Pedersen, Fischer get second NEC win of the year

Niclas Pedersen laid the foundation to the team’s victory by setting the pole position in qualifying with a lap of 8:00.740. The Aarhus, Denmark driver was unable to translate this into the lead on the race start, surrendering the lead to another class competitor in turn one.

However Pedersen kept at it and maintained second position throughout lap one and used the slip stream at Döttinger Höhe at the end of lap one to go for the lead. The other car squeezed Pedersen aggressively, sending the Fischer Motorsport machine into the grass. Only with incredible car control, Pedersen was able to save the car.

The leader meanwhile crashed on their own into the barriers at Tiergarten and Pedersen reclaimed the top spot. In the following laps the 26-year old continued to extend the lead and created a 30+ second cushion by the time he handed over the car to team-mate Benjamin Fischer with one hour and 45 minutes remaining in the race.

Fischer then faced an unexpected challenge by another 911 Cup class competitor, who ran a different strategy. The Leipzig, Germany driver had to temporarily surrender the lead after two laps, but retook the lead when the other car pitted. With just 45 minutes remaining in the event, Fischer came down pit road for the final pit stop.

© 2022 Fischer Motorsport Lap 21: Jan Tobias Schrader slows for a crash at Wehrseifen and gets hit from another car behind

The team decided to take four tires and the necessary fuel and Fischer went back out on track with a 24-second lead, which he extended over the course of the remaining laps to bring home the team’s first NEC win since May this year.

“I’ve got to give Niclas all the credit. He created a massive 30-second lead for us so it was easy for me to just go and bring it home. I was a bit nervous about the No. 9 Porsche that battled me early in my first stint, because we had no idea how they were able to be in the lead. But once they pitted, we knew we just had to bring it home. It’s a great win for sure. It was a lot of fun out there.”, said Fischer.

The sister car No. 85 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) with Manuel Mayer and newly signed team driver Jan Tobias Schrader finished seventh in the race. After leading ten laps at one point in the race, the team faltered following a crash on the final lap of Mayer’s double stint.

Mayer entered Adenauer Forst at race speed and could not avoid a Mazda that had crashed previously and that blocked the racetrack. The damage resulting from the incident forced the team for quick repairs on Mayer’s in-lap.

Schrader, who made his debut with Fischer Motorsport, got hit by another 911 Cup class competitor into Aremberg, while Schrader was showing patience with a Mazda that was slowly to make room for a pass. The punt sent the No. 85 Porsche into a spin, but no damage resulted from the contact.

Shortly after, Schrader’s luck wasn’t as good. Another Mazda spun at Wehrseifen and a GT3 car directly of the Fischer Motorsport driver crashed into the Mazda. While Schrader slowed for the wreck, a driver behind him did not pay attention, resulting in heavy contact and damage to the car.

In the end, the team struggled to a seventh-place finish, earning a solid top ten result in a very competitive event.

“It’s been great to be back at the Nürburgring and in the NEC. I’m happy with my run personally, but we just had a lot of bad luck today. Jan did a good job, also. I think a better result than seventh place would have been possible today. But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”, said Manuel Mayer.

The iRacing Nürburgring Endurance Championship has one more race on the 2022 schedule, the season finale NEC Round 9 on October 16th.

© 2022 Fischer Motorsport Official Race Results - 2022 iRacing NEC Round 8, Split 2

© 2022 Fischer Motorsport Official Race Results - 2022 iRacing NEC Round 8, Split 4