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Nürburgring Endurance

Schubert BMW Drops Back After Barrier Hit

Alexander Sims slides off and hits the barrier during brief rain shower, solidifying Phoenix Audi lead…

Image: N24

Schubert Motorsport has dropped ground in the lead battle in the Nürburgring 24 after Alexander Sims was caught out by changing conditions and went off between Metzgesfeld and Kallenhard.

Sims was running in the lead in the No. 20 BMW M4 GT3 and being chased by Kelvin van der Linde when the Brit slid off during a light period of rain and hit the barrier.

The BMW had been leading the Audi on an off-cycle strategy but briefly lost it when Van der Linde remained out in front after pitting.

Sims was able to draft by into Tiergarten not much later, remaining in the lead of the race until his incident.

This resulted in a front-right puncture, forcing Sims to crawl back to the pits. The car did not go into the garage for repairs and is now back on track in fifth place with Jesse Krohn at the wheel.

The incident has left the No. 15 Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Van de Linde clear in the lead, holding a lead of over a minute to the No. 3 Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maximilian Goetz.

Goetz himself had a scare earlier on when he slid into the gravel at Aremberg, possibly as a result of fluids on the track left by another car.

The German leads teammate Maro Engel in the No. 4 sister car,with Nico Mueller fourth in the Audi Sport Team Car Collection entry.

The Cup 2 class has also seen a change of lead after a big crash for the class leader.

Paul Harkema, driving the No. 121 Black Falcon Team Identica Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, had a hard impact with the barrier at Tiergarten.

The Dutchman was able to walk away from the crash but the car is out. KKramer Racing’s No. 127 car now leading.

The SP8T and SP10 classes are led by Doerr Motorsport and FK Performance respectively while the No. 830 Hyundai Elantra TCR leading the TCR class.

Davey Euwema is Sportscar365's European Editor. Based in The Netherlands, Euwema covers the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, among other series.

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