLS piloted by Giauque/Paris of Graff Racing charging up through the field after the pit stops, and there being an almighty battle for 2rd between a couple of Z4s, the Graff SLS, and the #9 Aston Martin DBRS9 of LMP Motorsport.

In the end it finished, Ferrari, Aston, Mercedes, followed by not one, not two, not three, but 4! BMW Z4s - proving that the revisions to the Z4 for 2011 work well at Silverstone as well as Portimao

Full results below.

Race 1 Result
Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap	Avg speed
1	50	GT3	Federico Leo/Francesco Castellacci	Ferrari 458 Italia	01:00:40.783	28
2	9	GT3	Gael Lesoudier/Maxime Martin	Aston Martin DBRS 9	01:00:51.216	28	10.433
3	3	GT3	Philippe Giauque/Mike Parisy	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	01:00:54.970	28	14.187
4	6	GT3	Edward Sandström/Abdulaziz Al Faisal	BMW Z4 GT3	01:00:55.319	28	14.536
5	35	GT3	Hoevert Vos/Jeroen den Boer	BMW Z4 GT3	01:01:05.191	28	24.408
6	7	GT3	Csaba Walter/Claudia Hürtgen	BMW Z4 GT3	01:01:05.878	28	25.095
7	36	GT3	Harrie Kolen/Nicky Catsburg	BMW Z4 GT3	01:01:05.976	28	25.193
8	21	GT3	Duncan Cameron/Matthew Griffin	Ferrari 458 Italia	01:01:08.347	28	27.564
9	4	GT3	Joakim Lambotte/Gary Hirsch	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	01:01:10.961	28	30.178
10	20	GT3	Luca Pirri/Michael Lyons	Ferrari 458 Italia	01:01:12.674	28	31.891
11	25	GT3	Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof/Albert von Thurn und Taxis	Lamborghini Gallardo LP600	01:01:12.936	28	32.153
12	44	GT3	Dominik Baumann/Brice Bosi	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	01:01:16.252	28	35.469
13	45	GT3	Filip Sladecka/Patrick Hirsch	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	01:01:25.468	28	44.685
14	15	GT3	Jerome Demay/Dino Lunardi	Audi R8 LMS	01:01:26.868	28	46.085
15	22	GT3	Mark Patterson/Joseph Osborne	Audi R8 LMS	01:01:32.260	28	51.477
16	14	GT3	Mikko Eskelinen/Christoffer Nygaard	Ford GT	01:01:37.810	28	57.027
17	2	GT3	Petri Lappalainen/Jan Heylen	Porsche 911 GT3 R	01:01:38.389	28	57.606
18	1	GT3	Paul van Splunteren/Maxime Soulet	Porsche 911 GT3 R	01:01:38.782	28	57.999
19	11	GT3	Leonid Machitski/Tomas Kostka	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	01:01:40.047	28	59.264
20	33	GT3	Enzo Ide/Greg Franchi	Audi R8 LMS	01:01:48.026	28	01:07.2
21	23	GT3	Zakary Brown/Matthew Bell	Audi R8 LMS	01:01:51.550	28	01:10.8
22	16	GT3	Pierre Hirschi/Michael Rossi	Audi R8 LMS	01:01:58.317	28	01:17.5
23	13	GT3	Markus Palttala/Stephane Lemeret	Ford GT	01:02:14.737	28	01:34.0
24	32	GT3	Tobias Neuser/Didier Andre	Audi R8 LMS	01:02:46.472	28	02:05.7
25	12	GT3	Jan Stovicek/Jakub Knoll	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	01:02:47.027	28	02:06.2
26	8	GT3	Bernard Delhez/Dimitri Enjalbert	Aston Martin DBRS 9	01:01:24.734	26	43.951
27	51	GT3	Daniel Brown/Glynn Geddie	Ferrari 458 Italia	00:27:36.772	13	33:04.0

GT4 at Silverstone: RJN Nissan wins Race 1

2011-06-04T15:15:00.007+01:00

Former GT Academy winner Jordan Tresson begins his second year in the GT4 Cup properly with a win at Silverstone - round 4 of the championship, in the Nissan 370z he shares with experienced racer Alex Buncombe.

