CP Racing currently leads the way at the halfway point of the Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING after problems struck its nearest GT3 rival, Equipe Verschuur, 90 minutes before the overnight intervention.
The Equipe Verschuur Renault RS01 (#9, Harrie Kolen / Erik van Loon / Mike Verschuur) had started CREVENTIC’s first ever endurance event in Germany from pole position, and led convincingly throughout the opening four hours of the race. Early brake problems however soon dropped the Renault behind the CP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (#85, Charles Putman / Charles Espenlaub / Joe Foster / Shane Lewis), and despite a scintillating stint from team owner Mike Verschuur, during which he set the race’s 1m 40.881s fastest lap, the Renault later ground to a halt at turn 16 with a suspected driveshaft failure. The Dutch team has yet to return to the track and has dropped to the back of field.
New leader CP Racing also had problems to overcome when a brief rain shower at Hockenheim sent the entire pack to the pits for wet rubber, the American team doing likewise just four laps after its regularly scheduled pit stop. Despite this lost time, the Mercedes-AMG has now completed 236 laps of the 4.574km Hockenheimring and now holds a six-lap advantage heading into the overnight intervention. Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow at 12.00 hrs local time.
The DUWO Racing Porsche 991-II Cup (#909, Andrey Mukovoz / Sergey Peregudov / Stanislav Sidoruk) holds the 991-class lead ahead of nearest rival, NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing (#991, Gijs Bessem / Harry Hilders / Marcel van Berlo). Following Equipe Verschuur’s problems, the top two in the Porsche Cup class are also 2nd and 3rd overall at the Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING, and will restart tomorrow on the same lap.
The Team Avia Sorg Rennsport BMW M4 GT4 (#451, Olaf Meyer / Björn Simon / Heiko Eichenberg / José Manuel de los Milagros) has recovered from an early puncture and is now 4th in the GT division (8th overall). The German team also holds the GT4 class lead after the first eight hours of running at Hockenheim. Its nearest rival – the PROsport Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 (#401, Nico Verdonck / Rodrigue Gillion / Tom Heeren) – had led the category early on but has since dropped to 5th in the GT division after losing more than 20 minutes in the pits. Stunning pace from Nico Verdonck during the wet stages of the race though means the Aston has closed to within just a few minutes of the leading BMW.
The Speed Lover Porsche 991-II Cup (#978, Eric Mouez / Jeroen Kreeft / Rolf Lietart / Dominique Bastien) entered the Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING as the 991-class standings leader in the 24H SERIES Europe, but lost more than an hour in the pits after Dominique Bastien made heavy contact with the tyre barriers at turn 12.