Blancpain GT Points Leader Engelhart Joins Konrad for N24

Blancpain GT Series championship leader Christian Engelhart has been confirmed as a late addition to the Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

The Lamborghini factory driver, who won on his first appearance in Blancpain GT at the Nürburgring last year with Grasser Racing Team, will join fellow works driver Marco Mapelli, Dominik Farnbacher and Hendrik Still for his third attempt at the race.

Despite the lack of preparation, the German is optimistic of securing a top-ten finish, although he recognizes that extending his winning streak from the Blancpain GT Series may be a tough ask.

“It was really late, at the beginning of the week, I was actually already at the airport to go somewhere else so I had to change my travel plans completely to be able to come here,” Engelhart told Sportscar365.

“I think the car as a base is very good and it should be very quick, but the amount of preparation we have is a completely different to Blancpain or ADAC GT Masters, where we invest a lot in testing and preparation and everything is perfect when we come to the race weekend.

“Here it’s a little bit different, it’s the first time for me with this car on the Nordschleife and also for Marco Mapelli it’s the same story, so we will do our best and see where we end up.”

Having raced with Konrad since 2011, predominantly in the single-make Porsche Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany, Engelhart hopes that his familiarity with the team will help smooth the learning curve.

“A lot of people are the same, obviously I know Franz very well but also two of the mechanics are the same guys that I was working with when I was driving in the Porsches,” he added.

“I know the guys so it was very easy to come here and meet them, they are happy also that I am here with them, so this all really good and now we have to see how the car is and how we can set it up for the qualifying sessions and the race.”

Further drivers confirmed on the updated entry list include Mercedes factory driver Daniel Juncadella in the No. 4 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Spaniard is making his debut at the 24 Hours after racing in the 24h-Classic support event last year to gain experience of the Nordschleife.