By Johan Laubscher
The Nürburgring 24 Hours was held over the long
weekend (Whitsun) in Germany. A total of seventeen Audi cars took part, eight
of which were Audi R8 LMS ultra entries.
A large field of SP9 (GT3) cars took part and
the Audis showed good pace. Frank Stippler was able to put in a tremendous
qualifying lap to take pole in the #4 Phoenix R8 LMS ultra. The race got
underway with a dry track and a very fast pace. The Audis lead initially and
remained within the lead battle. As the race approached midnight the weather
worsened and the race was red flagged for safety. The cars were brought back to
the pits to wait for the restart, whilst the 24 Hours carried on counting down.
The race was restarted at 08:00 and a nine hour
race to the flag begun in continuing wet conditions which did dry out
eventually. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra remained near the front
and ultimately it was the top placed Audi finishing in fifth overall.
The Audi TT RS cars won the SP4T and SP3T classes. Three Audis finished within
the top ten overall, all three from Phoenix Racing.
Photo credit: Audi Sport Communication / Media
