Driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for team HRT, Arjun Maini and his teammates Hubert Haupt and Jordan Lowe completed the fabled Nurburgring 24 Hours race in eighth place overall. The trio were second in the Pro-Am class.
The Frikadeli Racing team, fielding a Ferrari 296 GT3 took top honours, ending an over 20-year run of German manufacturers winning the endurance race.
- Frikadelli Ferrari win by 26.9111 secs from Rowe BMW
- Maini finishes P8 for HRT Mercedes-AMG
Arjun Maini P2 in Pro-Am class
The Nurburgring 24 Hours race has become a classic on the motorsport calendar and is known to feature a packed grid; 136 cars participated in this year’s event. The mammoth 25.3km Nordschleife track (famously known as ‘Green Hell’) and the ever-changing weather conditions make this a bona fide test of endurance.
After qualifying seventh, Maini started off the race for his team with a double stint of around two hours. He was up to fifth overall when he handed over the car to Jordan. The Indian driver followed that up with another double stint at night and then drove the final two-hour stint, crossing the chequered flag in eighth place. This was enough to grab second place in the Pro-Am class.
In total, Maini and his teammates ran 161 laps and covered over 4,000km with an average speed of 173kph.
“I have raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa in the past but nothing comes close to the challenging 24 hours of Nurburgring,” said Maini. “I am really happy to have not only finished my first race in P8 overall, but also managed a class P2 in the Pro-Am Category. It’s really challenging when you have 136 cars on the track and have to be extremely smart about how you overtake the slower cars. One small mistake can cost you the race. I am now looking forward to the start of my DTM season."
Frikadelli Ferrari win 2023 Nurburgring 24 Hours
The Frikadelli Racing squad of Earl Bamber, Nicky Catsburg, David Pittard and Felipe Fernandez Laser scored a dominant win after overcoming some minor scares, including a puncture. They held on to finish 26.911 seconds clear of Marco Wittman, Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Maxime Martin in the BMW M4 GT3 for Rowe Racing.
Frikadelli Ferrari’s win marks the first time since 2002 that a non-German manufacturer has won the event.
Also see:
Arjun Maini land podium finish at Monza GT World Challenge Europe round