2022 24h Nürburgring Report 2

【24h Nürburgring ／ Nürburgring】

7th in SP9 Pro-Am class for Yokohama and Walkenhorst Motorsport in grueling 24 hours at the Nürburgring

24h Nürburgring

Date	29 May 2022
Course	Nürburgring (Germany)
Weather	Fine & Rain
Surface	Dry & Wet

The 2022 edition of the Nürburgring 24 hours provided a tough challenge for Yokohama and Walkenhorst Motorsport. After a grueling 24 hours that saw a huge number of favorites drop out, Walkenhorst Motorsport scored a 7th place finish in the SP9 Pro-Am class with the #102 Alpecin-liveried BMW M4 GT3.

The #102 car driven by Jörg Müller, Mario von Bohlen, Ben Tuck and Jörn Schmidt-Staade was the only Walkenhorst entry reaching the finish line of the 50th edition of Germany’s greatest race. However, the team realigned its goals in the race during the final hours after an accident on Sunday morning whilst fighting for podium positions until that point.

With the car being repaired due to slick work by the Walkenhorst Motorsport mechanics, the team used the remaining time in close cooperation with Yokohama to test new tires for the rest of the season. With testing days rare on the famous 25.378 kilometers long track, the race provided an excellent staging ground to test the latest developments under competitive circumstances in mixed conditions, whilst also entertaining the 230,000 spectators that were out in full force for the first time since 2019.

Starting the race from 7th position overall, the #101 Yokohama-liveried BMW M4 GT3 driven by Christian Krognes, Andy Soucek, Sami-Matti Trogen and Jörg Müller enjoyed a trouble-free first third of the race, climbing as high as 4th position and successfully avoiding the mayhem in the SP9 class that caught out a huge number of favorites already within the first eight hours.

The team was preparing for an offensive at night when temperatures reached as low as 4°C, which would have provided an excellent hunting ground for the soft-compound Yokohama Advan racing slick. However, before the charge could really commence, the #101 was out of the race due to an accident in the 11th hour that could be tracked down to a steering failure.

The #100 BMW M-branded M4, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary brand, also chose a cautious approach that initially paid off. With the car slowly climbing up the table as night fell, an accident struck in the eighth hour of the race which all but ended the challenge of team owner Henry Walkenhorst, Friedrich von Bohlen, Jörg Breuer and Andreas Ziegler for a good finish.

Although not scoring the results it was expecting, Team Walkenhorst once more proved its competitiveness around the famous Eifel racetrack that lives up to its enormous challenge year after year, setting a perfect battleground for development and innovation within the automotive and tire sector.

Both Yokohama and Walkenhorst Motorsport are set to return to the Nürburgring Nordschleife again this year for the remaining races of the Nürburgring Endurance series, challenging for more victories and even stronger tires for the next edition of the Nürburgring 24 hours that is set to take place from May 18th to 21st.

DRIVER VOICE

Andy Soucek　[Walkenhorst Motorsport]

“In summary, apart from the accident, we couldn’t have done better. We had a great car and the tires worked in all temperatures. Both the medium and soft compounds were very competitive. The team has done a great job, my teammates were super-fast, and I felt comfortable in the car as well. Unfortunately, we had a technical issue in the car in the tenth hour. I could not operate the steering and so I hit the barriers. Thankfully we only have minor damage with the car and I’m okay as well. Our relationship with Yokohama has been a dream from the beginning. We have worked closely together, and I had the feeling that we were competitive. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t – that’s racing.”

ENGINEER VOICE

Masaaki Miyoshi　[The Yokohama Rubber Co.,LTD. Motorsports Tire Development Dept. No.1 Tire Development Division]

“Our race weekend started on Thursday with practice sessions labeled as Qualifying. Since we were pre-qualified, we used these sessions for testing purposes, especially at night. The temperatures in the top qualifying session were a bit on the low side, so we were struggling to get temperature into the tires. For the race, we chose three different tire compounds, working closely together with Walkenhorst Motorsport. This process that included new tire specs and profound setup work, started at the first round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series and lasted right until the regular qualifying sessions here. Our pace during the race has been better than anticipated. Unfortunately, our three cars could not finish the race, but we quickly found new tasks to use this race for a good cause. It is a shame we didn’t score a good result, but we are motivated for the next races of the Nürburgring Endurance Series.”