It's a very busy time for the RJN motorsport team who run the 370z, with two cars running at the VLN at Nürburgring last weekend (and scoring a podium finish), the new BlancPain endurance championship, and of course the ADAC 24h at the Nürburgring later on this month - so I'm sure the success will be well appreciated by the pit crews, and those back at base!

It wasn't an easy victory, and followed a tight battle at the front with the BMW M3 of Ricardo van der Ende + Duncan Huisman, and the Lotus Evora of Stefano D'Aste.

As can be seen in the table below, whilst only a second separate the top 3, they had opened up a near 30 second lead over the 4th place car.

Of course being GT4, there were battles going on throughout the 19 car field, with the grid looking healthy for 2011!

The Pitwall will be covering the whole FIA GT weekend at Silverstone, including the second GT4 race this afternoon, the GT3 races, and of course the main event - the FIA GT1!

Race One Result
Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap	Avg speed
1	24	GT4	Alex Buncombe/Jordan Tresson	Nissan 370Z	27:06.378	12
2	50	GT4	Ricardo van der Ende/Duncan Huisman	BMW M3 GT4	27:06.719	12	0.341
3	22	GT4	Stefano D'Aste	Lotus Evora GT4	27:07.112	12	0.734
4	21	GT4	Donald Molenaar/Ronald Morien	Camaro GT4	27:33.808	12	27.430
5	3	GT4	Cor Euser/Dick Freebird	Lotus Evora GT4	27:34.001	12	27.623
6	7	GT4	Dennis Retera/Jan Joris Verheul	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	27:37.545	12	31.167
7	6	GT4	James Appleby/Ant Scragg	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	27:38.671	12	32.293
8	35	GT4	Dan Denis	Ginetta G50	27:39.945	12	33.567
9	28	GT4	Christopher Stockton/Steven Brady	Ginetta G50	27:48.872	12	42.494
10	18	GT4	Henry Taylor/Jake Rattenbury	Ginetta G50	27:51.458	12	45.080
11	30	GT4	Michael Draebing	Ginetta G50	28:10.009	12	1:03.631
12	63	GT4	Jeroen van den Heuvel/Peter van der Kolk	Corvette C6 GT4	28:12.834	12	1:06.456
13	19	GT4	Wim Vangenderen/Luc Braams	Camaro GT4	28:23.974	12	1:17.596
14	23	GT4	Andrea Perlini/Marco Fumagalli	Lotus Evora GT4	28:25.771	12	1:19.393
15	4	GT4	Hal Prewitttd	Lotus Evora GT4	28:37.796	12	1:31.418
16	211	SPS	Gianni Giudici	Lotus 2 Eleven	26:59.693	11	6.685
17	36	GT4	Oliver Jackson/Hall Stewart	Lotus Evora GT4	2:22.187	1	24:44.191
18	31	GT4	Florian Renauer	Ginetta G50	2:23.033	1	24:43.345
19	15	GT4	Ales Jirasek/Jiri Gottwald	Ginetta G50	2:23.318	1	24:43.060

Le Mans - Rematch: Audi v Peugeot

2011-06-04T09:50:00.003+01:00

Audi R18 has its Le Mans debut this year

Audi 3
Peugeot 1
1 Result TBD

Those are the key stats at Le Mans over the past 5 years.

They serve to highlight the dominance of Audi at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the most famous endurance race in the world.

Revised Peugeot 908 now has V8 TDI power

However they dont pay the full picture.

Elsewhere in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and in the LMS/ALMS, Peugeot speed and success has filled the results tables

Furthermore last year at le mans Peugeot had the legs on Audi until one by one they all dropped out with engine failures gifting a late result to Audi.

This year they return with new cars - with Audi switching to a hard top for the first time in 12 years, and switching to a V6 TDi engine for their new R18, with Peugeot launching a revised 908, with a V8 engine instead of the previous V12.

With the rules theoretically balanced to give a chance to the petrol cars, such as the Aston Martin AMR-One, it is poised to ensure that there's a thrilling race at Le Mans once again.

