It’s time to gear ourselves up ahead of the first of the three major twenty-four-hour racing events in Europe as the ADAC Ravenol N24 looks to get going this week featuring another incredible entry list of one hundred and sixty-one mixed class GT and tin-top racers this weekend around the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife.

 

Again featuring itself as the second round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge as a ‘side show’ to the racing event in itself, we will be looking to the front of the grid – within the SP9 class to be specific where we will be welcoming four Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered crews to its midst.

 

Like many of the Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie events before it, all four AMR powered entries will be from both the Prosport Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport teams as they enter their older and newer examples of the Vantage platform within the class.

Those crews are confirmed as follows:-

#34 Walkenhorst Motorsport AMR Vantage GT3 Evo – Nicki Thiim/Chirstian Krognes/ Matia Drudi/Felipe Fernandez Laser

#35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Vantage GT3 Evo – Mateo Villagomez/Felipe Fernandez Laser/Dennis Fetner/Stefan Aust

The qualification sessions for this weekend’s ADAC Ravenol 24H Nurburgring from the Nurburgring Nordschleife are now over after its earlier delay and it’s been a great showing from the four Aston Martin Raving Vantage GT3 crews competing within the top-flight SP9 Pro classes.

With the Walkenhorst Motorsport team putting up three of those entries and the locally based Prosport Racing team the fourth, all have qualified their cars comfortably within the top twenty ahead of tomorrow’s wave off.

 

This weekend coming really is getting busier by the day as entry lists are confirmed across the global theatre of GT racing.

The latest all centres around this years forthcoming Nurburgring 24 and the preparatory races and Qualifying rounds catered for within the Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie – particularly this weekend with NLS2 where we will see six Aston Martin Racing powered crews from Walkenhorst Motorsport and Prosport Racing teams.

 

The apparently say that the Nordschleife selects its winners but sadly for this year’s ADAC Ravenol 24H Nurburgring event from the circuit this weekend, there were no real winners as Mother Nature had other intentions this time around.

Having seen a vast range of climatic conditions over testing and qualifying sessions earlier in the proceedings, something that only the Green Hell could ever muster, the wet and then warmth of the race weekend resulted with the predictable fog cloud descending across the valleys overnight which negated any possibility of further racing.

 

With all track action bar the race itself already done and dusted, it’s just a few hours now before the start of the 2023 ADAC TotalEnergies 24H race around the infamous and notorious Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Six Aston Martin Racing powered crews have returned to the “Green Hell’ for another attempt at class honours with the British marque being represented this time by the two German teams of Prosport Racing and Doer Motorsports.

 

German based Prosport Racing today confirmed a slightly revised driver line up for their three car Aston Martin Racing powered entry into this year’s ADAC TotalEnergies 24H Nurburgring event later this month.

Still entering one Vantage GT3 and two Vantage GT4’s see both Christophe Breuer and Mike David Ortmann remain within the teams #28 SP9 Pro-Am entry but with both Maxime Dumarey and Ben Green joining the party.

 

It was a successful start to the 2022 Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie for the locally based PROsport Racing team as their two Aston Martin Racing crews battled the infamous Green Hell for the first time.

This time featuring both a Vantage GT3 and GT4 in their midst for the first time as full season NLS entries, yesterday’s opening four-hour race didn’t exactly start that well for the team as Jean Glorieux was taken ill overnight meaning that he could no longer partner Maxime Dumarey aboard their #17 Pro-Am classed SP9 Vantage GT3.

Having taken the world stage by storm with a debuting SP8T class win at the ADAC Total 24N event the weekend after Le Mans 24 earlier this year, one of the AMR Performance Centre's Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 returns to the scene at this weekends round of the VLN Series.

This weekend sees just a single AMR car entered into the halfway stage of the German VLN Series around the infamous and notorious Green Hell circuit that is the Nordschleife with two very well established Aston Martin runners in the form of Marc Muller supporting American businessman and gentleman driver David Thilenius aboard the #158 SP8T class AMR Vantage GT4.


Having competed together in this years N24 aboard the outgoing Aston Martin Vantage GT8, they and co drivers Tony Richards and Heinz Jurgen Kroner sadly failed to finish the race in the normally aspirated former N24 class winning car.

We hope that this revisit will be slightly more 'profitable' for them!

Photo credits - AMR

Aston Martin takes on its second 24-hour race in as many weekends when it contests another landmark GT racing event in the 2019 calendar – the ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours (N24) – staged on the world famous Nürburgring Nordschleife (22-23 June), with four Vantage GT4 machines.

Straight off the back of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the Aston Martin Vantage GTE completed its first season in the top-flight FIA World Endurance Championship, the Vantage GT4 will make its international 24-hour race debut in the N24 – perhaps the world’s toughest long distance race.


The works AMR Performance Centre will run a two-car entry in the SP8T class for close-to-production cars, featuring an all-star driver line-up that includes three-time Le Mans class winner Darren Turner (GB), Aston Martin High Performance test driver Chris Goodwin (GB), who join Christian Gebhardt (D) in the #36. Meanwhile AMR Junior driver and W-Series championship leader Jamie Chadwick and former ELMS champion Alex Brundle team-up with N24 veteran Peter Cate in all British line-up in the #37 GT4.

