Past DTM Champions to Share Phoenix Audi at N24 Qualifiers

Past DTM champions Timo Scheider, Mike Rockenfeller and Martin Tomczyk will team up in an Audi Sport Team Scherer PHX entry for this weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Qualifiers.

The trio of experienced German drivers forms one of 22 lineups in the top SP9 category for the traditional N24 preamble, which consists of two races over Saturday and Sunday.

Two-time DTM champion Scheider contested last weekend’s NLS race with defending N24 winner Phoenix, finishing 10th overall.

Rockenfeller and Tomczyk, both of whom claimed their single DTM titles with Ernst Moser’s team, are set for their first Nordschleife outings in over two years.

Rockenfeller currently drives for the NASCAR Garage 56 Le Mans project and Tomczyk is managing director of the ABT Sportsline team, having announced the end of his professional racing career in 2021.

Frederic Vervisch, Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller and Dennis Lind were last month announced as the Audi Sport Team PHX quartet for the N24, but all four drivers are engaged in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup season-opener at Monza this weekend.

Several other entries are affected by the date clash, including Team RMG which has drafted in Connor De Phillippi and Erik Johansson for its BMW Junior Team entry that won the most recent NLS round with Dan Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen.

BMW squad ROWE Racing and Porsche teams Rutronik Racing and Dinamic GT are absent from N24 Qualifiers due to their participation in the GTWC Europe meeting.

The Audi Sport Team Land and Audi Sport Team Car Collection entries are also away, with all but one of their combined six N24 drivers in Endurance Cup action.

Elsewhere, Cadillac LMDh driver Alexander Sims will race an Audi for the first time as part of the No. 22 Scherer Sport Team PHX lineup alongside Kim-Luis Schramm.

ABT Sportsline has brought in KTM driver Ferdinand Stuck, the son of two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck, to partner Kelvin van der Linde in its Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Yelmer Buurman, whose career has mainly focused on Mercedes-AMG machinery, will share Konrad Motorsport’s Lamborghini with Axcil Jefferies.

GTWC Europe team Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed has downscaled to a single-car entry for the Qualifiers, with Daniel Juncadella and Adam Christodoulou driving.

Like GetSpeed, Walkenhorst Motorsport is racing at both the Nürburgring and Monza this weekend, with the NLS Round 2 winner fielding three BMW M4 GT3s at the Nordschleife.

Porsche team Lionspeed GP is bringing its full N24 lineup, which includes reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro champions Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet. Car Collection, which runs the Lionspeed entry, is also competing at Monza.

Manthey EMA has three Porsche factory drivers — Kevin Estre, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki — in its ranks this weekend.

Falken Motorsports is running two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, along with single-car entries for Huber Motorsport and Iron Force x Car Collection.

Earl Bamber, Nicky Catsburg and David Pittard will share the Frikadelli Racing Team Ferrari 296 GT3, while Alex Brundle and Mike David Ortmann are in PROSport Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Doerr Motorsport is also operating an Aston Martin.

Saturday’s two-hour N24 Qualifiers race will include the debut of the Mercedes-AMG GT2 in the hands of Haupt Racing Team and Schnitzelalm Racing.

HRT would normally also run a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in SP9 but the Nürburgring-based squad is focusing on its SP-X and SP10 class entries as well as the Monza event.

The first race of the N24 Qualifiers gets underway at 7:30 p.m. CET (1:30 p.m. ET) on Saturday. The second race, lasting four hours, begins at 1 p.m. (7 a.m. ET).