The favourites for the 2011 ADAC 24h Rennen @ Nürburgring

2011-06-03T09:18:00.004+01:00

3 of the main contenders for victory - 911 GT3 R, R8 LMS, SLS AMG

With just over two weeks to go until the 2011 ADAC 24h on the Nürburgring, questions are being raised as to who the favourites are likely to be.

Judging the favourite, with over 200 cars racing, is pretty difficult at the best of times, as whilst pre-season form is an indicator of overall performance, it is suspected that many of the front runners have been holding something in reserve, so as not to be unduly penalised before the big race.

With a plethora of manufacturers running top line cars this year, and a number of key privateer teams entering too, it is expected that a new distance record will be set for the race, with the current record being 155 laps (set in 2009, after the thrilling battle between Audi and Porsche).

Rather than listing every combination of car, team and driver, I've decided to list the key players by car, and include some of the likely team/driver combinations for that car. Once the entry list for the 24h is published, the article will be updated accordingly.

1) Porsche 911 GT3 R

Haribo Team Manthey GT3-R

Teams to watch: Manthey Racing, Falken Motorsports, Frikadelli Racing
Key strength: Reliability, Driver line up, Was leading until accident last year.
Possible chink in the armour: Heavily restricted for 2011, following success last year, therefore seems to lack the outright pace of some of the competitors, although this could be a deliberate ploy

2) BMW M3 GT

BMW M3 GT - winning car from 2010

Teams to watch: BMW Motorsport
Key strength: Factory team, won last year
Possible chink in the armour: Is it quick enough? did it only win due to attrition? - That said rumours are that it is holding back the most right now...

3) Audi R8 LMS

Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS

Teams to watch: Phoenix Racing, Abt Sportsline
Key strength: Easy to drive very quickly, number of entries, factory support (inc drivers)
Possible chink in the armour: Seems fragile over very long distances (failures when leading during ADAC 24h in 2009 and 2010, and issues during Spa 24h in 2009 + 2010).

4) Mercedes SLS AMG

Mercedes SLS AMG GT3

Teams to watch: Mamerow, ROWE Racing, Heico Motorsport, Black Falcon
Key strength: numbers (there's loads of them!), lots of pace, strength, factory support to privateers
Possible chink in the armour: Relatively unproven over long distance, other than Dubai 24h - 'ring much more punishing, also apparent lack of factory drivers.

5) Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

Porsche GT3 R Hybrid

Teams to watch: Porsche Team Manthey (there is only one)
Key strength: Economy/Efficiency - less time in the pits, KERS helps on the straights, and overtaking.
Possible chink in the armour: There is only one. Failed last year after 22hrs, although tweaked since

6) Ferrari F458 GTC

Ferrari 458 Italia GTC from Team Farnbacher

Teams to watch: Farnbacher
Key strength: Won last time out, strong team + driver line up.
Possible chink in the armour: Fragility - 458s experiencing issues in other series. Also is it quick enough? - it only won due to top 10 cars, getting a penalty lap...

7) Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

Teams to watch: Manthey Racing, ???
Key strength: Won the 24h in 2007, 2008 and 2009 when run by Manthey Racing. Outstanding reliability, great efficiency.
Possible chink in the armour: Restrictions will limit it to 430bhp for the 24h - 70bhp less than its heigh day, may mean it wont run. (if it was a confirmed runner with a top team, it would be up near the top of the order).

8) BMW Z4 V8 GT3

Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3

Teams to watch: Schubert Motorsport, Dorr Motorsport
Key strength: Version 2.0 has been competitive in FIA GT, best sounding car by a long way.
Possible chink in the armour: Seems a little off the pace at the 'ring - possible compromise by the short wheelbase, updates not tested at long distance yet.

9) Lexus LFA

Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA

Teams to watch: Gazoo Racing
Key strength: V10 power, factory backing
Possible chink in the armour: This will be its 4th 24h at the 'ring, and it hasn't delivered, yet

10) VW Golf GT 24

Volkswagen Motorsport Golf GT24

Teams to watch: Volkswagen Motorsport
Key strength: Driver line up, factory team, 4WD could be useful if wet.
Possible chink in the armour: Unproven over this distance, seems a little down on pace -aerodynamics limit its top speed on the straights.

