The Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race is over for another year, and for the first time in the event’s 33-year history, a Mercedes-Benz has taken the overall win.
The Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 completed 88 laps of the mostly rain-soaked German circuit, winning the overall event. It was driven by Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Nicki Thiim.
Toto Wolff, Head of Motorsport at Mercedes-Benz, spoke about the triumphant effort, saying,
“This victory in the 24 hour race at the Nürburgring is the just reward for the loyalty of our customer teams. The Nurburgring has always had a great importance and symbolic meaning for Mercedes-Benz, because this is where the legend of the Silver Arrow was born, so it is all the more gratifying to witness the success here today of the AMG customer teams.”
Coming home in second place was the Marc VDS BMW Z4 GT3, the number 25 car. It was piloted by Andrea Piccini, Yelmer Buurman, Richard Goransson, and Maxime Martin. The Z4 posted the seventh best time during qualifying.
A BMW has won the N24 19 times since the event kicked off in 1970, making it the most successful brand to compete, behind Porsche with 11 wins.
Finishing in third place was the number 22 Rowe Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, piloted by Thomas Jager, Klaus Graf, Jan Seyffarth and Nico Bastian.
Ola Kaellenius, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, said
“A great success for our customer teams Black Falcon and ROWE RACING. I am very pleased that we have succeeded at only the third attempt in taking the top spot in the SLS AMG GT3. This victory is the best confirmation of our customer sports programme.”
Five-time N24 winner Pedro Lamy took out second fastest lap time during qualifying with the Bilstein Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3. It eventually came home in 10th place overall.
Aston Martin also made history by running its Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S in the event. Jose Ignacio Calindo, CEO of Alset Global, explains,
“This is a historic day for two reasons. Besides being the first hydrogen-powered race car to compete and undertake zero CO2 emissions laps in an international event, it has showcased the most practical technology available to fundamentally address the challenge of global emissions without disrupting the automotive industry.”
See below for the 2013 ADAC Zurich Nurburgring 24 Hours (N24) top ten race results:
| Position | Drivers | Team | Laps |
| 1 | Schneider, Bleekemolen, Edwards, Thiim | Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 | 88 |
| 2 | Martin, Piccini, Buurman, Göransson | BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS BMW Z4 GT3 | 88 |
| 3 | Graf, Jäger, Seyffarth, Bastian | ROWE Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 | 87 |
| 4 | Arnold, Roloff, Seyffarth, Jäger | ROWE Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 | 87 |
| 5 | Rockenfeller, Fässler, Stippler, Winkelhock | G-Drive Racing by Phoenix Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 87 |
| 6 | Adorf, Hürtgen, Klingmann, Tomczyk | BMW Team Schubert BMW Z4 GT3 | 87 |
| 7 | Lieb, Dumas, Luhr, Bernhard | Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 | 87 |
| 8 | Ammermüller, Stippler, Stuck, Stuck | Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 86 |
| 9 | Biela, Joens, Ludwig, Rusinov | G-Drive Racing by Phoenix Audi R8 LMS GT# | 86 |
| 10 | Turner, Mücke, Simonsen, Lamy | Aston Martin Racing Bilstein Aston Martin V12 Vantage | 86 |
