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- 24h Nürburgring Qualifying 3 & Top Qualifying Report
【24h Nürburgring Qualifying 3 & Top Qualifying ／ Nürburgring】
Team Advan x HRT in strong position for 52nd Nürburgring 24 Hours
24h Nürburgring Qualifying 3 & Top Qualifying
| Date | 31 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Course | Nürburgring (Germany) |
| Weather | Qualifying 3 : Cloudy Top Qualifying 1 : Fine Top Qualifying 2 : Fine |
| Surface | Qualifying 3 : Dry Top Qualifying 1 : Dry Top Qualifying 2 : Dry |
Team Advan x HRT finished the Top Qualifying for the 2024 Nürburgring 24 Hours with a strong 2nd place in class and 13th overall. The #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Dennis Fetzer, Hubert Haupt, Ralf Aron and Salman Owega will start the great race through the “Green Hell” from a strong position to challenge for honors in the SP9 Pro-Am category as well as a strong finish in the overall standings.
The result was a testament to the Haupt Racing Team mechanics, who rebuilt the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in a heroic effort overnight until Friday morning to get Team Advan x HRT ready for Qualifying 3 in early Friday afternoon. In dry conditions, the drivers completed a shakedown and finished the final practice session safely in 25th place overall and P6 in the SP9 Pro-Am.
With a spot in Top Qualifying 2 already secured thanks to strong showings in the NLS races earlier in the season, Team Advan x HRT was able to sit out the TQ1 session and watch their opponents battle it out for the final spots in TQ2.
Ralf Aron took on the challenge in TQ2 on Friday evening, walking the tightrope between setting a competitive lap time and managing the risk less than 24 hours before the start of the race. Additional pressure was placed on the Estonian as he was the first to take to the track with starting positions determined by a draw on Friday afternoon.
Aron dealt with the pressure swiftly, making full use of his latest Yokohama Advan racing slicks in perfectly dry and cloudy conditions. His first lap time of 8’17.134 was good enough for P15. On his second lap, however, he improved in every single sector and set a best time of 8’14.308. This put Team Advan x HRT in second place in the SP9 Pro-Am, just behind the first placed Pro-Am entry, and P13 overall. Aron laid the foundation for a strong showing for both Haupt Racing Team and Yokohama in the 52nd edition of the Eifel classic, which kicks off Saturday afternoon at 4pm local time.
Driver’s Voice
Ralf Aron [Team ADVAN×HRT]
“First of all, the sun came out for the first time after some tricky weather during the weekend. I was the first one to go out in TQ2, which was amazing, because I was sitting there with all the fans waiting for me in the sun. The qualifying itself went quite well. I think we have a very good race car. We start from P13, which is a pretty good place to start the race from, being able to go with the lead pack. Now our focus is fully on the race.”