Audi has taken out the 2012 Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance event in Germany. This is the first time Audi has won the arduous race in the 20 years it has been running.
The Audi Sport Team Phoenix R8 LMS Ultra driven by Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler, and Markus Winkelhock took the chequered flag after 155 laps, followed by teammates Chris Mamerow, Christian Abt, Michael Ammermüller, and Armin Hahne driving another Audi R8.
It was Audi’s fourth ever time taking part in the event, with the brand very happy to take out a 1-2 finish, understandably. Markus Winkelhock recently said,
“It was a great weekend for us, for the whole team. We had a perfect car that had no problems. It’s just amazing to stand on the podium. It was a really tough race and is really competitive.”
As for third place, it was taken by the Hankook-Team Heico Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, with the Wochenspiegel Porsche 911 GT3 R filling in fourth.
Team Schubert, pole-position starters, in the BMW Z4 GT3 led much of the beginning of the race, but suffered driveshaft issues. Another leading Z4 GT3 also suffered transmission problems, leaving the race down to the mighty Mercedes-Benz SLS and the two Audi R8s.
Another highlight of the event was with the Ferrari P4/5 Competizione. During qualifying it managed to post the quickest ever time for a Ferrari vehicle on the circuit, lapping a 6:51. The time is over seven seconds quicker than Ferrari FXX Enzo-derived race car (6:58.16).
