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Nürburgring Endurance

NLS to Use Main Pits for Double-Header as Car Count Grows

Increase in GT3 entries for this weekend’s NLS double-header prompts pit format rejig…

Photo: NLS

The NLS will utilize the Nürburgring’s main pit lane for this weekend’s double-header round which has attracted a larger entry than last month’s season-opener.

A total of 155 cars, including 29 GT3s, are set to take part in Saturday’s ADAC Reinoldus four-hour race, while Sunday’s ADAC Barbarossapreis will feature 141 runners.

The increase in grid numbers for the second round of the NLS championship has necessitated the use of the permanent boxes on the conventional pit lane for overflow.

At the season-opener, all cars used the new pit system in the paddock space behind the permanent pit buildings, which is designed to keep teams at a safe distance.

Most will continue to use this area for tire changes and other services, but the SP9-class GT3 cars will be located in the main boxes along the conventional pit lane.

These teams will have a single box per car to ensure adequate distancing, while refueling for the entire field will continue to take place at the end of the conventional pits.

There have been a few additions to the SP9 grid for this weekend, building on from the 20-car entry for the four-hour season opener held two weekends ago.

The additions include KCMG’s two-car Porsche 911 GT3 R operation, following the team’s move to German-built machinery from the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

KCMG’s No. 18 car features Porsche factory drivers Romain Dumas, Patrick Pilet, Richard Lietz and reigning Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli drivers’ champion Dennis Olsen.

There is also an extra Porsche for Falken Motorsports that will be driven by team regulars Peter Dumbreck and Martin Ragginger.

BMW Formula E star Alexander Sims will contest his first Nürburgring race since 2018, partnering fellow Brit Nick Yelloly in ROWE Racing’s BMW M6 GT3.

Walkenhorst Motorsport’s winning BMW from the season-opener returns with David Pittard, Mikkel Jensen and Christian Krognes at the helm, while BMW Team Schnitzer has joined the grid for its first race of the season.

The team has entered a single M6 GT3 that will be driven by former DTM drivers Martin Tomczyk and Augusto Farfus, and current DTM racer Sheldon van der Linde. 

Audi’s latest factory signing Mirko Bortolotti will start for the manufacturer in NLS for the first time, co-driving the No. 32 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo with Christopher Haase.

That car was driven by Robin Frijns, Nico Müller and Rene Rast in the ADAC Rundstrecken Trophy.

Felipe Fernandez Laser, who has contested recent Nürburgring 24 editions with Glickenhaus, has been added to Frikadelli Racing’s Porsche lineup alongside 2018-19 FIA World Endurance GT champions Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen.

Mercedes-AMG Team HRT, which finished first on the road in round one but was demoted to second following a time penalty, has increased its presence from one car to three, as previously announced.

Additionally, Lamborghini returns to the grid courtesy of Konrad Motorsport’s Huracan GT3 Evo that will be driven by Axcil Jefferies and Michele di Martino.

Round two of the NLS season is set to get underway on Saturday at 12 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) while round three, which is also four hours, starts at the same time on Sunday.

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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