• Adenauer Racing Day first activity of 51st ADAC TotalEnergies 24h race at the Nürburgring
• Four Mercedes-AMG GT3s already seeded for Top Qualifying
• Positions 1 and 4 for Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN in first qualifying

With the traditional Adenauer Racing Day, activities of the 51st running of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h race at the Nürburgring got underway in a festive manner on Wednesday. Thousands of excited fans had got together around the Hauptstrasse in Adenau where they gave the participating drivers and teams an emotional welcome in the afternoon. The Mercedes-AMG customer sport teams were present as well with a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3s including the specially designed art car run by Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed and two Mercedes-AMG GT2s, making their 24-hour race debut this weekend. Early summer temperatures and an impressive atmosphere throughout the event made it a successful kick-off for the major season highlight in the Eifel.

With the first qualifying session, on-track activities at the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife finally got underway this afternoon as well. The first encounter of the week was the start of a three-part qualifying in which the final teams and drivers can secure a slot for Friday’s Top Qualifying. After their successful performance in the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers, the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed, the #4 Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN entry as well as the #10 and #11 cars run by Schnitzelalm Racing already had their participation in the shoot-out confirmed prior to the event.

Arjun Maini and Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN post fastest time in Qualifying 1
Accordingly, the four crews were able to use the 90-minute first qualifying to prepare for Top Qualifying. For them, it was also about completing the first mandatory laps and to find the right rhythm and the appropriate set-up in the process. The other Customer Racing cars already proved their speed: Arjun Maini (IND) posted the respectable lap time of 8m 14.150s with the #6 Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN car, the fastest time of the afternoon. Raffaele Marciello (SUI), meanwhile, pulled off the second-best lap of all the Mercedes-AMG drivers as he put the sister car in fourth place overall with a time of 8m 17.150s. 

At 8pm this evening, the so-called Night Qualifying gets underway, in which drivers can adapt to the challenging light conditions during the 24-hour race. However, the final starting order for Saturday will only be determined during tomorrow’s Top Qualifying.

“Being here for the 24-hour race is always nice. Especially now with more and more fans camping at the track. Everything looks set for a great race, even the weather is likely to remain favourable. In first qualifying, there still was a lot of dirt on the track from the series that were out before us. However, the car is running well, the first laps are in the book and now we have to build on that.”
Fabian Schiller, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #2

“Our goal was to get a few laps in, to get a good start of the weekend and to bring the car through the session without any damage. So far, it definitely has been very positive. We are happy with the set-up, but we still want to improve further. After that, we can fully focus on the big race on Saturday.”
Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6

“Having such nice weather here is something we aren’t used to at all. And all the many fans on top of that. We were already out there yesterday and soaked up the atmosphere around the event. Still, it was very nice to experience it from the car today. I also enjoyed my first couple of laps. Now, I am looking forward to more.”
Patrick Assenheimer, Schnitzelalm Racing #11

“Out on track, everything felt really well. We did a system check and built in a few new components, but mechanically, everything is excellent. We were already able to warm up nicely. Now, we will make sure that we get our laps in this evening and prepare for the upcoming sessions in an optimum way.”

Thomas Jäger, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #46

“Today, it was my first time driving at the Nordschleife in sunshine. Of course, it is a special event for our Mercedes-AMG GT2, the debut in an endurance race. So far, however, it is really pleasant to drive. There is a lot of traffic on track, but that is simply part of the deal here. First, we have to wait for the next sessions, but basically, I have a good feeling.”
Mikaël Grenier, Mercedes-AMG Team Schnitzelalm #222

“It really is fun, the weather is beautiful and the spectators are in a great mood. The atmosphere is simply special here. Once again, HRT has provided us with a strong car and found a good set-up, we can already say that much. The track is still a bit dirty, but that will still change.” 
Tobias Wahl, Haupt Racing Team #89