Fog delays start
The 69th ADAC Westfalenfahrt was the fifth race of the season for the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN), in which 27 participants competed in the classes Cup 2 and Cup 3. The four-hour race, which is part of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), started with a 45-minute delay after qualifying had already been postponed in the morning due to dense fog.
After a thrilling final phase in the Cup 2 class, the winners were Arne Hoffmeister and Peter Terting from Mühlner Motorsport (#124). In the Cup 3 class, the fourth victory in a row not only meant that Joshua Bednarski, Lucas Daugaard and Moritz Oberheim from W&S Motorsport (#962) extended their lead in the PETN championship, but also that they took the overall lead in the NLS standings.
Mühlner Motorsport with first PETN Cup 2 victory
Over the entire distance, the leaders of the Cup 2 class were in the top 10 of the overall standings and remained on the lead lap until the end. This challenged the Cup 2 teams’ strategists. On the penultimate lap, BLACK FALCON Team 48 LOSCH (#148) led ahead of AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120) and Mühlner Motorsport (#124). Starting number 148 opted for a more conservative strategy and dropped back behind the leaders to avoid having to complete another lap. As the leader in the Cup 2 class, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) from W&S Motorsport briefly headed to the pits for refueling but crossed the finish line in first place without losing any places.
However, a time penalty relegated AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120) to second place, meaning that Mühlner Motorsport (#124) with Arne Hoffmeister and Peter Terting was classified ahead of the W&S trio of Daniel Blickle, David Jahn, and Tim Scheerbarth. This rewarded the team from Belgium with its first class win in Cup 2 since the start of the PETN, after the team had already finished on the Cup 2 podium several times in recent years and won the Cayman GT4 Trophy by Manthey Racing in 2017 and 2018 in succession. Starting number 148 from BLACK FALCON Team 48 LOSCH with Steve Jans and Tobias Müller finished the race in third place.
The winner speaks
“The race was great. After we were worried this morning about when, or even if, we would be able to start, the weather was surprisingly good. It went well right from the start and we tried to save fuel so that we could drive as long as possible – that worked out. We are super happy with our first victory,” summarizes Arne Hoffmeister.
Bill Cameron and Jim Cameron with starting number 113 crowned their comeback to the PETN with a second place in the amateur driver classification. Mustafa Mehmet Kaya and Mike Stursberg secured victory with PRO driver Gabriele Piana. The Cameron duo also achieved first place in the Gentlemen driver classification as the best-placed AM-only driver pairing.
“We expected a race with mixed weather conditions, but luckily, it was stable. Thanks a lot to my teammates. Gabriele Piana handed me over our car in an amazing position and I tried to defend as much as I can but of course there are really good professional drivers in our class. I handed over the car to Mike Stursberg who had a perfect finish. We are really happy to win”, says Mustafa Mehmet Kaya.
Cup 3 class winner W&S Motorsport takes the lead in the overall NLS standings
An exciting three-way battle emerged early on in the Cup 3 class. Smyrlis Racing (#952), SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#959), and W&S Motorsport (#962) battled for the podium places in the Cup 3 class over the entire race distance. In the end, car number 962 with Joshua Bednarski, Lucas Daugaard and Moritz Oberheim prevailed and took the class win. Second place went to Heiko Eichenberg, Fabio Grosse and Patrik Grütter in car number 959, while a stop-and-go penalty denied Christopher Rink and Philipp Stahlschmidt from Smyrlis Racing (#952) the podium, which meant that SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#949) with Edoardo Bugane, Mads Gravsen and Harley Haughton completed the podium in third place.
“It´s so great not only leading the PETN-rankings but also the NLS Overall Championship – it´s incredible. The guys are doing a very great job, and we try to finish every time. It was quite tricky this weekend to predict the weather, but we managed it. I actually don´t have any words because it´s so overwhelming”, says a very happy Lucas Daugaard.
In addition to these two podium places, SRS Team Sorg Rennsport also secured victory in the amateur drivers’ classification with Oleksii Kikireshko and Rüdiger Schicht, who shared car number 969 with PRO-driver Alexander Fielenbach. Second place went to Leonard Oehme, Moritz Oehme, and Niklas Oehme from Team Oehme (#944), who also won the Gentlemen drivers’ classification. Third place went to Horst Baumann with PRO-driver Stefan Schmickler from Schmickler Performance (#950).
Looking ahead
The next race for the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring is scheduled for 3 August. The 6-hour ADAC Ruhr Pokal race offers 1.5 times the points due to the extended distance and is therefore considered the most important championship round.
Above content © 2024 Manthey-Racing GmbH reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee
Gallery
