Fischer Motorsport wins iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours
A win is a win, but a win at the Nürburgring Nordschleife is always special - even more so for a team out of Germany that calls the track in the Eifel region its home. And nothing is bigger or more special than winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours - the arguably toughest and most challenging endurance race in the world.
On Sunday, the dream of winning the 24-hour race in the “Green Hell” finally came true for Fischer Motorsport and drivers Benjamin Fischer, Manuel Mayer, Travis Linscome-Hatfield and Michael Adamczyk.
Fischer placed the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) sixth on the starting grid, with a lap time of 8:24.344, actually falling short of own expectations in the session.
“I thought there was a better lap time in that car. I just couldn’t get in the perfect lap and made a couple of mistakes. But we’re not too far from the front of the pack, so that’s good. It’s a long race.”, said Fischer.
At the start, the 39-year old Leipzig, Germany native held his own in the all too familiar scuffle going through turn one and the chicane, but still lost two positions to drop to eighth place.
But coming through the Müllenbach-Schleife of the Grand Prix circuit, Fischer made a pass on the No. 9 Simpit Racing Team Porsche and moved into seventh position.
On lap two, Fischer moved into P6, passing the No. 58 Melon Mates Motorsport Porsche on the long straight of Döttinger Höhe.
Just one lap later, at the same section of the track, the German who founded Fischer Motorsport 21 years ago, passed the No. 403 4X Racing Porsche for fifth place, moving into the top-five of the race.
Everything was looking very good for the team, but a long race was still ahead - grueling 24 hours in the ultimate test of man and machine.
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© 2023 Fischer Motorsport
Benjamin Fischer started the race and picked up several positions during the opening two hours after some entertaining battles with 4X Racing and Melon Mates Motorsports
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On lap 4, the No. 8 Brother’s Army Porsche of Jonathan Rousset made an unscheduled pit stop, Fischer and the No. 84 Porsche moved into fourth place, 22 seconds behind the leaders.
The first scheduled pit stop followed for the team on lap 8 and Fischer brought the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to pit road.
After taking on fuel and four fresh Michelin tires, the veteran driver went back out on track in third position, thanks to the quick work of the crew.
Fuel pump and electrical issues set team back in opening third of race
One hour later, Fischer came back to the pits and completed his second stint, maintaining third place and reducing the gap down to twenty seconds.
With the first scheduled driver swap, Manuel Mayer jumped into the car but disaster struck. Technical issues with the fuel pump made it impossible for the team to fuel up the car and Mayer sat helplessly behind the wheel, waiting what felt like an eternity, to be able to go out on the track.
After 12 minutes, the car was finally fueled up and Mayer exited the pits, only to lose control on the exit of the chicane. But through quick reflexes, the Teisendorf, Germany native was able to avoid the worst.
The entire sequence cost the team dearly, falling all the way to seventh place. But the drama was not yet over.
On lap 23, Mayer suddenly slowed and came to a stop with electrical issues and the team had to call a tow truck to get the car back to the pits.
At that time Benjamin Fischer took over the car again for a double stint, to get the team back on track and into the evening part of the race, past sunset.
“That first third of the race was tough for us. We had such a good double stint to open things up, but then we had the fuel issue and the electrical problems. It was just very frustrating.”, said Fischer.
Through a masterclass double stint, Fischer was able to bring the team back into fourth position, but the team was still facing a 7-minute deficit to the leaders, the No. 7 Haider Motorsport Porsche.
Linscome-Hatfield and Adamczyk take lead during the night
Entering the night time part of the race, Travis Linscome-Hatfield was next up to take the steering wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
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© 2023 Fischer Motorsport
When the sun set over the Eifel region on Saturday evening, the No. 84 Porsche had battled back from adversity to fourth position
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The 31-year old put together a clean single stint, despite having to navigate through plenty of multi-class traffic during the night with several GT4 cars and faster GT3 cars occupying the same real estate on the narrow race track.
Linscome-Hatfield and Adamczyk kept alternating between each other for single stints throughout the next eight hours of the night, moving from fourth position all the way into the lead by the end of hour 13 of the race.
Several other contenders found trouble, such as long-time race leaders, the No. 7 Haider Motorsport Porsche and the No. 403 4X Racing Porsche.
By staying out of trouble and keeping it clean throughout the night, the team was able to take full advantage and take control of the race, establishing one-lap lead over the No. 9 Simpit Racing Team Porsche.
Mayer brushes wall on Sunday morning
After sunrise, it was now the turn of Manuel Mayer and Benjamin Fischer to take over driving duties for the next several hours.
