GetSpeed Team JR286 Wins 12H Nürburgring

Photo: Racingpixels/Creventic

GetSpeed Team JR286 overcame a flurry of penalties and rain showers to take a triumphant first win of the season at the Michelin 12H Nürburgring.

Tanner Harvey took the No. 286 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo that he shares with Steve Jans, Jonathan Hirshberg and Patrick Liddy across the line with a gap of just over a lap to the No. 88 Up2Race Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.

The Team JR286 squad were in the strongest position when the race resumed at midday on Sunday. It was one of the only cars to undertake a full refuel and service before an unusual red flag was deployed just before the overnight intervention.

This meant that it could complete a regular opening stint on Sunday while most of its rivals had to dive into the pits in the opening laps.

This, combined with a mammoth two-and-a-half hour stint by Steve Jans, saw the GetSpeed crew secure first place in the opening hours.

When rain arrived, Jans was significantly faster than some of his rivals and maintained a steady pace before conceding the lead and handing over to Semi-Pro ranked driver Patrick Liddy.

Liddy, who had not completed any of his allocated driving time during Saturday’s portion of the race, was able to complete his stint while the majority of cars around him were still campaigning their amateur drivers.

As a result, the No. 286 car extended its advantage from the rest of the field, eventually overtaking the Up2Race Porsche after the 24H Series debutant was handed a 30-second time penalty.

The Team JR286 machine then pitted under each of the five Code 60 caution periods to top up with fuel. This meant that it did not lose its advantage by pitting under a green flag.

Its lead looked to be in jeopardy when it was handed a 20-second penalty for causing a collision. This then doubled to 40-seconds towards the end of the race as the team had not served its initial penalty within the mandated two-hour window.

Even with this sanction, the No. 286 Mercedes-AMG held a hefty lead to the rest of the field. A consistent final stint by Harvey was enough to secure victory.

Just behind, the remaining podium places were decided in a nail-biting final lap dice between the Up2Race Porsche and Viper Niza Racing’s No. 65 Mercedes-AMG.

Up2Race’s Fabio Grosse managed to fend off Dominic Ang and hold onto second place overall. The duelling pair crossed the line separated by just 0.469 seconds.

Viper Niza took third place overall and second place in the GT3-Am class. The all-Malaysian team had strong pace even against more experienced drivers, which helped to secure its first overall Michelin 24H European Series podium.

Just behind, Proton Competition took fourth position overall and a win in the Pro-Am class. The reigning teams’ champions mounted an impressive recovery drive after dropping down the field during the first rain shower.

Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport completed the GT3-Am podium with a fifth place finish overall.

The Sainteloc Junior Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II mounted a resurgent charge up the field in the second half of the race. The French squad started in 12^th place after the overnight intervention, but a trouble-free six hours saw it complete the top six and secure second place in the GT3 Pro-Am class.

The No. 29 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Pellin Racing went mostly under the radar during Sunday’s race, but it was one of only a handful of cars not to incur any form of penalty, which helped it finish in eighth place overall

The GetSpeed Team PCX Mercedes-AMG had taken pole for the 12H Nürburgring on Friday and held the championship lead going into the event, but damage during Saturday’s race and a stoppage on track on Sunday meant it lost significant time and any chance of victory.

However, an off-track moment for the No. 81 Era Motorsport Ferrari meant that the Team PCX squad still produced a third place finish in the GT3 Pro-Am class.

In 992, Red Camel-Jordans.nl took the class victory. The Dutch squad overcame a series of penalties – including for an unsafe release in the pits when a loose wheel came off of its No. 909 Porsche – to take a hard-fought victory ahead of the No. 928 HRT Performance team.

Red Camel’s second victory of the season also secured it the points lead in class. The team capitalized on the retirement for the No. 921 Mühlner Motorsport entry, which had led the championship going into the penultimate race of the season.

HRT took the 992-Am win and the points lead in the class.

Not Only Motorsport took a dominant TCE-TCX class victory. Despite stopping on track three times during Sunday’s race, the No. 114 Ligier JS2 R held the lead over asBest Racing’s trio of cars for the majority of the event.

The sole GT4 class entry, Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport’s BMW M4 GT4 EVO finished in 23rd place overall.

KEO Racing took the GTX class win as the only car entered in its class. The Danish team managed to finish its debut race despite battling engine issues for much of the 12 hours.

Source: Sports Car 365