Weekly Racing Roundup (9.12.22)

Falken Wins Two-Part NLS 12-Hour Race

Sven Mueller, Jaxon Evans, Alessio Picariello and Joel Eriksson won the first 12-hour NLS race at the Nürbrugring in their Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Falken won by 15.2 seconds as Scherer Sport Team Phoenix, which rounded out the podium in second and third with its Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo IIs.

The 12 Hours of the Nürburgring was a new addition to this year’s Nordschleife-based series and took the form of two six-hour parts staged across Saturday and Sunday.

The second half started from the pit lane, with cars released into Code 60 speed-controlled conditions at time intervals equal to the gaps at the end of the first six hours.

Wet conditions shook up the order in the opening stages of the first segment, with Gabriele Piana taking the lead in a Cup 2-class Porsche. The GT3 cars eventually worked their way back ahead, although several including the eventual winner had off-track moments as they battled with the slippery surface.

Falken led at the six-hour mark which was reached in darkness, while the Nürburgring 24 pole-sitting Octane 126 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 and the No. 13 Scherer Sport Team Phoenix Audi of Kuba Giermaziak and Kim-Luis Schramm were second and third.

The Ferrari dropped back slightly during the Sunday portion of the race, which became a battle between Falken and Phoenix.

The No. 13 Audi looked set to have the upper hand approaching the final stages, however a botched pit stop thrust Falken into a winning position. Giermaziak brought the Audi into the pits with an empty fuel tank, which caused a fault when the car restarted.

Mueller, in the Falken Porsche, therefore emerged from the last round of pit stops ahead of the Audi and went on to seal the victory.

Frank Stippler and Vincent Kolb completed the podium in the other Phoenix Audi, ahead of Bjorn Grossmann and Luca Ludwig who took fourth for Octane 126.

RESULTS: 12H Nürburgring

GT Open is Wide Open after Austrian Round

Three crews were thinly separated in the International GT Open standings after the fifth round of the season at the Red Bull Ring, where Oregon Team swept the weekend.

Glenn van Berlo and Kevin Gilardoni won the opening race, but their championship advantage was limited to a solitary point after their teammates Leonardo Pulcini and Benjamin Hites prevailed in Race 2.

Joe Osborne and Nick Moss twice finished fourth to sit five points away from the leaders with two rounds to go, creating a three-way fight for the overall title.

Race 1 started with David Fumanelli consolidating his pole position for Kessel Racing, followed by van Berlo who was subsequently overtaken by Moritz Kranz on lap seven.

Fumanelli and van Berlo were the last to stop and their co-drivers exited the pits in first and second.

Gilardoni only needed one lap to catch and pass Murat Cuhadaroglu in the Kessel Ferrari, while Pulcini also overtook the Turkish driver to make it a one-two for the Oregon Lamborghini squad.

Karol Basz led the field away at the start of Race 2 in his Olimp Racing Audi, while Max Hofer passed Osborne after a safety car restart to take second.

Basz and Hofer fought for the lead until the pit window, leaving their co-drivers Marcin Jedlinksi and Dino Steiner to continue the battle.

However, the duel ended when Jedlinski looped his Audi coming out of Turn 4, prompting another safety car.

A big crash at the ensuing restart caused a third safety car intervention and the retirement of three cars. At the head of the field, Hites was right on the tail of Steiner and dispatched the Aust Motorsport Audi driver at Turn 2 to secure the win alongside Pulcini.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2 / Standings

Late Drama Decides British GT at Brands

Enduro Motorsport won the penultimate round of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship at Brands Hatch after the leading Team ABBA Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo retired on the penultimate lap.

Sam Neary looked set to claim his and his father Richard’s first overall win of the year when a fuel pump failure took hold with less than two laps remaining.

The ABBA Mercedes-AMG seized the lead during the pit cycle after 2 Seas Motorsport driver James Cottingham led an opening stint that was truncated by three safety cars.

Cottingham lost the lead due to his car’s 15-second success penalty, while Marcus Clutton assumed second in the Enduro Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 started by Morgan Tillbrook.

Clutton closed down the gap to Sam Neary but couldn’t find a way past in the 50-minute closing stint until mechanical dramas stepped in to influence the lead battle.

Neary’s retirement elevated the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini of Adam Balon and Sandy Mitchell to second, with Alexander Sims and Henry Dawes completing the podium for BMW squad Century Motorsport.

Cottingham and Lewis Williamson ended up fourth in their 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG, while a sixth-place finish for Ian Loggie, joined this time by Callum Macleod, put the championship leader on a 24.5-point lead over Balon and Mitchell with one race to go.

Darren Turner and Matt Topham won the GT4 class in their Newbridge Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and will consequently take a 12.5-point advantage to the Donington decider next month.

RESULTS: Brands Hatch / Standings

Other Racing Action

***Erwan Bastard and Roee Meyuhas clinched the FFSA French GT Silver Cup title with a round to spare by winning both 60-minute races at Ledenon. The in-form Sainteloc Racing Audi pair are also in contention for this year’s GT4 European Series crown. Race 1 / Race 2

***Tim Heinemann took a significant step towards his second DTM Trophy title by taking his fifth win of the season in the second race at Spa-Francorchamos. The driver of the Ring Racing-supported Toyota GR Supra GT4 extended his points lead to 64 points over Colin Caresani. The opening race, held in damp conditions, went to Daniel Gregor who became the first Porsche driver to win in the DTM’s main support series. Race 1 / Race 2

On this weekend: Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup (Valencia), Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS (Sandown), Super GT (Sugo)