A further two Vantage GT4s will be run by the Nürburgring-based Aston Martin Racing partner team PROsport Performance in the SP10 class. An all-German crew of Christoph Breuer, Kay van Berlo, Alexander Mies and Peter Scharmach will drive the #86. Meanwhile in the #76 will be Jörg Viebahn (D), Nicolaj Moller-Madsen (DEN) and Jonas Lappeleinen (FIN).

BBC Top Gear presenter and Blancpain GT Endurance Series Pro-Am champion Chris Harris was due to participate with the AMR Performance Centre team this weekend but had to withdraw due to filming commitments.


Darren Turner said: “I love racing in the N24. It’s the toughest circuit on the planet and one of the most challenging events of the year, no matter what class you are racing in. Last year we finished fourth in the final race for the V12 Vantage GT3; ‘The Old Lady’, in the top SP9 class. This time around we have the privilege of giving the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 it’s N24 debut. The SP8T class is well balanced, and because of the way the rules work, we have access to more power than would normally be available in a GT4 so it’s really fun to drive it hard. During the recent VLN qualifier, the car performed exceptionally well so I have high hopes of another strong result.”



David King, President, Aston Martin Racing, added: “Two 24-hour races in two weekends featuring significant four-car Aston Martin entries, underlines the strength in depth of our current contingent. With more than 60 Vantage GT3 and GT4 cars now in active service and competition around the world, there is no place on Earth more appropriate than the Nürburgring for the GT4 to make its international 24-hour race debut. The car performed exceptionally well in both its VLN debut and the recent six-hour Qualifier race on the Nordschleife, so our sights are trained firmly on earning a podium finish for both cars in the SP8T class.”



The Aston Martin Performance Centre will also run a prior generation Vantage GT8 in the SP8 class for customer drivers Marco Müller (D), Tony Richards (NZ), David Thilenius (USA) and Heinz Jürgen Kroner (D).


In the build-up to the race which starts at 1530 CET, there will also be an Aston Martin Festival parade lap, featuring a cavalcade of road going examples from the British luxury sportscar maker on Saturday 22 June.


Source material - Aston Martin Racing
Photo credits - Aston Martin Racing / Frozenspeed

Two of Aston Martin Racings latest V8, turbo charged Vantage GT4's have today been confirmed as participants within next weekend's Qualification Race at the Nordschleife ahead of the full ADAC Zurich 24 hour race later in June.

As expected, AMR Factory driver Darren Turner has been scheduled to race alongside Garage 59's Chris Goodwin and Chris Harris in the #36 car whilst the sister #37 car has been scheduled to include newly appointed AMR Junior driver Jamie Chadwick along with Peter Cate and Alex Brundle. Both cars have been entered by and will be run by the AMR Performance Centre which is located at the circuit.


Having first run the new iteration of Vantage GT4 at the infamous 'Green Hell' at the last round of the VLN Series last month where the then #156 car finished 5th in Class, it was assumed that both cars would be running with their full contingent of four drivers each.

Aston Martin customer driver Christian Gebhardt was originally announced to be included within the #36 and AMR Reserve driver Ross Gunn within the #37 car. All chatter on social media and indeed the formal announcement of this project from the factory team back in April have indicated that Gunn would be present at the Qualifying Race. We shall wait and see what happens as he is presently busy with Beechdean AMR at the second round of the Le Mans Cup from Monza!!


The Qualifying Race weekend over the 18/19 May will allow the teams up to 3 x1 hour sessions around the Nurburgring Grand Prix loop ahead of a Free Practice and then evening Qualifying around the full Nordschliefe itself.

Sunday morning will see a further Qualifying period ahead of the start of the six hour race that is due to start at noon (local).


The ADAC Zurich 24Hr event itself starts on Thursday 20th June with the race being over the Saturday and Sunday 22/23rd June - the weekend after Le Mans!

Photo credits - Aston Martin Racing

This weekend sees the ninth and final round of the 2017 VLN Series from the infamous Nordschleife circuit with another two runners form the Aston Martin stable seeing an otherwise successful year out.

The sole remaining full season Mathol Racing prepared Avia Racing AMR V8 Vantage GT4 entry will be back after their disappointing non finish last time out earlier this month with their #188 SP10 class car.


Thinking that they were the sole AMR/AML runner last time out, they will again joined by the Aston Martin Test Centre Vantage S entry for Heinz Jurgen Kroner and Wolfgang Schuhbauer in their golden #144 car.

On a whole the Green Hell has been good for Aston Martin with numerous class podia throughout the VLN series plus a class win for the AML entered Vantage GT8 in the ADAC N24 headline event back in May.

That previous VLN entry has skipped the last two rounds of the series as the team  prepare themselves for its first transatlantic crossing in readiness for the 24H Series event from CoTA early next month.

Photo credits - VLN

Jamie Chadwick (18), 2015 British GT4 Champion, successfully completed her Licence upgrade this weekend, driving a V8 Vantage racecar and qualifying her to race at the legendary Nürburgring – incorporating Nordschleife and part of the GP Circuit.

This awesome circuit, originally built in 1927, is no longer used for Grand Prix having been deemed too long and dangerous. But, it remains popular for GT and Endurance racing, where the demanding combination of 73 corners, elevation changes of 1000 feet, and over 13 miles of tight and often bumpy track, reward only the finest drivers.