Verstappen and Auer

LIVE: Max Verstappen races through the “Green Hell”

No luck for Verstappen and Auer in the No. 3 Mercedes(Bild: Philip Platzer / Red Bull Content Pool)

Max Verstappen drew 352,000 fans to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Everything went well for 21.5 hours, then mechanical trouble struck and dashed all hopes. Lucas Auer: “It is and remains a race of survival.”

It was all over after 133 laps! At the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring on Sunday at 11:37 a.m., long faces were everywhere, and it quickly became clear to Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer that they could kiss their long-awaited overall victory goodbye.

Just getting through is everything
“This is and always will be a race of survival—for the car, but also for the driver,” said a dejected Auer in the pit next to the parked race car to the “Krone.” A defect in the drive shaft had suddenly crippled the leading Mercedes in the 21st hour of the race, also causing collateral damage to the right rear axle.

We’ve all been in motorsports long enough to know how things sometimes go here.

Lucas Auer nach dem Ausfall

“That was very frustrating for me, as well as for Max and our entire team. But we’ve all been in motorsports long enough to know how things sometimes go here. Until we had to give up, it was a great race,” said Auer.

Verstappen set the pace
In which the Mercedes with start number three was up front from the start and led for long stretches. Verstappen, for example, finished each of his three roughly two-and-a-half-hour stints in first place and was still in good spirits during the final driver change with Daniel Juncadella.

But shortly afterward, a sensor alarm went off, and Juncadella slowly rolled into the pits. By the time the mechanics pushed the car into the garage, the dream of victory had already been dashed. Auer was nevertheless proud of the entire team’s performance, especially since the crowds of fans and the intense media attention had been building up additional pressure for weeks.

More fans than ever before
In front of a record crowd of 352,000 spectators, the Mercedes sister car, driven across the finish line by German Maro Engel, ultimately triumphed at the end of the 24 Hours. With Mirko Bortolotti (2nd/Lamborghini), at least a “half” Austrian made it onto the podium.

Two other compatriots shared Auer’s fate: Thomas Preining, whose teammate Kevin Estre crashed the “Grello” Porsche into the guardrails after four hours due to an oil spill on the track. And Klaus Bachler, whose Porsche had to retire before midnight following Morris Schuring’s accident. At least one red-white-red GT3 ace made it through: Philipp Eng (BMW) finished in 9th place.