The Nürburgring Endurance Series begins its 46th season on the Nordschleife on Saturday (March 26). With 135 starters, ten fewer vehicles than last year have registered for the premiere.
When the pack of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) races into the new season, a lot stays the same, but there are also some innovations. The list of participants was eagerly awaited by the fans, as many were worried that there could be fewer cars on the track after all the stresses of the pandemic. But compared to last year, there are only ten fewer vehicles at the 67th ADAC Westfalenfahrt. The decline is therefore limited.
New Cup class from Porsche
The new Cup 2 class from Porsche is particularly popular. 13 participants are at the start with the new 911 GT3 Cup racer. Together with the Porsche Cayman GT4 Trophy (Cup 3), this will become the new brand cup "Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring" with a total of 30 starters. But the VT2 class has also been booming for a long time. This was internally divided into front, rear and all-wheel drive, but there are a total of 21 vehicles at the start. Including reigning champion Danny Brink, who has switched from Adrenalin to FK Performance.
Of course, the hearts of the fans also beat for the main actors in the fastest cars. In the GT3 category, preparations for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring are now in the hot phase. Here, 22 cars tackle the four-hour race. A significant increase compared to the test and set-up runs last weekend, where not many GT3 teams showed up.
All GT3 brands represented
All the big teams from BMW, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes are now represented on this weekend, which is supposed to be sunny throughout. At BMW, the focus is on the first full season with the M4 GT3. Schubert Motorsport as well as the BMW Junior Team and Walkenhorst will use the new racer. Rowe Racing is only coming back to the Eifel for the second race. At Porsche, of course, the Grello from Manthey Racing is used. Then there are the two Falken 911s, KCMG and Huber Motorsport.
Audi has been a bit secretive about the Nordschleife planning so far, but has at least named a works-supported car in the entry list with the Audi Sport Team Car Collection. There are also other R8s from Land Motorsport, Phoenix Racing and Lionspeed by Car Collection. The start will also be exciting for the people from Ingolstadt, because it is the first official race on the Nordschleife for the Audi R8 LMS evo II.
At Mercedes, the regulars from HRT will be part of the party again. New, however: Patrick Assenheimer will attack with Landgraf Motorsport in the future. Schnitzlalm Racing is also making a debut as it will be using a GT3 car for the first time. Lamborghini will also be back in the Eifel in 2022. As always, Konrad Motorsport is holding the flags high. Also a treat for the fans: ProSport Racing is bringing the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 back to the Nordschleife.
