24h Nürburgring | Pirelli passes the test of the Green Hell

All the tires from the Pirelli range made available to the teams for this motoring “classic” were put to the test during the 24h race at the Nürburgring, which ended early and behind the safety car due to bad weather conditions.

The actual hours of competition were in fact just over seven, all held on Saturday, before a red flag on lap 45 which interrupted the race. In fact, the fog did not allow adequate visibility for the rescue helicopter to take off and to guarantee visibility for the pilots along the 25.378 km of the route, made up of the Nordschleife and GP-Strecke.

After continuous postponements, the race direction decided to restart the cars from the grid for five formation laps behind the safety car in the early afternoon of Sunday, only to then announce the early end of the 24 Hours on lap 50.

This year, Pirelli was the official tire supplier for some cars entered in six different classes. The changing conditions of the track, also different from sector to sector, due to the sudden meteorological changes typical of the Eifel, required the use of all the solutions made available by the Italian company.

The tires used at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, developed specifically for the different types of cars competing, were able to cover an extremely wide spectrum of track conditions, even on the same lap as often happens on this circuit, while simultaneously guaranteeing safety and performance on the clock in line with the other cars in the race.

The Pirelli P Zeros (available in the Hard, Medium and Soft compounds) and the Cinturato (in the Hard and Soft versions, respectively for heavy rain and drying tracks respectively) mounted on the Dinamic GT Porsche 911 GT3 R in the category SP9 (FIA-GT3).

After starting from the twelfth row with a BoP increased by 10 kg on Saturday morning, the Italian team’s #54 (PRO) car gained ground on the first day when analysis of the intensity of precipitation and its location prompted the team and Pirelli technicians to keep the slick tires until the red flag.

The last two stints of the young Bastian Buus, in his first 24 Hours, reduced the gap from his rivals and, thanks to the calibration of the driving in the most slippery sections, allowed lap times below average (8’25”175, the best in the race) and the restart from the seventh row.

The Porsche, driven not only by the Dane but also by Marco Holzer, Marvin Dienst and the veteran Marco Seefried (15 participations in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring under his belt), thus maintained the 13th position from which it had started on Sunday.

“It was my first time at the Nürburgring and the experience with Pirelli tires was certainly positive in constantly changing track conditions” – commented Bastian Buus, Porsche 911 GT3 R driver #54 (Dinamic GT) – “I’m happy to having completed my stints without problems. Like everyone, we didn’t expect the race to end like this but during the weekend we learned a lot and identified what to improve for the future.”

Despite the length of the track, one of the biggest difficulties for the drivers was managing the traffic on the track, with over 130 starters in 23 different categories, all with different speeds.

One of the largest families was that of the GT4 in which Dörr Motorsport competed with two Aston Martin Vantage AMR tires with Pirelli P Zero DHF and DMF (the latter softer, for colder temperatures) and the Cinturato WHB.

Thanks to the new tread, the rain tires were widely used by riders who appreciated their wide range of use in different wet conditions.

Both cars #269 (SP8T class) and #169 (SP10 class) had to resort to mechanical repairs but then finished the race in 5th and 10th class positions (65th and 81st overall).

The German team also brought a KTM X-BOW GT2 (PRO-AM, #55) to the track in the new SP11 (SRO-GT2) class, which finished in 31st place overall.

The winner of the SP3T category, the new BMW Mini John Cooper Works PRO in its world debut (71st in the overall standings) also chose Pirelli tyres. Car #317 managed by Bulldog Racing used P Zero and Cinturato, in the versions designed for Turismo. The cousin #474 in the VT2 class with front-wheel drive still reached the class podium in third place (78th place overall).

“We witnessed a 24 Hours in a reduced version, with more than two thirds of the race lost due to fog and the disappointment of the 240 thousand spectators who had arrived in Nürburg for this classic Endurance race”, said Matteo Braga, Head of Activities on the Pirelli Motorsport track.

“During the track hours, the entire range of tires was used on a circuit that has no equal in the world. The tires have demonstrated reliability in the different scenarios that have occurred since Saturday afternoon, bringing all the cars that relied on Pirelli at the checkered flag”.

“The variability of the weather and the temperature range, combined with the variety of curves on the circuit which also include banked areas, have transformed this event into a precious opportunity to collect numerous data that will help us further improve our motorsport products.”

“Congratulations to the two Bulldog Racing Minis who both finished on the podium. The Pirelli team now gets back to work straight away for the next races in Germany and the big appointment with the 24 Hours of Spa.”

Pirelli will now be busy with the third round of the DTM championship and the second of the ADAC GT Masters from 7 to 9 June in Zandvoort. Both German series are equipped exclusively with tires from the Italian company.

Preparations are also underway for the 24h of Spa from 25 to 30 June in which all 64 GT3s taking part in the Endurance race and the support series GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli, GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club and McLaren Trophy Europe will race with Pirelli tyres.

The cars entered in the 24 Hours of Spa were able to test the Belgian track on May 21st and 22nd during the Prologue, with both a dry and wet track. The best time of 2’17”405 went to the Mercedes-AMG #2 of the GetSpeed ​​team, driven by Fabian Schiller.