【24h Nürburgring / Nürburgring】

Walkenhorst makes it through an incident-filled first quarter of the 2022 Nürburgring 24 hours

24h Nürburgring

Date 28 May 2022
Course Nürburgring
(Germany)
Weather Fine
Surface Dry

After an eventful first six hours at the 50th edition of the Nürburgring 24 hours all three Walkenhorst-entered BMW M4 GT3 are circulating without any troubles. The three BMWs avoided drama that befell several favorites for the race victory in the early stages of the Eifel classic.

With spectators out in full force for the first time since 2019, the 135 cars strong field started the race under sunny but cold circumstances with temperatures not exceeding 13°C. A wild first quarter saw several incidents involving top-tier entries from the SP9 category, including a significant number of cars that were at the top of the tables.

For the three Yokohama-shod Walkenhorst BMWs, the #101 Yokohama-liveried entry is leading the charge as expected. Following a cautious approach in the tumultuous first hours of the race, the team has managed to make its way into the top positions, being scored in 5th position overall after six hours. Christian Krognes, Sami-Matti Trogen, Andy Soucek and Jörg Müller were able to avoid incidents during the hectic first hours of the race. With temperatures falling to a slow as 2°C at night, the #101 is ready for a charge at darkness.

Also avoiding incidents during the first quarter of the race was the #102 Alpecin-liveried BMW M4 GT3, currently circulating in 3rd position in the SP9 Pro-Am subcategory. Mario von Bohlen, Ben Tuck, Jörn Schmidt-Staade and Jörg Müller, who is on double-duty this weekend, have kept their nose clean as well with a cautious approach that is now starting to pay off.

Also enjoying a trouble-free race so far is the #100 entry driven by Henry Walkenhorst, Friedrich von Bohlen, Jörg Breuer and Andreas Ziegler. After six hours, the M4 GT3 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the BMW M brand with a special livery featuring the characteristic M colours, is seated in 11th position in the SP9 Pro-Am after six hours.

With a long night ahead, both Yokohama and Walkenhorst Motorsport aim to continue pursuing the successful strategy avoiding the incidents that caught out several opponents. Yokohama is also prepared to take on the challenge in single-digit temperatures tonight with a soft-compound Advan Slick tire.

DRIVER VOICE

Jörg Müller [Walkenhorst Motorsport]

“We are very satisfied so far and keep focusing on making no mistakes. Apparently, you could easily see what happened during the first hours of the race. So many cars are out of the race already, so we have to keep making no mistakes. Our cars are running very well, everything is working perfectly. I think we’ve got an edge with our Yokohama tires in the fast corners and it is a pleasure to drive the car at the moment. We will use the soft compound tire in the cold conditions which should really suit us. I was really shocked when I saw the spectators for the first time. It feels like it’s twice the amount of people than pre-pandemic.”

Photo Gallery

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[#101] Krognes Christian / Soucek Andy / Trogen Sami-Matti / Müller Jörg

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[#101] Krognes Christian / Soucek Andy / Trogen Sami-Matti / Müller Jörg

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[#101] Krognes Christian / Soucek Andy / Trogen Sami-Matti / Müller Jörg

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[#101] Krognes Christian / Soucek Andy / Trogen Sami-Matti / Müller Jörg

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[#102] Müller Jörg / von Bohlen Mario / Tuck Ben / Schmidt-Staade Jörn

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[#100] Walkenhorst Henry / von Bohlen Friedrich / Breuer Jörg / Ziegler Andreas

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[#101] Krognes Christian / Soucek Andy / Trogen Sami-Matti / Müller Jörg

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[#100] Walkenhorst Henry / von Bohlen Friedrich / Breuer Jörg / Ziegler Andreas

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[#102] Müller Jörg / von Bohlen Mario / Tuck Ben / Schmidt-Staade Jörn

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