The legendary ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race at the Nurburgring – renowned as the toughest race in the world – has been completed by SCG003C Macchinadue (number 702), following a brilliant effort from Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus and its drivers. As team principal Jim Glickenhaus pointed out: “One day, we’re going to win this thing.”
Described by Sir Jackie Stewart as “The Green Hell”, the Nurburgring is one of the biggest challenges in the world of motorsport, which is the fundamental appeal of the track for the Italo-American team, contesting the race with its own one-off car.
A total of 158 cars started the race and just 101 managed to complete it, with Macchinadue (702) classified 26th.
At the start of the race, Macchinadue (702) lined up in 23rd place on the grid, with Macchinauno (701) in 34th spot.
Due to some unprecedented weather conditions, including hail and ice, the race was suspended after just six laps of action. It restarted at 19.20 with Macchinadue (702) starting 21st on the reformed grid and Macchinauno (701) 23rd.
Macchinadue (702), with a registered driver crew of Jeff Westphal, Thomas Mutsch, Andreas Simonsen and Felipe Laser, started particularly well and managed to run as high as fourth overall at one point during the night. It was consistently among the fastest lappers and set the best lap in its class when Andreas Simonsen was behind the wheel at 07.46 this morning (at an average of 180.15 kph).
Macchinauno (701) was crewed by Manuel Lauck, Felipe Laser, Franck Mailleux and Jeroen Bleekemolen. This supremely experienced crew also made up a number of places throughout the race to run in the top 10.
However, during the night both cars experienced a similar turbo problem that broke the exhaust in an especially tricky place. Despite the complexity of the situation the SCG mechanics did a fantastic job to repair both cars, meaning that they spent about an hour in the pits to deal with this issue.
Thanks to some brilliant driving and strategic decisions by the team, Macchinadue (702) made it through the race, continually moving up the order when it was in full health to finish in 26th spot, completing a total of 119 laps (or more than 3000 kilometres).
Macchinauno (701) was regaining a number of places but unfortunately the car was involved in a collision at Metzgesfeld with just an hour and a half to go, through no fault of its own. It was damaged beyond repair, rendering it unable to finish the race.
Team owner Jim Glickenhaus said: “The cars were very fast. We would have been in really good shape but we had a part of the exhaust that broke, and of course it was the same on both cars. So we lost a lot of time in the pit. If we hadn’t lost that time we would have been in the top 10 or even better: the cars were really fast. We have work to do but one day we are going to win this thing.”
Chris Ruud, Macchinadue owner said: “We finished the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2016! It's a dream come true and a truly amazing experience. We were able to fight till the end and the car came home in one piece. Our team was not so lucky due to some crashes with other cars, but Macchinadue was victorious in being able to finish a very gruelling race at a very gruelling circuit. I’m looking forward to future races and being back next year.”
Paolo Garella, programme director, summed up everyone’s feelings when he concluded: “See you next year!”
Jeff Westphal, driver of Macchinadue (702) said: “Any 24-hour race is an adventure, but especially this one. For me, the huge positive is that we managed to combine finishing the race with setting some of the top times: I’m really pleased with the pace of the car and our own pace as a driving crew. This shows that we’re absolutely on the right road, which is a massive source of encouragement for everyone. It’s been a truly fantastic experience.”
Andreas Simonsen, driver of Macchinadue (702) said: “It’s been an exciting weekend from the start with really big emotions from the weather side and from the cars. During the race we were up in the top 10 basically all the time, and then unfortunately 11 hours into the race we had a problem with the exhaust and it cost us time in the pits so we were a bit out of the fight for the top. The car was fine afterwards, we could push for really good times and I was quickest on the track. The car worked very well and we should have been fighting for a top five position overall. Its been quite mixed emotions because of this but we know the car is quick enough, so lets hope for a better result next year.”
Thomas Mutsch, driver of Macchinadue (702) said: “We finished the race, which was the main thing, on an event that was really tricky this year. Without the small problem that we kept on having, I think we could have been absolutely right up there: I loved driving the car and I hope the spectators loved watching us.”
New for this year, team owner Jim Glickenhaus created the Glickenhaus Trophy to commend the driver who set the fastest Nordschleife lap time, excluding the Grand Prix section, in qualifying for the 24-hour race. This was presented to Maro Engel on Friday for setting the best time in his #9 Black Falcon Mercedes AMG GT3. Engel was then part of the winning crew on Sunday.
The P4/5C MkIII unfortunately didn’t start the Nurburgring 24 Hours, as the damage sustained in an accident during Thursday’s qualifying session proved to be too great to repair on the spot. For the race it was due to be crewed by BBC Top Gear presenter Chris Harris and EVO road tester Jethro Bovingdon along with Patrick Bernhardt and Manuel Lauck.
