For Immediate Release-
April 15 – The famous Nurburgring played host to the ADAC 6HR Qualification race that precedes the ADAC 24HR race in May. Teams use this event to get their drivers, crew and machines dialed in for the once around the clock race through the Eifel mountains in west Germany as most will use 3-4 drivers per car.
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus was back in action with one machine, the #705 SCG003c in white. The goal is to defend last years shocking pole position overall set by American Jeff Westphal, and to try to win the event overall. Driver’s Westphal, Mallieux, Mutsch, and Simonsen were present for the 6Hr “warm up” to get their rhythm in the car as well as work through driver changes and last minute items needed in the car.
“It was great to be back at the “green Hell” as they affectionately call it, as well as back in the car. I haven’t driven their since last year’s 24HR in May of 2017, so getting a good feel for the car on the circuit was my first priority as this is by far the hardest circuit in the world. The blind and narrow nature of the circuit make it a real treat to drive, but also unforgivable.” Explained Jeff
Simonsen qualified the car 3rd, which also guaranteed the team in the top 30 session at the 24HR event, which comes with the ever important blue strobe light in the windshield, allowing traffic at night to know it’s one of the fastest cars on the track. At the start of the race, the strategy had the car fall back 2-3 spots, and at the first pit stop Westphal climbed in to drive the SCG003c back up to 3rd behind the factory 911 GT3R from Manthey Racing. 2 different fuel strategies started to develop within the 25 GT3 classed cars competing for the overall win, which had the top 12 cars in waves of 6 pitting in different sequences for track position to have the most distance covered in the cumulative race time.
3 stints later (Stint = one fuel tank’s time on track, roughly 1hr) Westphal took the helm of the #705 again with 50 minutes left on the clock to sprint to the finish from 7th place. With factory Audi, Mercedes and BMW upfront, and Factory Aston and Porsche behind, Westphal took to the track for the final time before the 24HR race weekend in May. These would prove to be crucial laps for his prep, as well as the standing of the event. Westphal ran down the cars ahead, closing the gap each lap by virtue of setting the quickest laps on track by roughly 1 second over the 12 mile circuit (8+ mins/lap). In the end, he caught the back of the Audi R8 of Robert Frijns who got held up just enough in traffic coming onto the final straight away that it gave Westphal an opportunity to use a slip stream and take 4th position with 2 corners remaining.
“Finishing just off the podium is a great achievement and validation of our efforts. The others GT3’s have become stronger year after year, and this is by far the most competitive racing I’ve ever been a part of. Naturally the podium was a target, but there are things we learned this weekend that will help the team be efficient as well as the drivers, and we can maximize our performance next month, which is the underlying goal.” Said Jeff.
Jeff’s next event is stateside in the Audi R8 GT4 for Carbahn Peregrine Racing at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course at the beginning of May, before he fly’s to Germany to assault the Eifel Mountains with his Glickenhaus 003c Machine the second weekend in May. Follow for updates at: @WestphalRacing
Thanks to partners:
Light Speed Racing
Sparco USA
TNVC Inc.
Hammer Nutrition
Bell Racing USA
