After the 6-hour race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan-Wheels had already written off the fight for their seventh championship title in a row. However, due to another victory in the BMW M240i Racing Cup class—and the simultaneous absence of the main competitors’ lead drivers—the team of manager Matthias Unger still has a chance to realise the dream of another title win at the season finale on 16 November 2024.

“Of course, it would be incredibly nice if we were to actually succeed in defending the title during the final run. However, we still do not have it in our own hands and have to wait for the competition to miss their second match point,” says team manager Matthias Unger, who was more than satisfied with his team's performance last weekend. “Despite the difficult weather conditions in qualifying and during the early stages of the race, our drivers delivered a strong performance. It was anything but easy to keep the cars on the track today.”

In total, the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan-Wheels recorded two class wins at NLS Round 5, along with three second-place finishes and one third-place, successfully bringing eight out of nine vehicles to the finish line after four hours.

BMW M240i Class: Maxsel Energy Solutions BMW M240i Keeps Title Hopes Alive

Sven Markert, Ranko Mijatovic, and Toby Goodman (No. 650 Maxsel Energy Solutions BMW M240i) returned with a convincing class victory, reigniting excitement in the NLS title fight. The driver trio prevailed ahead of teammates Michel Albers, Yannik Himmels, and Nico Silva (No. 651 Veedol BMW M240i), who had won the previous two races. Third place went to Lars Harbeck, Klaus Faßbender, and Christian Kraus (No. 652 BMW M240i), also competing for the Adrenalin Motorsport squad. The excellent result of Haowen Luo and Can Wei Kuang (No. 653 GTÜ BMW M240i), who together secured seventh place, rounded off the class success.

VT2-R+4WD Class: No. 1 Mainhattan-Wheels BMW 330i G20 Back on Track

There was great relief at the finish line for Philipp Leisen, Moran Gott, and Daniel Zils (No. 1 Mainhattan-Wheels BMW 330i G20). After two consecutive DNFs, the team’s long-lost racing luck returned this weekend. In the end, the BMW trio not only secured victory in the VT2-R+4WD class, but also won the classification group in the NLS production car category. Their teammates Valentino Catalano and Martin Bus finished eighth with the No. 501 Mainhattan-Wheels BMW 330i G20.

V5/V6 Classes: No. 444 Neufeld-KFZ Porsche Cayman & No. 396 NEXEN-TIRES Porsche Cayman S Continue to Shine as Podium Regulars

Both the No. 444 Neufeld-KFZ Porsche Cayman driven by Ulrich Korn, Tobias Korn, and Daniel Korn, and the No. 396 NEXEN-TIRES Porsche Cayman S driven by Lutz Rühl, Christian Büllesbach, Andreas Schettler, and Daniel Zils once again lived up to their reputations as “podium regulars” at NLS 5. Although this time it wasn’t quite enough to win their respective classes, second-place finishes under such challenging mixed conditions still reflected strong performances.

CUP3 Class: No. 930 Mainhattan-Wheels Porsche Cayman GT4 Retires Unluckily

Stefan Kruse, David Griessner, and Ranko Mijatovic initially had everything under control in their No. 930 Mainhattan-Wheels Porsche Cayman GT4. After a brilliant opening phase, the driver trio not only led the AM classification but were also within striking distance of the overall leaders in the CUP3 class. However, an accident caused by difficult weather conditions led to a premature retirement.

“I’m incredibly sorry for Stefan about this failure. He was in a spectacular position in the championship for gentleman drivers and was on his way to taking another important step toward the title. Unfortunately, the final bit of luck was missing today,” Unger added.

Text: Media-DaCo (Daniel Cornesse)
Photos: RACEPIX

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