With just under nine hours remaining, Mayer exited the pits after taking over the car from Adamczyk. On the final lap of his first full single stint, Mayer - in a split-second laps of concentration - ran wide in the corner entering the Nordschleife and brushed the concrete wall, damaging the right front of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup that required repairs.
Limping back to the pits, the crew was ready and through a heroic effort was able to repair the right front suspension and wheel house of the car in less than ten minutes.
With the lead now reduced to four and a half minutes, the pressure was on for the team to avoid any further issues or mistakes the rest of the way.
Benjamin Fischer wrapped up his final double stint of the race with a little more than four hours remaining in the race as the No. 84 Porsche continued to lead the race and started to smell the scent of a potential victory in the event.
Drama, crash at Wehrseifen with four hours remaining
After another driver swap stop when Manuel Mayer jumped into the car previously occupied by Benjamin Fischer, Mayer found trouble once more on his out lap.
At Wehrseifen, the 34-year old was startled to find a Porsche Cayman GT4 spun directly ahead. Unable to slow down in time, Mayer’s car made contact and sustained damage on the front of the car.
“It all happened so quick. There was no way for me to react in time. I couldn’t see the wreck because of the a pillar. It was the perfect storm. I turned in, and when I saw the Cayman, it was already too late. I still tried to slow… man, it’s just frustrating.”, said Mayer in the pit stall while the pit crew once again was feverishly working to repair the car.
Showing incredible determination and skill, the team was able to get the front of the car fixed up in just over 12 minutes and sent Mayer back out on the race track.
Using up the one-lap lead the team had established over the previous few hours, there was no more room for error the rest of the way.
Linscome-Hatfield controls pace in final two hours, brings home the win
The team’s final driver change pit stop came with just under two hours remaining in the iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Coming off a nice rest the last few hours, Travis Linscome-Hatfield climbed behind the steering wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to take the No. 84 the rest of the way in the event.
Still leading by one lap over the No. 9 Simpit Racing Team Porsche, the team’s focused now shifted on maintaining the lead and controlling the pace, avoiding any unnecessary risks or incidents.
With just over forty minutes to go, Linscome-Hatfield entered pit lane for the final pit stop of the race, taking on fuel and four fresh tires once more, then going back out on track, with just six more laps until one of the biggest wins in the organization’s history.
Keeping a cool head, the American driver, who usually pilots the No. 14 Dallara LMP2 in the VSCA SportsCar Championship, completed lap after lap and after exactly 24 hours, 15 minutes and 36 seconds, crossed the finish line to take the checkered flag to give Fischer Motorsport the first-ever victory in the iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours.
After a celebratory burnout in front of the AMG Arena in turn one and spraying champagne with his team-mates Fischer, Mayer and Adamczyk on the podium, Linscome-Hatfield had this to say:
“We honestly didn’t know if we still had a realistic chance to compete, after the fuel pump and electrical issues early on. But that’s why you never give up in these endurance races. Anything can happen and I think everybody was struck with adversity sooner or later, not just us. We kept pushing each other and made the best of it. It’s awesome to win this race. It’s definitely up there, the biggest win for me yet.”
Benjamin Fischer: “I’ve got to give the guys credit. The pit crew, especially. Without their efforts, we wouldn’t be here. I know everyone always looks at the drivers, but if it weren’t for those guys, we wouldn’t be talking to you here right now about one of the biggest wins for our team ever. I’m just so happy that we finally, finally won this race. I wanted to win this one so bad. To finally do it, means the world to me.”
For Michael Adamczyk, who joined the team only recently during preparations for the 24-hour event, had this to say:
“It’s pretty incredible to get this win. Me being the new guy in the team, I just focused on making no mistakes and keeping it clean. I’m pretty happy with my performance and that I was able to contribute to such an amazing result. I’ll never forget this race, that’s for sure.”
iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours adds to impressive list of achievements for Fischer Motorsport
Winning the iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours also adds another ticked checkbox for Fischer Motorsport, who has now won the iRacing 24 Hours of Daytona, iRacing 24 Hours of Le Mans and the iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours.
“We’ve got to win the iRacing 24 Hours of Spa someday, to go four for four in the big 24-hour races (laughing).”, said Fischer, who will return to the Nürburgring Nordschleife on June 3rd for Round 3 of the 2023 iRacing Nürburgring Endurance Championship.
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© 2023 Fischer Motorsport
Official Race Results - 2023 iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours (Overall)
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© 2023 Fischer Motorsport
Official Race Results - 2023 iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours (Overall)
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© 2023 Fischer Motorsport
Official Race Results - 2023 iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours (992 Cup)
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