In a thrilling finale on Sunday, Patrick Kolb, Mattia Drudi and Christopher Mies in the #24 Audi R8 LMS evo II GT3 from Lionspeed by Car Collection secured third place and thus a podium finish. Close behind, the sister car with #22 from Audi Sport Team Car Collection and drivers Christopher Haase and Patric Niederhauser finished in fourth place, while the #23 Audi with drivers Dennis Fetzer, Milan Dontje and Lorenzo Rocco crossed the finish line in 14th. On Saturday, the #22 had to cope with a bitter retirement in fourth position shortly before the end of the race.
The traditional qualifying race for the 24h at the Nürburgring was completely redesigned this year. Instead of a six-hour race, this season’s participants had to complete two 3-hour races. In addition, there were two individual time trials in which the starting positions were determined.
In the two qualifying sessions on Friday, the drivers had the opportunity to qualify for the top-30 individual time trials. While the #22 from Audi Sport Team Car Collection and the #24 from Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport made the cut without any problems, the #23 missed the entry into the top-30 qualifying session by a hair’s breadth and had to make do with 32nd place on the grid. In the individual time trials, Patrick Kolb in the #24 took 26th place on the grid. Audi Sport driver Patric Niederhauser put the #22 on 13th on the grid.
In the three-hour race, the two Audi Sport drivers Christopher Haase and Patric Niederhauser were able to consistently keep pace with the leading group after a good start and put themselves in a good position for the final third of the race with clean stints. Shortly before the end, final driver Niederhauser was fighting for fourth place within reach of the podium when a sudden rain shower shook up the field once again. Like many other drivers, Niederhauser was caught out by the rain and hit the track barrier, whereupon the #22 had to end the race early.
The #24 with Patrick Kolb, Christopher Mies and Mattia Drudi were able to steadily work their way forward over the course of the race and finished 12th in the end. Their teammates Dennis Fetzer, Milan Dontje, Simon Reicher and Lorenzo Rocco in the #23 Lionspeed by Car Collection Audi R8 LMS evo II GT3 finished in 22nd position.
On Sunday, things went much better in the individual time trials. With positions 11 (#24), 14 (#22) and 26 (#23) the crews were able to get good starting positions. In the race, the #24 and the #22 always kept in touch with the leaders and completed absolutely flawless stints. In the end, both cars crossed the finish line with a gap of just a few seconds. The #23 was also able to complete the three-hour race without any faults or problems, gaining further valuable experience for the 24-hour race in three weeks’ time.
With these good results, the Car Collection Motorsport team is well prepared and fully motivated for the big season highlight in three weeks. Before that, however, the team will compete in the FANATEC GT World Cup Europe in Magny Cours, the 12h of Hockenheim as part of the 24h Series and the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring.
Foto Credits: Christopher Otto