There a a couple of other cars, which may spring a surprise, which will be covered in an article coming soon!

Update: The article on the Dark horses for the 24h is now live: http://www.thepitwall.com/2011/06/dark-horses-for-adac-24h-2011-at.html

Spot the difference - Manthey 911 GT3 RSR

2011-06-01T08:40:00.002+01:00

Manthey 911 GT3 RSR, with Dive plates fitted during testing

Ok, so this isn't a typical spot the difference competition, as there are actually hundreds of differences between the two photos. (such as the GT3 R not being present in the second, the different angles, front wheel being lifted etc etc etc).

The point of note though is the removal of the front winglets, or dive plates.

At the 6 hour race on 14th May, the Manthey GT3 RSR made 4 pit stops. During this race, it ran with the two winglets either side.

At the 4 hour race, on 28th May, the car made just two pit stops - running without the winglets, to reduce drag, thus improving economy, but also increasing top speed down Döttinger Höhe.

Manthey 911 GT3 RSR, with Dive plates removed, to reduce drag.

For the 24 hour race, later on this month, there will be no "Cup" class for the GT3 Cup spec Porsches, as such they will be in the same SP7 class as the RSR. As a means of equalisation, all cars in this class will be limited to 430bhp, thus potentially disadvantaging a stock RSR, due to the high drag, that its wide arches, and large wings cause.

It is clear Manthey are investigating all possibilities ahead of the highly anticipated race next month. What is not clear however, is whether Manthey will choose to run the GT3 RSR (GT2 spec), the GT3 R (GT3 Spec), or both cars. I suspect Olaf Manthey will be keeping the cards (or should it be cars?) close to his chest until he has to declare them.

The car raced without dive plates, and sponsors logos used to fill in the blanks!

I for one would be delighted, to see both cars out there, as it will help ensure a close fight throughout the race.

Another dimension in the VLN race series

2011-05-31T12:03:00.003+01:00

Sometimes the cars are big and scary, and one has to hide behind the armco!

It is very easy to focus on the big scary cars at the front of the grid when looking at, and writing about the VLN race series - as battles tend to be hard fought there, and with the current level of manufacturer backing, a lot of the promotional activities direct attention toward this.

However, further down the grid, there are the "Specials" - highly modified cars, which have to conform to some fairly relaxed standards, with different categories based on engine size, and whether or not the car has a turbo, and then the "Production" or V classes, where modification is very limited, and again they're subdivided based on engine size, to provide a rough balance of performance.

A Production class VW Scirocco R heading down to Eschbach

In the V classes, no aerodynamic modifications are allowed, the engine must remain standard, and one is limited on the modifications which can be made to brakes, and suspension.

The upshot of this, is whilst the cars are slower - with the quickest 'V' car being over a minute off the pace of the quickest "Special", the intra-class racing becomes less about how big a budget the team has, and more on driver skill.

Of course budgetary influences do continue to make a difference - for example through the numbers of tyres used, how fresh components are and other such things, but there is a possibility for competency to outweigh cash.

Black Falcon Z4 3.0, racing in the V5 Class at Hocheichen

Additionally, as the overall VLN championship is based on class wins, and the size of ones class, it is possible to win that with a V car - and indeed this happens regularly, due to the large classes, and the competitiveness of the racing.

Furthermore it would be foolish to consider these cars slow - with the quickest ones completing the VLN lap (which is 25km, as includes the GP sprint circuit, plus the Nordschleife ) in about 9 mins 30, this equates to under sub 8 minute full lap of the Nordschliefe, which is still a very quick time.

BMW 325i racing in V4 jumping the kerb at Wipperman

So if you're thinking of taking part, do consider renting a seat in a V car, it will be a lot of fun, and whilst the changes for this year (removing the sub 2 litre cars) have upset some, it has at least reduced the closing speeds, to the fastest cars, thus making it a slightly less scary experience!

