Frikadelli Delivers First Overall Win For Ferrari 296 GT3

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/Ferrari

Frikadelli Racing Team claimed victory in Sunday’s Nürburgring 24 Qualifiers, marking the first overall win for the Ferrari 296 GT3 in global competition.

Felipe Fernandez Laser drove the Rinaldi Racing-run Ferrari to a narrow 1.935-second victory over Saturday’s race-winning No. 2 Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Dani Juncadella in the four-hour contest at the Nordschleife.

Fernandez Lasr shared driving duties with Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber.

Having started fourth on the grid, Catsburg jumped into an early lead at the start, extending his advantage through the first round of pit stops, which briefly saw the No. 11 Schnitzelalm Mercedes of Marcel Marchewicz out front due to making a shorter initial stop.

Bamber held control during his stint before Fernandez Laser overcame intermittent rain showers to take the historic first win.

The No. 44 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Tim Heinemann and Martin Ragginger completed the overall and SP9 class podium in third, followed by the No. 16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Kim Luis Schramm and Alexander Sims in fourth.

The top four were separated by less than 3.5 seconds at the line, aided by the inclement weather on the final few laps.

Manthey Racing’s No. 911 Porsche of Fred Makowiecki and Michael Christensen completed the top-five overall, with Jesse Krohn taking the No. 102 Waleknhorst Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 to a sixth place result.

Walkenhorst’s No. 101 BMW was one of several notable early retirements, with Kuba Gierzemaiak’s left-rear wheel having come off, resulting in an impact with the barriers.

Axcil Jefferies also had heavy contact in a separate incident involving a BMW 330i on the second lap of the race.

RESULTS: Race 2

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John