Frikadelli Racing Tries BMW M6 GT3 for the First Time in this Weekend's Seventh VLN Leg
30.08.2016
• Team principal Klaus Abbelen: “The Porsche 911 GT3 R’s engine still hasn’t returned from revision, so we are switching to another racing car”
• Saturday’s 6-hour race is highlight of the 2016 VLN season
• Cult outfit from the Eifel region will enter four cars including the highly rated SP7 Porsche with Frank Kräling/Marc Gindorf/Chris Brück
For the seventh leg of this year’s Endurance Championship Nürburgring (VLN), Frikadelli Racing is switching to a M6 GT3 by BMW Motorsport. The 6-hour race on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife plus the Grand Prix circuit is the VLN season highlight. Klaus Abbelen’s and Sabine Schmitz’ team will start the race with the usual line-up. Besides the top car in the category SP9, Frikadelli Racing will enter three customer cars: Frank Kräling (Winterberg), Marc Gindorf (MC) and Christopher Brück (Köln) who have won the SP7 category two weeks ago are aiming for another class victory in their Porsche 911 GT3 MR. Janine Hill, John Shoffner (both from USA) and Arno Klasen (Karlshausen) are looking for a top-three finish in their cup Porsche 911 GT3 after narrowly missing the podium in VLN leg six. This weekend they will be joined by Duncan Huisman (NL). Thomas Leyherr (Dillingen) and Herbert von Danwitz (Tönisvorst) will again be taking turns at the wheel of their BMW M235i in the cup category of the same name.
“After the engine failure in the last VLN race we weren’t sure if the car would be back from the revision in time for the next race. That’s why we decided to try out the BMW on short notice”, says Frikadelli driver and team principal Klaus Abbelen. “Some time ago I had the opportunity to test the M6 GT3 on the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit and I had a very positive impression. The car is easy to drive and feels well balanced. We gladly took the opportunity to try it in a VLN race on the Nordschleife. The M6 by BMW Motorsport is entered by our team which will be supported by some engineers from the manufacturer. In Friday testing we will have to quickly adapt to the car. However, I am certain that we will soon get along well with the M6 and that we will be able to fight for good positions even if we won’t explore its full potential the way we could with our Porsche.”
