Frikadelli Racing without racing luck at NLS4
27.06.2021
With the fourth race, the Nürburgring endurance series started into the second third of the season. In the first run after the 24-hour race, Frikadelli Racing started two vehicles with the Porsche 911 GT3 R and the Porsche Cayman GT4. But none of the cars saw the checkered flag. While the GT3 R # 30 was irreparably damaged in qualifying, technical problems during the race forced the Cayman to give up prematurely.
After the factory-supported races so far this year, team boss Klaus Abbelen himself took the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R for the first time this season together with Tobias Müller.
With a good feeling from Friday practice, Müller and Abbelen went into qualifying for the four-hour race. “In the first attempt, we set a very good lap time of 8: 00,100. But that's not enough in this fiercely competitive field and so we decided to go for another fast lap at the end of the day. Unfortunately, the car had an accident in the schwalbenschwanz area and was so badly damaged that we couldn't go to the start, ”explains team boss Klaus Abbelen.
And for the Porsche Cayman GT4 in the Cup3 category, too, things went anything but hoped for. A small touch during qualifying prevented a good starting position. In the race, Hendrik von Danwitz and “Jules” showed strong pace and worked their way up the class. But a defective drive shaft ended the German-English duo's race to catch up prematurely.
On July 10th and 11th, races five and six of the season are scheduled for the double header of the Nürburgring endurance series. While the Cayman is at the start with the usual crew at both races, the Porsche 911 GT3 R will only be on the Nordschleife on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict with the Michelin Le Mans Cup. Who Klaus Abbelen is sharing the vehicle with will be announced at a later date.
Driver voices:
Klaus Abbelen (# 30 Porsche 911 GT3 R): “Unfortunately not much came together for us this weekend. We had good pace from the start and were very confident about the race. We took the risk to improve our starting position again with a quick lap, but unfortunately that didn't pay off. In two weeks at NLS6 we will attack again."
Tobias Müller (# 30 Porsche 911 GT3 R): “I am very disappointed that our outing was over in qualifying. I am very sorry for the entire team who gave us a perfectly prepared car. We had good pace and at the time of the accident I was on a very fast lap. Unfortunately, the car was so badly damaged in the impact that we could no longer show our potential in the race. Nevertheless, it was a great honor for me to compete for Frikadelli Racing."
“Jules” (# 962 Porsche Cayman GT4): “After many flawless races, it just wasn't our weekend this time. The team quickly repaired the damage from qualifying and we were able to make up some ground from our poor starting position in the early stages. Unfortunately, a technical defect ended our race very early. But we will attack the double header again in two weeks!"
Hendrik von Danwitz (# 962 Porsche Cayman GT4): “Unfortunately, that wasn't a successful weekend for us. During practice on Friday, we found a very good set-up for the car. Then in qualifying I had a slight touch and we couldn't set a fast lap time. Nevertheless, the race went very well at first and I made up a few positions. With the damage to the drive shaft, the race ended early for us. Now we have to score again in the next races in order to regain the lead in the Pro-Am classification."
