“Underdogs” Aston Martin Didn’t Expect First N24 Podium

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/SRO

Mattia Drudi says he never expected “underdogs” Aston Martin to score a first-ever overall Nürburgring 24 podium in this year’s race, a contest he described as “crazy.”

Drudi narrowly missed out on securing the runner-up spot in the No. 34 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo he shared with Nicki Thiim and Christian Krognes when encountering traffic and a Code 60 zone on the last lap while chasing down the No. 84 ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 — which was carrying a post-race penalty — in the battle for second.

The Walkenhorst car vaulted up the order at the start of the second hour of this year’s contest, after qualifying 11th, having opted for a shorter opening stint.

It then continued to run near the front while a host of other top crews encountered issues or crashed out amid a chaotic first third of the race.

When Sportscar365 asked Drudi if he expected to finish on the podium, he replied: “To be fair, no. We knew we had a great team, great lineup and we knew the car was quick last year as well.

“But this year the level was super, super high and a lot of teams [entered] with so much preparation.

“You go into these kind of races knowing you can be competitive but you don’t really know where you’re going to be, especially in a race like this because Nürburgring picks its winner and you just need to survive.

“We showed that surviving, staying out of trouble we could be up there.

“We were always in the fight for the podium, of course the issue of the [race-leading] No. 3 Mercedes helped everyone behind to have one more spot to fight for the podium but I’m really, really proud.”

One of the greatest threats to a strong result for the Walkenhorst trio came in the sixth hour when the team waited a lap longer than most of its rivals before pitting for wet-weather tires when heavy rain arrived.

Drudi described those conditions as “really tricky,” adding: “The extra lap on the slicks I found myself under braking for Turn 1 I already went straight [on] and I was thinking, ‘It’s going to be a long lap.’ And it was a long lap.”

Nevertheless, Drudi was able to just about able to negotiate that lap before changing rubber.

The third place the Aston crew secured was also notable as they finished as the top entry not running on Michelin tires — the French brand having extended its run to nine straight N24 successes following the victory for the No. 80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — with Walkenhorst instead using Pirellis.

“The team did a really good job and they switched from Michelin to Pirelli,” said Drudi.

“It was different tires, different conditions and on the wet it was something quite new so we were not knowing all the keys but it’s a really good result. It shows again the car has great potential everywhere.”

Source: Sports Car 365