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Dramatic N24: Scherer Sport PHX Audi Wins!

The 52nd running of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (N24) concluded in thrilling fashion, with as the #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, driven by Christopher Mies, Frank Stippler, Dennis Marschall, and Ricardo Feller, claiming vitory. The race was cut short due to poor visibility caused by fog, with the red flag being waved at approximately 11:23 PM CEST, leading to an early end to the competition. This victory marks the seventh overall win for Audi at the N24, tying them with Manthey Racing for the highest number of overall wins.

A pivotal moment was Mies stunning overtake on the outside of the #72 BMW Team RMG, driven by Dan Harper, which secured the lead. Harper, despite the disappointment, had an impressive race. Starting from pole position, he had to pit immediately after the green light due to being on the wrong set of tyres. Despite this early setback, his team managed to finish third overall.

A dramatic incident at Flugplatz involved a BMW M4 GT4 and a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The first part of the incident occurred when Michael Skeen, driving the BMW M4 GT4 (G82), clipped a tyre wall, causing the car to spin and end up nose-first against the left-hand barrier. The impact displaced the tyre wall, scattering it across the grass and close to the track. This was closely followed by Harley Haughton, driving the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, who appeared to approach the scene at high speed despite the yellow flag. Haughton clipped the tyre wall that had been pulled out by the BMW, resulting in the Porsche crashing into the front quarter of the stationary BMW. Fortunately, all drivers involved escaped without serious injuries.

Subsequently, a three-way incident occurred involving the #15 Scherer Audi, Fabian Schiller in the #130 GetSpeed Mercedes, and the #5 911 GT3R driven by Vincent Kolb. Schiller attempted to navigate through a narrowing gap but ended up clipping Kolb’s GT3 R, sending it into a 720-spin off the barrier. The #130 GetSpeed Mercedes didn’t get out scot-free; a puncture on the right front tyre caused extensive damage, relegating the car to 22nd in class and 97th overall.

Early in the race, the #911 Grello Manthey EMA Porsche driven by Kevin Estre led the field, closely followed by Augusto Farfus in the #99 ROWE BMW. As the track dried, the #911 Porsche, which had started on wet tyres, pitted later than most competitors and rejoined in seventh place. This allowed the #99 ROWE Racing BMW, driven by Sheldon van der Linde, to take the lead with a slim five-second margin by the third hour.

However, van der Linde’s race took a dramatic turn when he was involved in a major multi-car incident at Fuchsrohre. The collision, which also involved the #420 Four Motors Bioconcept Porsche 718 Cayman and the #507 Giti Tyre Motorsport by WS Racing BMW, was triggered as van der Linde attempted to lap the #420 Porsche. The onboard footage from the #99 ROWE BMW showed the Porsche making contact with the left rear of the GT3 BMW, causing van der Linde to collide with the #507 BMW. Remarkably, all drivers involved in the crash emerged unscathed despite the severity of the accident.

The incident brought out a safety car, leading to a series of pitstops that reshuffled the top ten. The No. 1 Frikadelli Racing Team Ferrari 296 GT3, along with the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG, No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW, and No. 44 Falken Motorsport Porsche, all took this opportunity to pit. This sequence of events saw the No. 33 Falken Porsche finishing sixth, ahead of the No. 54 Dinamic Porsche and the No. 98 ROWE BMW.

Another dramatic incident at Brunnchen involved Christoph Dupré in the Audi S3, part of the VT2 class. The sequence began with a double-waved yellow flag due to a slow-moving Audi on the track. The Audi, likely recovering from a spin, had stalled, prompting the caution. The situation escalated when the Audi caught fire, with flames engulfing the right-hand side of the car. The fire, suspected to be caused by a fractured fuel line, quickly spread. Despite the dangerous situation, Dupré was able to exit the vehicle safely. The incident attracted significant attention from the crowd at Brunnchen, a popular viewing spot. Rescue and course vehicles arrived promptly, and marshals managed to control the fire. Astonishingly, the Audi returned to the race after the red flag through the evening.

The red flag held for 14 hours, with the field resuming behind the safety car for five formation laps on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 PM. Race control stipulated that these five formation laps would determine whether or not the race would fully resume, but with the fog still a factor, the race was declared after 50 laps were completed.

Manthey EMA finished second with its No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by Kevin Estre, Thomas Preining, Laurens Vanthoor, and Ayhancan Guven. The ‘Grello’ Porsche was in third place when the red flag was called but was promoted to second for the restart due to the No. 72 BMW M4 GT3 having taken one less pit stop prior to the stoppage. Under the N24’s supplementary regulations, the accumulated minimum pit stop times are included in the result of the red flag, which resulted in Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Charles Weerts being dropped to third place behind the Porsche, where they finished.

This year’s N24 turned out to be the shortest in history, with less than nine hours of actual race time due to the weather conditions. The abrupt end added to the drama and unpredictability that the Nürburgring 24 Hours is famous for, leaving teams and fans alike eagerly anticipating next year’s event.

Frank Stippler, Ricardo Feller, Dennis Marschall, Christopher Mies - winners of the Nürburgring 24 hour race
Ravenol ADAC 24 Nurburgring Results 2024
Oliver Westrup

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