Prius pious no longer valid: Porsche Hybrid wins at the 'ring

2011-05-28T19:17:00.000+01:00

Excuse the poor latin pun in the headline. (for those who didn't go to public school, Prius - also as in the toyota car - is latin for former ( prius definition ).

Anyway the bottom line is Porsche have won a race at the Nürburgring using the Hybrid technology that they've developed over the last 18 months, with their modified GT3-R Hybrid.

The car has been significantly developed from that which came close to winning the 24hr last year, although a large part of that was due to attrition from the fancied contenders.

These developments have increased the comparative pace of the Hybrid - to the point that whilst its ultimate one lap pace is still around 10 seconds off the quickest cars, its now close enough in performance to the other top cars, that its economy benefits enable it to spend less time in the pits, thus bringing it out in front.

Additionally the powerful electric motors (2x 75hp) provide a kickstart down the straights, meaning that the Hybrid car was able to power past many cars on the run up to the first corner, of the race - getting from 8th, to 5th.

The VLN race series is one of the most exciting in the world - as in essence there are many different races taking part on the same race track, due to the many classes, ranging from historic racers, through current hardly modified production cars, to out and out racers like the Porsches, Audis, BMWs, Ferraris, and Mercedes which make up most of the front runners.

It is often the case that one focuses largely on the overall victory - and indeed this article is just that - but a follow up article will be coming soon talking about some of the privateer entries and the battles which happen in those classes.

As said above this was a race the hybrid won on merit, beating race fit R8s, SLSs, and 911s. There were a few retirements, as will always be the case, but it seems Porsche's focus on efficiency, and economy paid dividends here.

It will be exciting to see how it fairs in its next outing which will be the real test the ADAC 24h, toward the end of June, also at the Nürburgring

Return of the King?

2011-05-23T22:50:00.003+01:00

For many onlookers, it was business as usual for Manthey Racing at the recent VLN race on 15th May, with their Yellow and Green Porsche charging round at or near the front for much of the race, eventually finishing 2nd overall, after a 1 lap penalty, and winning its class.

The actuality was quite different, although you would have needed sharp eyes to spot why!

With the factory supported challengers lining up in huge numbers, from Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Ferrari, to name just a few, it's clear that for Olaf Manthey's team to regain the crown which feel is rightfully theirs, that of the ADAC 24h, it is necessary to ensure no stone is left unturned in the quest to have the fastest car.

In this case it meant looking back, to the champion which won in 2007, 2008 and 2009 - their SP7 class Porsche 911 RSR.

Whilst the GT3-R, which they'd run in 2010, and up until now this year, is competitive, with the recent rule changes, and, it could be that the GT2 spec RSR is once more the car to beat.

It wasn't simply the case of wheeling out the winning car from 2009, and firing it up - first all the latest updates had to be applied - some of the differences can be seen in the two photos below.

2009 Porsche 911 RSR

Key differences to the 2011 RSR are the modifications to the front, which are clearly visible in these photos - with a smoothed lip from the bumper to the bonnet, to reduce drag - along with other changes to increase downforce. Additionally the rear wing benefits from optimisation, and along with improved ducting to the engine, which rises in power to 455bhp (5bhp more than before).

2011 Porsche 911 RSR

This means, following the "balance of power" to the GT3 class, forcing the Porsche GT3-R to drop to 465bhp, there is now just 10bhp difference between the cars - which considering the significantly more downforce in the RSR, should help tip the balance.

For comparison you can see the GT3-R below - The most visible differences are the simpler front bumper, which lacks the double winglets of the RSR, and also the significantly smaller rear wing

2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R

Of course, it may be this is just a diversionary tactic that Mr Manthey is deploying to help hide and protect the performance of the GT3-R car he had run up until now - or perhaps, it means we'll be in for a real treat with both models being raced - to attempt to avoid the disappointment of last year.

We will find out for sure, in just under a month! - in the run up to the 2011 ADAC 24h race at the Nürburgring, we will be sure to continue to bring you the latest news and updates on this.

Will the new kid on the block win the 24hr?

