24H Nurburgring: Hour 21 update

News and quotes 11.00 to 13.00 h During a pit stop just before 11.00 h, the ...

News and quotes 11.00 to 13.00 h

During a pit stop just before 11.00 h, the # 1 Manthey Porsche lost the lead, but last year's winners struck back by setting the fastest race lap with 8:39.638 minutes. At 11.20 h, there was a shock in the Phoenix pit box when the # 99 was running slowly on the Nordschleife. The Audi R8 LMS finally parked going onto the Hohe Acht. Only 20 minutes later, drama was reported from the Manthey pit box, too, because a routine stop showed a broken drive shaft on the second-placed 911 Cup S car (# 2). The repair lasted more than 20 minutes and cost the team second place. The new situation ouit in front: last year's winners (# 1) are leading from the Abt Sportsline R8 (# 97), the second Manthey car (# 2) is third.

# 1 (Bernhard / Lieb / Dumas / Tiemann) Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
12:10 h: Timo Bernhard: "It is great that we are now in second place. We have already been able to close the gap by ourselves, but of course, it was easier for us like this. Otherwise, it would have been quite close. In any case, it was thrilling, and so far, the race has been more like a 24h sprint race."

# 2 (Collard / Henzler / Lietz / Werner) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S
11:45 h: Emmanuel Collard: "I came into the pits for a planned tyre change. In the process, the team discovered a broken drive shaft. Now, the mechanics are trying to solve the problem."

# 3 (Schmitz / Abbelen / Althof / Heyer) Porsche 997
11:55 h: Dr. Edgar Althof limps into the pits with a puncture: "During my stint, I already discovered that the rear tyres were getting worse. Then there was a blow at the Hohe Acht and the right rear tyre was bust. From there, I had to drive slowly to the pits and I hope that there isn't too much damage."

# 4 (Kraling / Gindorf / Scharmach / Holzer) Porsche 911 GT3
11:30 h: Marc Gindorf: Too bad that we lost so much time during the night, otherwise we would have been further up. Perhaps, we could even have repeated our success of 2008. But who knows what will happen: there is still a long way to go. The smaller field made it more pleasant to drive at night."
12:50 h: Frank Kraling: "There is no way for us to make it further up just by ourselves. We have to keep up, but we are doing quite well."

# 5 (Weiss / Pietsch / Jacobs / Ragginger) Porsche 911 GT3 21 (Riebensahm / Kohlhaas / Gerhard / ) Dodge Viper GT3
11:22 h: Collision between the Wochenspiegel-Porsche # 5 and the Mintgen-Viper # 21 in the Ford-Kurve. Both cars are heavily damaged and can't continue their race.

# 19 (Mamerow / Bergmeister / Franchitti / Mamerow) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S
11:40 h: Marino Franchitti is driving slowly with the Porsche 911 Cup S due to a puncture right rear. At the pits, the team finds out that the wheel bearing has been damaged, so that a complicated repair is necessary. The team is losing more than an hour in the pits.

# 97 (Abt / Hemroulle / Kaffer / Luhr) Audi R8 LMS
12:23 h: Christian Abt: "I have never seen something like this. This is a sprint race that has been going on for more than 20 hours. I asked my guys to take it a little bit easier, just to prevent something happening."
12.55 h: Lucas Luhr: "It would be great when the result remained like this. Knock on wood: the car is running well."

# 99 (Basseng / Fassler / Rockenfeller / Stippler) Audi R8 LMS
11:19 h: The R8 is driving slowly at Kesselchen and finally stops at the entry towards Hohe Acht.
Frank Stippler: "We were told on the radio that there were some bits in the wheel rim. Still, nobody can explain where they come from and whether the damage can be repaired. Of course, we still would like to make it home. Too bad, no chance of overall victory anymore." 12:20 Uhr: The Audi was repaired at the track and now, Frank Stippler can continue after a check-up in the pits.
Mike Rockenfeller: "At Kallenhart, the car suddebly became instable. I was lucky that it happened at a relatively slow part. I could still keep the R8 in control like that. First of all, I thought I had a blown tyre. But when I got out, I saw that the right rear wheel was bent. My car was pulled to Pflanzgarten, where our mechanics replaced the wheel bearing and the right rear drive shaft. Then I could make it back to the pits."