Adrenalin Motorsport takes first place in the BMW M235i Racing Cup Class – BMW Sports Trophy Teams continue their preparations for the 24 Hour race.

Nürburgring (DE), 12th April 2014. Proud first-time winners have taken victory in the VLN Endurance Championship’s first race in the new BMW M235i Racing Cup Class: Adrenalin Motorsport took the top spot on the podium with Daniel Zils (DE), Norbert Fischer (DE) and Uwe Ebertz (DE). Team Scheid-Partl Motorsport’s new “Eifelblitz” finished in second place with Max Partl (DE) and Jörg Weidinger (DE) behind the wheel. Third place on the podium in the CUP5 Class was secured by Adrenalin Motorsport’s second car, driven by Guido Wirtz (DE), Christopher M. Rink (DE) and Oleg Kvitka (RU).

BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS took 5th place overall in the DMV 4 Hour race in their number 25 BMW Z4 GT3. Maxime Martin (BE) and Jörg Müller (DE) just missed a place on the podium in a race that was close right to the very last lap. Claudia Hürtgen (DE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) finished 6th in their number 20 car for BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert. Their number 19 sister car, driven by Dirk Werner (DE) and Alexander Sims (GB), was on track for a podium spot for a long time, but fell back into 10th after a tyre failure shortly before the finish. Dirk Adorf (DE) and Markus Palttala (FI) ended the race in 13th in BMW Sports Trophy Team VDS’s second BMW Z4 GT3. Uwe Alzen Automotive’s BMW Z4 GT3 and both cars from Walkenhorst Motorsport finished in 7th, 14th and 16th, respectively. 

The scheduled four-hour race had to be stopped after less than 60 minutes due to a serious accident – fortunately, none of the drivers involved were seriously injured. The race continued around three and a half hours later after the heavily damaged crash barriers were replaced at the Pflanzgarten section of the track. The total race time was reduced to just under three hours.

Jörg Müller (5th place, Number 25 BMW Z4 GT3, BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS):
“The tight two-car battles were fun, but they were sometimes pretty gruelling, too. The car was really good in the corners, but our competition were able to overtake us again and again by taking advantage of the slipstream. It was a lot of hard work, but I’m happy. We’re learning more with every race and are moving in the right direction.”

Claudia Hürtgen (6th place, Number 20 BMW Z4 GT3, BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert):
“The race unfortunately had to be interrupted due to a serious accident – that made it pretty hectic. Nevertheless I think we managed to make the best out of the day. Once again, we didn’t have any technical problems, and we were able to gain some more important experience. The anticipation for the 24 Hour race in June is growing with every kilometre we drive.” 

Alexander Sims (10th place, Number 19 BMW Z4 GT3, BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert):
“It’s a shame that I could only drive one stint because the race was shortened, but it’s still really helped me prepare for the 24 Hour race. In contrast to the qualification races, I was able to learn a lot today about driving and overtaking on the Nordschleife. You have to make a lot of good decisions.”

Dirk Adorf (13th place, Number 26 BMW Z4 GT3, BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS):
“The BMW Z4 GT3 is very quick on the Nordschleife, but we could do with just a little bit more top speed on the straights. My goal was to drive a double stint in this race to see if the car and I could see it through. I have the team to thank for it working out. The BMW Z4 GT3 runs smoothly and is very good to drive. We unfortunately had a tyre failure that put us too far behind to get right back up to the front again.”

Matthias Unger (Team Principal, Adrenalin Motorsport, 1st place, BMW M235i Racing Cup Class):
“I’m very happy about this win – at the end of the day, the competition in this category is very stiff indeed. You could really see the concentration of talent in the BMW M235i Racing Cup class, particularly before the race was stopped. Six cars were covered by just over 20 seconds. However, we naturally went into the race to win it. And we did. I’m very happy about that.”