Scherer Sport PHX took victory in the Sunday race of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers. After a thrilling opening battle between Christopher Haase and the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Max Verstappen, the win came the way of the #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Christopher Haase, Alexander Sims, and Ben Green when the Mercedes-AMG was forced into an unscheduled pit stop, ending their bid for victory and leaving the Audi to cruise to the chequered flag.
A tribute to Juha Miettinen
Sunday’s race began with a moment of silence on the grid in memory of Juha Miettinen, the Finnish driver who had passed away following a serious multi-car accident during Race 1 on Saturday, before the field got underway.
Verstappen to the front
A slow getaway from second by Moritz Kranz in the #23 Gamota Racing BMW M4 GT3 left the door open for Thomas Preining in the #911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3R and Christopher Haase to slot into second and third. As the BMW dropped further down the field, Verstappen joined the attack on Dennis Marschall’s pole-sitting #45 REALIZE KONDO RACING with Rinaldi Ferrari 296 GT3 as the quartet turned onto the Nordschleife.
Haase was the first to make his move, slipstreaming past Preining before completing the pass for the lead on the long uphill climb to Hohe Acht, just before Mutkurve. Verstappen followed him through, taking third from Preining at the same moment. With some help from lapped traffic, the Dutchman then made a daring move around Marschall at the exit of Eiskurve to run second. The lead itself came on lap four, when Haase had to back off at the high-speed Schwedenkreuz section to avoid a collision with a slower car. The German refused to yield, pushing hard at Verstappen and keeping the pressure on throughout the opening stint without ever finding a way back past.
Marschall’s race ended shortly after when he made contact with another car, removing the Ferrari from contention and leaving Verstappen in a commanding position at the front. Pit strategy now came into play, and the Dutchman emerged ahead of his rivals after an early stop.
Splitter ends Verstappen’s charge
The lead, however, would not be his to keep. The #3 Mercedes-AMG was pushed into the garage with a front splitter problem, triggering a lengthy repair stop of around half an hour. Lucas Auer rejoined in the car, but the damage to their race was done.
With Verstappen Racing out of the picture, the #16 Audi moved back to the front. Ben Green took over and steadily built a gap at the head of the field, with the #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 climbing the order in the opening stint and the #911 Manthey Porsche holding firm among the frontrunners. Not everything ran smoothly in the pit lane, either — the #69 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 collected a stop-and-go penalty for speeding under Code 60, while the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG GT3 was penalised for failing to meet the minimum pit stop time.
Scherer Sport PHX pulls clear
Green brought the Audi home comfortably in the end, with the #84 Lamborghini taking second and the #911 Manthey Porsche completing the podium. The final kilometres produced a thrilling fight for third on the Döttinger Höhe, where Fabian Schiller in the #80 Mercedes-AMG closed right in on Thomas Preining before the Porsche held on to the flag.
On to the 24 Hours
With the Qualifiers done, attention now full throttle to the main event. The ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring takes place from 14-17 May, and with the maximum entry of 150 cars already confirmed, the stage is set for another classic on the Nordschleife.
Top 10 – Results
- #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 (Haase / Sims / Green) 28 laps
- #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (Engstler / Bortolotti / Niederhauser) +28.024s
- #911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Preining / Campbell) +46.800s
- #80 Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Engel / Schiller / Stolz) +02.809s
- #99 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 (Hesse / Pepper / van der Linde) +33.71s
- #77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 (Weerts / de Wilde) +04.227s
- #81 BMW M Motorsport BMW M3 Touring 24h (Klingmann / de Phillippi / Verhagen) +21.661s
- #11 Schnitzelalm Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Heyer / Härtling / Fittje) +25.471s
- #67 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 (Mies / Vervisch / Scherer / Caresani) +1:42.112s
- #26 PROsport Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Christodoulou / Lulham / Grenier) +08.376s
Love what we do? Support GT REPORT with a donation and fuel our next trip to the racetrack.
Even €5 makes a difference!
