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【24h Nürburgring After 16hours Race / Nürburgring】
Walkenhorst BMW #100 stays in Pro-Am contention as heartbreak befalls #102
24h Nürburgring After 16hours Race
Date | 20-21 May 2023 |
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Course | Nürburgring (Germany) |
Weather | After 16hours : Fine |
Surface | After 16hours : Dry |
As the huge crowds made the night a day around the Nordschleife, contenders on track fought a hard battle against tough conditions with oil spills, dirt and debries on the track from numerous incidents around the grueling “Green Hell” at the 51st edition of the Nürburgring 24 hours. The two remaining Walkenhorst-entered BMW M4 GT3 navigated the tricky conditions with ease, relying on the grip of the latest Yokohama Advan slick tires.
Havin made it through the night into the merging daylight, the #102 Yokohama-liveried Walkenhorst entry of Thomas Neubauer, Jake Dennis, Jens Klingmann and Christian Krognes was running in strong contention well inside the top 10, challenging for a top 5 result.
Having started from the back of the grid after a heroic rebuild of the car by the team overnight, the #102 has quickly emerged as a frontrunner, dealing swiftly with the tricky conditions and setting consistent laptimes over the stints. On early Sunday morning however, a misunderstanding with a lapped car forced Thomas Neubauer off track, causing damage to the undertrain of the SP9 machine and leading to subsequent retirement.
Contrary, the #100 art car driven by Henry Walkenhorst, Jörg Breuer, Sami-Matti Trogen and Christian Bollrath had a rather uneventful night in which several competitors hit trouble. With its cautious approach, the BMW M4 GT3 has climbed the leaderboard to 5th in the SP9 Pro-Am category and 17th overall. Sticking to these tactics, the #100 is ready to capitalize of any incidents further up the field whilst still being in contention to pounce within its class when the time is right.
Driver’s Voice
Sami-Matti Trogen [No.100 / SP9 Pro-Am Class]
“Staying out of trouble has paid off for us this night. We’ve seen many incidents tonight and it hasn’t been easy by any means. Having made it through the night unscathed is an important step in this race. However, we need to stay focused and finish the job. Kudos to Yokohama, we had zero problems with the tires so far and the grip is very predictable.”