"We want to fulfill a long-awaited dream"
30.05.2021
With the 24h race on the Nürburgring, the first major highlight of the season is imminent for the Frikadelli Racing Team after an extremely successful and intensive preparation phase. After two double victories in a row, the team of team boss Klaus Abbelen would like to be at the forefront again in the prestigious endurance classic and is aiming for a top position in the overall standings with both Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Since Frikadelli Racing was founded in 2005, we have been pursuing the big goal of winning the 24h race at the Nürburgring once with our team. We would like to fulfill this long-awaited dream for ourselves and especially Sabine, who will support us from above. The races of the season so far have shown that we have the potential to do this, but especially in a 24-hour race there are a lot of factors that are beyond your control. For our part, however, we will give everything and get the maximum out of it in order to achieve a top result in the overall classification with both Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, ”explains Klaus Abbelen.
The best result so far by Frikadelli Racing at the 24h race at the Nürburgring comes from 2008. At that time, Sabine Schmitz, Klaus Abbelen, Kenneth Heyer and Dr. Edgar Althoff with the "fastest meatball in the world" in third place overall. Since then they made more times it into the top 10 most recently last year when they was the best Porsche team came in seventh overall.
The # 30 Porsche 911 GT3 R will be shared by the two Porsche works drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell with Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy at the endurance classic. In the sister vehicle with the number 31, Maxime Martin, Patrick Pilet and Dennis Olsen take turns with Porsche works driver Frédéric Makowiecki. This means that the driver allocation for the two Porsche 911 GT3 R remains unchanged compared to the 6h qualifying race.
For Frikadelli Racing, the 24-hour weekend begins on Thursday with the first qualifying sessions. Due to the strong performance at the previous appearances this season, the two vehicles are already pre-qualified for the second top qualifying on Friday evening. This decides on the final starting line-up. The race starts on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Motorsport fans have the opportunity to follow the race over the entire distance live on RTL NITRO or in the stream on www.24h-rennen.de.
Driver voices:
Matt Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R #30): “I’m thrilled that I’m sitting in one of Frikadelli Racing’s extremely well-crewed cars this year. The squad has prepared meticulously for the upcoming 24-hour race and has achieved great successes on the Nordschleife. The car is very well set up and we’re very happy with how things are panning out. Now we want to tap the full potential of the car, the team and the drivers at the highlight of the year.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 GT3 R #31): “It’s one of the most beautiful and toughest races on the planet, and I always look forward to it. We’re heading to the 24-hour race very well prepared this year. The two previous outings on the Nordschleife ran perfectly. Frikadelli scored one-two results twice – and we’re keen to repeat this on the first weekend in June. I don’t like to talk about luck when it comes to motor racing, because that’s something you can never rely on in our sport. Still, you need a bit of luck if you want to win on the Nordschleife. A lot can happen in 24 hours on this difficult track, especially with changeable weather conditions and in a field with cars going different speeds. It’s sometimes out of the hands of the teams and drivers. In this special case, it helps to have Lady Luck on your side.”
