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【24h Nürburgring Qualifying 1&2 ／ Nürburgring】
Walkenhorst’s No.101 marked the top time among the BMWs through the two official qualifying sessions!!
24h Nürburgring Qualifying 1&2
| Date | 18 May 2023 |
|---|---|
| Course | Nürburgring (Germany) |
| Weather | Qualifying 1 : Fine Qualifying 2 : Fine |
| Surface | Qualifying 1 : Dry Qualifying 2 : Dry |
The 2023 edition of the Nürburgring 24 hours started with two qualifying sessions on Thursday afternoon and evening.
Walkenhorst Motorsport has entered three BMW M4 GT3s in cooperation with Yokohama into the 51st edition of the Eifel enduro classic. All the BMWs experienced a trouble-free opening day in front of huge crowds filling the hills around the “Green Hell” under perfect weather conditions.
Two Yokohama-liveried entries are entered in the SP9 Pro class and challenging for overall victory.
The #101 BMW, driven by Nürburgring Endurance Series track-record setter Christian Krognes, former Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup ace Jakub Giermaziak, BMW factory driver Jesse Krohn and former FIA Formula Two champion Andy Soucek, has entered the weekend boosted by a victory in the second race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, exhibiting the competitiveness of the latest Yokohama Advan GT3 tires.
A strong laptime of 8’16.384s by Giermaziak during night practice put the car in fifth place overall, underlining its intention to fight way at the top of the 32-car strong GT3 field in this year’s Nürburgring 24 hours. It was a strong follow-up to a formidable third place in the first Qualifying session.
Sharing driving duties in the #102 BMW M4 GT3, 2022 GT4 class winner Thomas Neubauer, ABB FIA Formula E ace Jake Dennis, BMW factory driver Jens Klingmann and Krognes managed a trouble-free opening day, finishing in 17th place courtesy of a 8’21.301s from the quick Norwegian. For the GT3 cars, the regular qualifying sessions are more of a practice run as the starting positions will only be determined by the top qualifying sessions on Friday evening.
Challenging for SP9 Pro-Am honors is the #100 BMW M4 GT3 with the experienced crew of Henry Walkenhorst, Jörg Breuer, Sami-Matti Trogen and Christian Bollrath behind the wheel. Having secured a spot inside the Top Qualifying 2 session before the weekend, the team used the two Thursday sessions as preparation for the race with a careful approach, finishing the day in 30th overall.
Driver’s Voice
Henry Walkenhorst [No.100 / SP9 PRO-AM Class]
“So far, so good. All in all, we can be happy with our first day and we’re satisfied as we have all three cars in one piece. We have seen many accidents today, causing many debris on track. We’re very happy with our Yokohama tires. The weather forecast is good, and the cold conditions should suit us. The Advan Soft and Medium compounds are working very well in these conditions. We can also expect a full 24-hour race unlike some of the last years when we had long interruptions. Of course, in such a race you will need a little bit of luck as well to end up at the front.”