Pirelli will once again participate this year in the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring, the endurance race that takes place in the first two days of June at the world’s largest circuit. It is one of the most important events in motorsport’s armory and the Italian company is the official tire supplier to many cars in six different classes, including the blue riband SP9 (FIA-GT3) class from which the overall winner of the Race will emerge 24 hours.
The event is an opportunity for Pirelli to test the entire range of GT and Turismo tyres, designed to suit the characteristics of all the different types of cars taking part, ensuring the best possible performance in the variable weather conditions expected. on this circuit, which for this race combines the Nordschleife and the GP-Strecke, with a total distance of 25,378 kilometers.
In the SP9 category (FIA-GT3), Pirelli supplies the Porsche 911 GT3 R the Italian team Dinamic GT participated and crewed by Marco Holzer and Marvin Dienst, Marco Seefried and Bastian Buus. The #54 (PRO) will run the latest generation Pirelli P Zero hard, medium and soft compound and if it rains, it can rely on the Cinturato Hard and Soft, for heavy rain or a drying track respectively.
The Dörr Motorsport team uses Pirelli tires on three cars. In the SP10 (SRO-GT4) class, they have their number one Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 (#169), driven by Oskar Sandberg, Aaron Wenisch, Michael Funke and Phil Dörr. In the SP8T class, another Vantage GT4, the #269, will be crewed by Philippe Charlaix, Frank Weishar, Sven Schädler and Peter Posavc. The team also competes in the SP11 (SRO-GT2) class, its first appearance at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with KTM X-BOW GT2 (PRO-AM, #55), driven by Christian Gebhardt, Fabian Vettel, Ben Dörr and Max Hofer.
Dörr Motorsport is no stranger to using Pirelli tires at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Back in 2014, her McLaren MP4-12C, equipped with the Italian marque’s product and with Kevin Estre at the wheel, set a new lap record for the 24 Hours with an impressive 8’10” 921, which was unbeaten until some sections of the original track was updated.
Dörr Motorsport will have a wide range of tires available, starting with the Pirelli P Zero DHF, which has been renewed for 2022, and the softer P Zero DMF compound that comes into its own at night when the track is cooler. If it rains, the new Cinturato WHB, also used in the DTM and ADAC GT Masters, will be tested. The Cinturato WHB has a new design that offers greater tread stiffness compared to its predecessor, which extends its working range when conditions change from wet to dry.
The Pirelli P Zero and Cinturato, in a special Touring Car version, will be used by the BMW Mini John Cooper Works (#317) was entered by Bulldog Racing and driven by Charles Cooper, Markus Fischer, Christoph Kragenings and Sebastian Sauerbrei, as well as #474 in the VT2 class for 1600 to 2000cc front-wheel drive cars, with driving duties shared by Michael Bräutigam , Andreas Hilgers, Sascha Korte and Marco Zabel.
Matteo Braga, Pirelli Motorsport Circuit Activity Manager:
“The Nürburgring 24 Hours is a fantastic test bed for our GT products because it is one of the toughest and most demanding races in all of motorsport. Its unique characteristics explain why Pirelli often tests road tires in the “Green Hell”. Tackling the 180 or so medium and low speed turns that make up the track for this event allows us to collect so much data on the performance of our wet and wet compounds that can be used not only to improve racing of our products, but also road tires for everyday use, with their main innovations coming from the experimentation we carry out in motorsport competitions”.
The 52n.d The Nürburgring 24 Hours edition is expected to draw a crowd of 200 thousand. 130 cars in 23 categories with over 450 drivers taking part. The overall winner usually comes from the SP9 and SP-X classes, with 30 cars representing eight brands. The match starts at 16.00 on Saturday 1 June, with a 45-minute warm-up at 12.40. Qualifying takes place on Thursday 30 and Friday 31 May, divided into four sessions, with the final Top Qualifying at 17.30. (all hours CEST).
As of this year, the endurance race is also a round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, along with those at Bathurst, Spa-Francorchamps and Indianapolis. The Nürburgring takes its place in an already busy schedule of championships organized by the SRO for which Pirelli is an official partner, as well as in partnership with ADAC as an official supplier of the DTM and GT Masters.
After the third round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe in Misano (May 16-19), the Italian company is also on duty for the Prologue to the Spa 24 Hours (May 21-22), two days of testing before the 100th edition of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa (25-30 June) in which all 67 GT3 cars entered will race on Pirelli tyres. Before Spa, Pirelli will also be at the Lausitzring (May 24-26) for the second round of the DTM and then Zandvoort (June 7-9) for both the DTM and ADAC GT Masters.