2011-05-19T14:03:00.003+01:00

In 2009, it was the Audi R8 LMS, which was the upstart, shaking up the order at the VLN endurance championship, and resetting opinions about what those 4 rings from Ingolstadt mean.

The R8 quickly established itself among the front runners in the races, and the battle between it and the Porsche from Manthey in the 2009, created one of the most exciting races of all time.

In 2010, the new boy honours were split between BMW's M3 GT2, and Porsche's Hybrid. With both cars running in experimental classes, albeit for very different reasons, they weren't quite competing on the same playing field as the Audis, and other Porsches... however for overall victory they could fight like the best of them - with the Hybrid leading for much of the 24hr race, although final hour fragility gifted the win to the BMW.

For 2011, all the above contestants are returning to do battle once more, but now there is, as you might have guessed from the picture up the top a new gun in town.

Sounding more like a piston engined fighter plane, than a car, the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 is a scary beast.
First impressions are around the size of it, it is massive! Second impression, is its quick, very quick! It actually debuted at the end of 2010, in the VLN races for some shake downs.
After a not so salubrious first effort, which ended at pretty much the first corner, after a collision, it went on to win its second race... and the VLNs so far in 2011, have shown it to be very competitive too.

Being field by Mamerow (who have dropped their Porsche GT3-R which they won some races with last year), and Black Falcon amongst others, SLSes appear to have won their GT3 class every race so far - with overall victory coming in one of them.

It's looking good, and is sure to ensure that we'll have another spectacular 24h race on our hands come the end of June!

25 months, 75 victories.. the Audi R8 LMS

2011-05-17T12:20:00.001+01:00

Audi may have worried, when launching the GT3 spec R8 LMS car, they might muddy the reputation of the original Le Mans conquering prototype.

If they did, well they wont be now!

In just over 2 years since the debut of the R8, it has amassed a huge tally of wins, and podiums and shows no sign of stopping.

What's all the more amazing, is that due to it being raced in GT3, whilst Audi do provide some support to teams who pay, the majority of the drivers are customers, not works.

Audi focussed on making the R8 easy to drive for long distances, and redevelopment in 2010 and 2011, has been to improve reliability and reduce time taken for maintenance - key things when developing a car for endurance races.

Despite this, it continues to be competitive in sprint formulae, such as the FIA GT3, and national GT championships.

Pos.	Car	Team / Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap
1	7	Tomas Enge / Alex Müller	Aston Martin DB9	1:01:48.056	30
2	23	Michael Krumm / Lucas Luhr	Nissan GT-R	1:01:49.896	30	1.840
3	11	Mike Hezemans / Andreas Zuber	Corvette Z06	1:02:06.979	30	18.923
4	20	Warren Hughes / Enrique Bernoldi	Nissan GT-R	1:02:14.737	30	26.681
5	3	Stef Dusseldorp / Clivio Piccione	Aston Martin DB9	1:02:20.814	30	32.758
6	37	Nicky Pastorelli / Dominik Schwager	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	1:02:43.992	30	55.936
7	9	Vanina Ickx / Christoffer Nygaard	Ford GT Matech	1:03:09.899	30	1:21.843
8	10	Antoine Leclerc / Markus Palttala	Ford GT Matech	1:03:29.618	30	1:41.562
9	47	Dimitri Enjalbert / Michael Rossi	Corvette Z06	1:03:38.233	30	1:50.177
10	4	Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini	Aston Martin DB9	1:03:18.068	29	1:30.012
11	40	Bas Leinders / Marc Hennerici	Ford GT Matech	48:54.589	23	12:53.467
12	41	Frederic Makowiecki / Maxime Martin	Ford GT Matech	1:03:30.086	12	1:42.030
13	38	Marc Basseng / Markus Winkelhock	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	16:49.499	8	44:58.557
14	21	Jamie Campbell-Walter / David Brabham	Nissan GT-R	2:16.932	1	59:31.124
15	8	Stefan Mücke / Darren Turner	Aston Martin DB9	2:43.123	1	59:04.933
0	22	Richard Westbrook / Peter Dumbreck	Nissan GT-R		0