Notwithstanding good performance in the fifth NLS race, Huber Motorsport is not rewarded with top results

Pole position in the SP7, convincing class leadership and in the end, third place in the SP9 Pro-Am – those are the results for Huber Motorsport in the ROWE six-hour ADAC-Ruhr cup race on the Nürburgring. Notwithstanding the challenging weekend, the team collected valuable experiences and data for the ADAC 24-hour race being held at the end of September.

The season highlight of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) and the dress rehearsal for the ADAC 24-hour race was on the agenda with the ROWE 6-hour ADAC-Ruhr cup race after a four-week break. A total of 159 vehicles were registered. They included the two Huber Motorsport cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 R and 911 GT3 Cup.

Qualifying took place as usual on Saturday morning from 8:30 to 10 am, held in dry weather conditions – as the entire race subsequently was. Marco Holzer, Patrick Kolb and Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula in the Porsche 911 GT3 R #25 got starting position three in the SP9 Pro-Am with a lap time of 8:07.579 minutes. Nico Menzel, Philipp Neuffer and Florian Spengler secured pole position in the SP7 for themselves with a lap time of 8:27.131 minutes, perfectly situating them for the race at noon.

The fifth race of the season started at 12 noon, with a few spectators in the stands for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Both Huber Motorsport Porsches asserted themselves in their respective class right off the start, opening up a healthy lead by the end of the first half.

However, things took a turn for the worse for Huber Motorsport in the second half of the race. First, the Porsche 911 GT3 R lost its leading position due to a spin-out and had to re-join the class in third place. Since the resulting lost time could not be made up during the remainder of the race, the trio of Holzer, Kolb and Rocco di Torrepadula finished the six-hour race in third place of the SP9 Pro-Am.

An hour before the end, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup rolled to a stop in the “Bergwerk” section. Philipp Neuffer, Nico Menzel and Florian Spengler had a 15-minute lead at the time, making the failure even more painful.

Reinhard Huber, team leader:
“The whole team did a great job. It really is a shame that the racing results fail to reflect our performance during the weekend. We were well on our way to class wins with both cars. Of course, that makes it especially painful to drop out. But even though the results don’t show that we were contenders for victory this weekend, I am very proud of my team and our performance. We are now focusing on getting ready for the 24-hour race, making sure we arrive invigorated and fully motivated.”

The ADAC 24-hour race is being held on September 24th to 27th. The next NLS run, the 45th DMW Münsterland Cup, takes place on 24 October 2020.