Mercedes-AMG with a double podium finish and a class win in the 24-hour anniversary race 30.05.2022: Customer Racing: ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring After last year’s third place, Mercedes-AMG celebrates a double podium finish in this year’s 50th running of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring.

Customer Racing: ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring



After last year’s third place, Mercedes-AMG celebrates a double podium finish in this year’s 50th running of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring.


In the intense race, Adam Christodoulou (GBR), Maximilian Götz (GER) and Fabian Schiller (GER) secured second place for Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed. Their teammates and fellow Mercedes-AMG drivers Maro Engel (GER), Jules Gounon (FRA) and Daniel Juncadella (ESP) concluded the Eifel marathon in third place.



There were further top results for the two GT3s run by Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN: with the #12 car, Phillip Ellis (SUI), Raffaele Marciello (SUI) and Luca Stolz (GER) finished in seventh place, closely followed by the #6 entry with Nico Bastian (GER), Marvin Dienst (GER), Hubert Haupt (GER) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) who secured the class win in the Pro-Am classification at the same time.




•    Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #3 and #4 in 2nd and 3rd place of the 24-hour anniversary race

•    Four Mercedes-AMG GT3s among the first eight of the overall classification

•    Class win in SP9 Pro-Am for Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6




In the anniversary edition of the 24-hour race, the 230,000 fans at the Nürburgring and the Nordschleife got to see high-class racing action. In the opening stages, the teams with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 managed to stay away from all the turmoil. As the race went on, they were able to put in a good performance over and over again.



The #3 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed car made the biggest progress: from 17th place on the grid, Adam Christodoulou, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller worked their way up to get on course for the podium. Going into the final stage, the quartet was just a few seconds down on the overall leader in second place.



As rain set in at some parts of the track, the final dash turned into a tyre gamble. In the process, the #3 car lacked the necessary bit of luck to maintain the striking distance to the leading Audi. At a drying track, final driver Christodoulou pulled out all the stops once again in the final hour of the race but was unable to close the gap again. After 159 laps, the Brit crossed the finish line in second place, 40 seconds down.



In the GetSpeed team’s #4 sister car, Maro Engel, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella experienced a 24-hour race with a consistently upward trend. From 14th on the grid, Engel made a blinding start. Then, the trio cemented its position in the front-running group and eventually found itself in third place at the end of the night. In the changeable conditions of the final stages, the team opted for a different tyre strategy compared to the sister car, but without getting a decisive advantage. In the final minutes, Maro Engel brought an undisputed third place home, rounding out the double podium result for GetSpeed and Mercedes-AMG.



In the 24-hour high-speed competition at the Nordschleife, the Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN’s two GT3s were also very much in contention. The #12 car with Phillip Ellis, Raffaele Marciello and Luca Stolz was among the frontrunners in the opening stages. However, a puncture during the night blew all the trio’s hopes of a possible win. The entertaining recovery drive still brought the #12 car back up into seventh place of the overall classification. 29-year-old Ellis shone by posting the fastest lap time of the race in the morning hours.
A class win in the Pro-Am classification

With the #6 car, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN secured a commanding win in the Pro-Am classification of the SP9 class. Nico Bastian, Marvin Dienst, Hubert Haupt and Gabriele Piana had already established themselves in the lead of their class at the halfway point of the race. In the overall classification, the quartet also scored a strong result by finishing in eighth place. For Customer Racing Team CP Racing, the 24-hour race ended with eighth place in class.



Charles Putman (USA), Charles Espenlaub (USA), Joe Foster (USA) and Shane Lewis (USA) brought their Pro-Am GT3 home in 17th place overall. Meanwhile, Julien Apotheloz (SUI), Patrick Assenheimer (GER), Dominik Baumann (AUT) and Luca-Sandro Trefz (GER) with the #55 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf entry were victims of the difficult conditions going into the final part of the race as they went off the track and retired. During the night, the #34 Schnitzelalm Racing team car already had to retire.




Christoph Sagemüller, head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: “This year’s 24-hour race was suitable for the 50th anniversary. We got to witness great motorsport, thrilling from the start until the finish. We have competed in a fair way and staged a great show for the numerous fans. We would have liked to deliver a victory for our AMG fans for the 55th anniversary of our brands. At the end of the day, we got four cars in the top ten and we are bringing home a double podium finish. That is a great team achievement of which I am unbelievably proud.”



Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: “Congratulations to all our drivers and teams. They have made their mark on this race and have shown great achievements. Especially the team performance by GetSpeed with the double podium result is making me very happy.


Moreover, the success in the Pro-Am class for the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by HRT is another proof of the qualities of our cars. Of course, we would have liked to secure the win, there is no doubt that we had the speed to do so as the spectacular recovery drive by the #12 car showed, but sadly, it remained unrewarded.



Our tactic of driving slightly more cautiously in the turbulent opening stages paid off until the changeable weather conditions in the final part. Then, Audi had a little bit more luck at the moment when it mattered. Congratulations on the victory and a big thank you also the all the fans who once again made this year’s race so special.”



Adam Christodoulou, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #3: “My feelings are a bit ambivalent. We really had a massive chance of winning the race. Because of the rain, it was a matter of luck at times which tyres were working best. Nevertheless, it was an outstanding achievement by all of us here in the Green Hell. I am happy to be on the podium.”



Fabian Schiller, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #3: “P2 and the double podium result are great achievements for the team and for Mercedes-AMG. We have done our utmost, but eventually, we didn’t have luck. Still, second place is an honourable result.“



Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #4: “First of all, massive thanks to GetSpeed, to Mercedes-AMG and to my teammates. That was a mega race. We have given it our all. Being on the podium in such a hard race definitely is something special. Sadly, the way the race played out was slightly to our disadvantage; that was what made the difference this weekend. We will be back next year and we will again do everything for the overall win.”



Jules Gounon, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #4: “It was a crazy race. At the end, there even was a bit of Eifel weather. Being on the podium with two Mercedes-AMG GT3s is something we can all be proud of. We only just missed out on victory but we will continue to work hard and, who knows, perhaps my smile next year is even a little bit bigger than today.”

Phillip Ellis, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #12: “I am taking many positive impressions from this race. We were the fastest car in the field, irrespective of the weather conditions, and we made no mistakes. Of course, our expectations were different: we had what it takes to win here.”



Luca Stolz, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #12: “It is a pity that we weren’t more successful. Our strategy was aimed at the overall win. Unfortunately, an early mishap made us drop back in the opening stages already. Still, we can be very proud to have made it to the finish unscathed in this race and of the way the team stuck together.”



Marvin Dienst, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6: “Pro-Am victory was our goal. That was what everything we did was aimed at. Although we were also in a good position in the overall ranking, we already shifted our focus comparatively early on defending the class lead we had reached. That is what we managed to do and we are very proud of that.”

Nico Bastian, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6: “The 24-hour race was a highlight as ever. I was allowed to drive ina Top Qualifying, at the start and at the finish. With the Pro-Am victory, we have achieved a tangible result. That is great for our line-up that was only put together in this way at a fairly late stage.”
Result Mercedes-AMG GT3, ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring 20221:




1.    1.    15    Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II    Audi Sport Team Phoenix    R. Frijns (BEL), K. van der Linde (GER), D. Vanthoor (BEL), F. Vervisch (BEL)    159


2.    2.    3    Mercedes-AMG GT3    Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed    Adam Christodoulou (GBR), Maximilian Götz (GER), Fabian Schiller (GER)    159


3.    3.    4    Mercedes-AMG GT3    Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed    Maro Engel (GER), Jules Gounon (FRA), Daniel Juncadella (ESP)    159
...                              



7.    7.    12    Mercedes-AMG GT3    Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN    Phillip Ellis (SUI), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Luca Stolz (GER)    158


8.    1.    6    Mercedes-AMG GT3    Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN    Nico Bastian (GER), Marvin Dienst (SUI), Hubert Haupt (GER), Gabriele Piana (ITA)    157

19.    8.    21    Mercedes-AMG GT3    CP Racing    Charles Putman (USA), Charles Espenlaub (USA), Joe Foster (USA), Shane Lewis (USA)    147

DNF    DNF    55    Mercedes-AMG GT3    Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf    Julien Apotheloz (SUI), Patrick Assenheimer (GER), Dominik Baumann (AUT), Luca-Sandro Trefz (GER)    143

DNF    DNF    34    Mercedes-AMG GT3    Schnitzelalm Racing    Marek Böckmann (GER), Kenneth Heyer (GER), Yannick Mettler (SUI), Johannes Stengel (GER)    44



1 excerpt subject to confirmation by the organiser





 
Jochen Übler, photos AutoMobilSport.com photographers Marc Hilger and Luc Depiesse