Up2Race Holds Lead in Red-Flagged 12H Nürburgring

Photo: Racingpixels/Creventic

Up2Race held the lead of the Michelin 12H Nürburgring going into the overnight intervention after a red flag was brought out for a frightening crash in the final hour of the opening half of the race.

The No. 88 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, driven by Tim Heinemann, Oleksiy Kikireshko and Fabio Grosse, cycled up into first place after deciding not to stop under a Code 60 caution period caused by a high speed crash for the No. 921 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

The points leaders in the 992 class sustained a race-ending accident going into the first corner which necessitated lengthy barrier repairs. Thankfully, driver Joshua Bednarski was able to exit his car unassisted.

In an unusual instance for Creventic competition, the event was red flagged as the barrier repairs were expected to take longer than the forty minutes remaining of the race.

This caused much confusion amongst the paddock as some cars had pitted for fuel under the Code 60 while others were unable to before the red flag came out.

24H Series debutants Up2Race did not pit for fuel under the caution, so took the lead from the No. 73 Proton Competition Porsche which had led the race for much of the opening six hours as it dived into the pits.

Though much of the field pitted under the fifth caution period of the race, teams were only able to fill up with just fifteen percent of their regular fuel load.

All cars are placed under parc fermé conditions overnight, meaning they cannot be repaired or refuelled before the race restarts. As a result, a majority of the field is expected to pit early on in Sunday’s race to top up with more fuel.

The Proton Porsche will start Sunday’s half of the race in second. The reigning teams’ champions showed consistent speed from the outset and maintained the lead until its final pit stop.

Viper Niza Racing held third place overall and the lead of the GT3-Am class. Its No. 65 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was also the only car other than the No. 73 Porsche to be on the lead lap. The all-Malaysian crew ran a trouble-free race, meaning it gradually cycled up the order while other cars fell foul of incidents and penalties.

One such entry was the GT3 championship leaders, the No. 28 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG.

The polesitters ran into trouble when Jordan Boisson made contact with the barrier coming out of a Code 60 period. A lengthy pit stop for repairs saw it drop down the order and out of contention for the lead.

ARC Bratislava claimed fourth place at the overnight halt in its return to the Michelin 24H European Series.

Lithuanian team Juta Racing held onto fifth with its Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, ahead of the GetSpeed Team JR286 Mercedes-AMG.

In a deviation from much of the field, the No. 286 squad decided not to use any of its professional driver’s allocated time in the car in the opening stint of the race. Therefore, Semi-Pro driver Patrick Liddy will be able to drive more in the latter part of the race on Sunday.

Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport claimed seventh place at the midpoint of the race, with Era Motorsport’s Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo rounding out the top eight.

Red Camel-Jordans.nl topped the 992 Class after the crash for the No. 921 entry.

The No. 910 Seblajoux Racing Porsche headed the 992-Am class as the race halted.

The TCE-TCX class was led by Not Only Motorsport’s No 114 Ligier JS2 R ahead of a trio of asBest Racing entries.

Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport’s BMW M4 GT4 EVO topped its class as the sole GT4 competitor in this weekend’s race.

KEO Racing held the GTX class lead as the only car in its category, but its Ligier JS2 RS was in the pits at the time of the intervention due to repeated engine troubles.

The second half of the Michelin 12H Nurburgring is set to kick off at 12 a.m. local time (6 a.m EST) with live coverage on Creventic Motorsports TV YouTube channel featuring Radio Show Limited commentary.

Source: Sports Car 365