2024 NLS(Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie) Round 3 Report

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Three weeks have passed since the 24-hour race at Nürburgring, which was adversely affected by dense fog and had to be stopped for a prolonged period. The exhaust sounds of race cars growled in the forest of Eifel again as the third round of NLS (Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie) took place on June 22nd.

Team ADVAN×HRT had competed in the first two rounds of the German endurance race series, running a Mercedes AMG GT3. While the team entered only one car in the SP9 Pro-Am class, they sent in two cars for this third race meeting and ran them in the SP9 Pro class. In addition to the no.6 car, which they ran until this time, the team prepared an identical Mercedes AMG GT3 with the car number 9. Needless to say, ADVAN racing tires provided by Yokohama Tire were fitted to the wheel rims of those cars.

So far, the no.6 car has won almost everything in the SP9 Pro-Am class, conquering the first two rounds of NLS and the two Qualifiers of the 24-hour race. A similar result could well be expected in the SP9 Pro class this time.

Hubert Haupt, the team owner, led the driving trio of the no.6 car, and Jusuf Owega and Arjun Maini, who raced with Yokohama Tire for the first time, joined him. Maini, a 26-year-old from India, is a familiar face for Haupt Racing since he had competed in the 24-hour races at Nürburgring and the German Touring Car Championship with the team.

The new addition to the team, the no.9 car, was also shared by three drivers: Dennis Fetzer, who had driven the no.6 car in every NLS round this year, Salman Owega, who joined the team in the 24-hour race, and David Schumacher from a famous racing family. The 22-year-old German is the son of Ralf Schumacher, an ex-Grand Prix driver, and a nephew of the seven-time Formula One world champion, Michael Schumacher.

Official qualifying was scheduled to commence at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22nd, but the track in the forest of Eifel was totally covered by thick fog, which reminded everyone of the conditions of the recent 24-hour race. The qualifying had to be delayed, and the race control announced that the track would be open at 10:15 a.m. and that the session would be shortened to 60 minutes from the initially planned 90 minutes.

Team ADVAN×HRT’s two cars went out to the track, but the main objective for the crews was to make sure everything with the cars was working correctly. At the end of the session, the no.6 car was sixth fastest in the SP9 class, with Haupt’s best lap time, 9’02″549, and Owega’s no.9 car was seventh, with 9’03″142.

The start time was also delayed by 45 minutes, from noon to 12:45. Fortunately, the weather conditions improved significantly over the morning hours, so the competitors could start the race on the dry tarmac with no problems regarding visibility, although the sky was overcast.

The no.6 car got off its starting grid, sixth in the SP9 Pro and 14th overall, with Maini behind the wheel. He pushed hard from the beginning and moved to fifth in the class, seventh overall, by overtaking as many as seven cars during the opening lap. Furthermore, on the next lap, he passed the top qualifier of SP9 Pro, the no.5 Porsche, coming up to fourth in the class.

Schumacher started the race in the no.9 car and drove solidly during early laps while he was stuck in traffic. However, he didn’t miss an overtaking opportunity that came to him, and he was running in sixth in the class when he completed Lap 4. Before the end of the race’s first hour, one of the competitors crashed heavily, but Team ADVAN×HRT’s two cars ended their first stint safe and sound.

When about 50 minutes had elapsed, the no.6 car made its first pit stop on the same lap as the top two in the class. Maini stayed in the car and returned to the track to do a double stint. Schumacher, in the no.9 car, came into the pit at the end of Lap 7 to hand over the car to Owega, to whom the team entrusted it for their second stint.

Maini continued to show brilliant performance and reduced the gap with the no.4 Porsche to just 1.485 seconds when they were into Lap 12. Putting a menacing pressure by flashing his headlights from behind, he quickly closed in and cleanly overtook the Porsche to snatch the third place. Thus, he had a hand on a podium finish at this point.

The no.6 car and the no.4 Porsche returned to the pit almost simultaneously on Lap 13. Haupt took over the no.6 from Maini but had to give way to the no.4 during his stint. However, after Haupt changed to Owega, who drove for their final stint, at the end of Lap 21, the no.4 car suddenly halted on Lap 26, which meant the third place was automatically given to Owega.

He completed the remaining two laps safely and finished the race in third overall. The no.6 car set the race’s fastest lap as well on Lap 5, 7’57″104, by the hands of Maini, which was almost two seconds faster than the second fastest, which the eventual winner set.

For the no.9 car, Fetzer secured fifth place by driving skillfully for the last two stints.

Result

• 2024 NLS(Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie) Round 3 Result