AMG driver Adam Christodoulou is hoping that this weekend will see him join the illustrious list of winners of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, a feat accomplished only three times by a British driver in the 44 year-history of the event.
Christodoulou will share the no. 4 AMG – Team Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Maro Engel, Manuel Metzger and Bernd Schneider, who was part of the AMG Customer Sports Team Black Falcon line-up which triumphed with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in 2013.The 26-year-old has good form at the ‘Green Hell’, having finished on the podium in both VLN meetings he has entered this year and ran at the front of the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2015 before his left-rear wheel parted company during the uphill climb through Kesselchen. (https://youtu.be/iWWNSrBUtGA)
This time around, Christodoulou is eager to make amends with the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 at his disposal, which has already proven its credentials by winning the 6 Hour Qualifying race and adding victories in both the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Cups.
“The Nürburgring 24 Hours is the biggest race of the year, so I’m looking forward to it more than the pressure that comes with it,” he said. “It’s a race that every driver wants to be a part of and the manufacturers are really pushing hard for.
“The last few years we’ve been in a position to win but for one reason or another it hasn’t been possible. Everything has to be so perfect for this race, but Black Falcon have won it before, AMG are supporting it more than ever before and we’ve got three driver line-ups within AMG-Team Black Falcon that could all potentially win, so that puts us in an extremely strong position.”As with any 24 Hour race, an element of caution will be required to see the team safely through the night and into the morning, but with 157 cars on track at once, not to mention the famously unpredictable weather, Christodoulou will have his work cut out to come out on top of the pile.
“The weather forecast isn’t looking too pretty for the whole week, so it’s going to be extremely tricky and just means you have to be a little bit reserved, because it’s even easier to make a mistake in the wet conditions,” he said. “But the Mercedes-AMG GT3 has proven to be extremely strong wherever it’s gone and been at the top of its game winning sprint races and endurance races already this year, so we just have to continue the momentum into this weekend.
“The Nürburgring 24 Hours is always different to any other 24 Hours, with the strain that’s put on both man and machine, it’s not necessarily the fastest car that wins but the one that stays out of trouble and doesn’t make any mistakes, so that’s what we need to focus on.”
Track action started yesterday with practice and a qualifying session, before the highly-anticipated Superpole session today sets the top 30 cars on the grid. Having qualified fourth and second in the last two years, Christodoulou is likely be once again be in the thick of the fight for pole, before the race itself gets underway from 15:30 local time on Saturday.Next Race: Nurburgring - Friday 27th MayQualifying 9:30 - 11:30 CESTTop 30 Qualifying / Super Pole 19:50 - 20:30 CEST
Saturday 28th MayWarm Up 8:15 - 9:15 CESTGrid 14:00 CEST24 Hour Race Starts 15:30 CEST
