BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN and Smyrlis Racing win the PETN classes at the 6-hour race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife

• Hardt, Hites and Koslowski from BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN (#900) take victory in the Cup 2 class 
• The Cup 3 class is won by Smyrlis Racing (#952) with Fielenbach and Sandberg
• Important championship round: The six-hour race awards 1.5 times the usual points

Nürburg. A total of 33 cars lined up on the starting grid for the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN) at the KW 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal race, held as part of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). Due to the extended race distance the race awarded 1.5 times the usual number of points and was therefore a key race in the Porsche one-make series. In the Cup 2 class, Alexander Hardt, Benjamin Hites and Benjamin Koslowski from the BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN (#900) prevailed over their sister car to win the class. In the Cup 3 class, the championship leaders Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg from Smyrlis Racing (#953) took the win.

In Saturday morning’s qualifying session, PETN Talent Pool driver Raphael Rennhofer secured pole position for the second time in a row in the 911 GT3 Cup from Team LIQUI MOLY by BLACK FALCON (#902). The Austrian completed the 24.358-kilometre lap in 8:08.769 minutes. Following three consecutive pole positions for W&S Motorsport (#962), Arne Hoffmeister from Speedworxx Automotive (#971) was the fastest in the Cup 3 class this time, securing the extra championship point with a time of 8:35.445 minutes.

BLACK FALCON with double victory in the Cup 2 class

With car number 902 on pole position and car number 900 in second place on the grid, both battling for the lead right from the start, it became clear early on that the class winner would come from BLACK FALCON. In the end, Alexander Hardt, Benjamin Hites and Benjamin Koslowski from BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN (#900) came out on top, whilst Ryan Harrison, Raphael Rennhofer and Leon Wassertheurer from Team LIQUI MOLY by BLACK FALCON (#902) took second place. Rennhofer secured an extra championship point for his team with the fastest lap of the race.

“To be honest, I’ve never had so much fun in a racing car. The race was brilliant, the team did a perfect job and my teammates were really fast. We’re absolutely delighted – with 1.5 times the points, we’re taking a huge step forward in the championship,” says PETN Talent Pool driver Benjamin Koslowski.

The final podium place was fiercely contested right up to the last lap. In exciting battles, Fabio Grosse from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#901) defended third place against Nico Bastian from Mühlner Motorsport (#904), thereby completing the Cup 2 podium alongside Patrik Grütter.

The PRO/AM classification was once again won by Richard-Sven Karl Jodexnis, Kersten Jodexnis, Peter Scharmach and Robin Chrzanowski (PRO) from Clickversicherung Team (#919), ahead of Stefan Beyer, Maximilian Hill, Bernhard Wagner and Max Schlichenmeier (PRO) from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#915).

“We managed the race well from a tactical point of view and completed it without any incidents, penalties or mistakes. We’re really happy with the result because, thanks to the 1.5 times the points, we’re now well ahead in the PRO/AM standings,” says Kersten Jodexnis.

The AM winners of the Six-Hour Race were Ralf-Peter Bonk and Marco van Ramshorst from pb performance (#906), whilst Michael Kroll, Thomas Mühlenz, Chantal Prinz and Alexander Prinz from Hofor Racing (#908) finished second.

Smyrlis Racing defends its championship lead in Cup 3

Starting from fourth on the grid, Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg of Smyrlis Racing (#953) were forced to serve a drive-through penalty early on due to a jumpstart. Despite the time lost, the duo fought their way back to the front of the Cup 3 field and won the race after 38 laps ahead of W&S Motorsport (#962) with Moritz Oberheim and Lorenz Stegmann. Third place went to W&S Motorsport’s sister car (#961) with Toby Goodman, Michal Makes and Marius Rauer.

“The race showed just how tough Cup 3 is – you always have to give 110 per cent. It was particularly exhausting for us because we were racing without air conditioning. Despite the penalty, we believed in ourselves and showed that the whole team never gives up. That’s what made the difference in the end,” summarises Oskar Sandberg.

In the PRO/AM classification, Erik Braun, Franz Linden and Arne Hoffmeister (PRO) from Speedworxx Automotive (#971) secured their third win of the season. The trio won the race ahead of Christian Kraus, Peder Saltvedt and Jan Hendrik Heimbach (PRO) from Smyrlis Racing (#952), as well as Janina Schall, Moritz Wiskirchen and Nick Wüstenhagen (PRO) from Extreme Racing (#977). 

“I drove the final stint and there were lots of Code 60 and yellow flag phases – it was a bit chaotic and I had to be really careful not to miss any flags. But Arne and Erik did a brilliant job beforehand and I was then able to finish the race well. With today’s victory and Arne’s pole position, we’ve picked up some very important points for the championship. A big thank you to the whole team – the car was perfectly set up and everyone did a brilliant job,” explains Franz Linden.

The winners in the AM class were Nick Deißler, Darian Donkel and Aaron Wenisch from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#949). Second place went to Lion Düker, Christoph Krombach and Oliver Kunz from W&S Motorsport (#982), ahead of Kim Berwanger, René Höber and Jan-Niklas Stieler from asBest Racing (#966).

The next two rounds of the PETN will take place on 12 and 13 September, each covering a distance of four hours.

Press contact:

Jona Kläsener

PR & Social Media Manager
E-Mail: j.klaesener@manthey-racing.de