ADAC 24H Nürburgring Qualifiers

In April, the ADAC 24H Qualifiers weekend was held on the Nürburgring Nordschleiffe. These races are part of the NLS championship and serve as a prelude to the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. What made it even better was that two races were held during the weekend: one on Saturday evening, heading into the dark—which for me was perfect for photos at sunset and in the dark. And another one on Sunday afternoon. And since F1 had a month-long break due to the oil crisis and Max Verstappen was also going to participate in the 24 Hours, he was present as well with his Mercedes in Red Bull livery. So, a great excuse to simply enjoy a weekend of motorsport as a fan together with a friend. So after the visit in 2021, we returned to the Nordschleiffe once again.

Upon arrival, we watched part of the DHLM races featuring classic GTs and touring cars. However, exploring the garages was also perfectly possible with just a general admission ticket. For instance, we stood next to the one and only Dacia Logan racing version; by far the slowest car in the field, yet a true fan favorite. And, for example, the Mercedes EVO.Rs from HWA, based on the Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo from the 1980s, but with new technology.

After this, we started looking for a spot well in advance for the race that was scheduled to start at 17:30. After failing to find a good path near Flugplatz without much local knowledge, we continued on to Adenau for the Breidscheid and Wehrseifen turns. We took our positions and waited a long time, but finally the moment arrived: the field was released. I was in my element and took some photos.

But after just 4 laps, red flags suddenly appeared—bad news! The race was stopped, and that doesn't happen lightly on this circuit. Even with normal accidents, drivers usually just keep going, and yellow flags or perhaps a Code 60 are usually issued only locally. Red flags were usually seen here during excessively bad weather conditions. But with about 3 or 4 ambulances passing by, it quickly became clear that something was seriously wrong. On social media, we saw that 7 cars had slid off an oil slick and crashed off, hitting, or even hitting, the barriers, and colliding with each other. We immediately concluded that with so much medical assistance, followed likely by a guardrail repair, there wouldn't be much of the race left. So we went to eat. Later in the evening, the official message came: 66-year-old BMW driver Juha Miettinen had died from his injuries. Other drivers had been taken to hospitals but were not in life-threatening danger. And so, a beautiful race weekend in the Green Hell turned pitch black. It doesn't happen often, but for me it was the third time; it always leaves you speechless. Juha was a capable driver. He had recently won a race in his class and finished on the podium in almost half of his races. Sadly, a bizarre accident ended his life nonetheless. And all while he was doing what he was so passionate about, just like us. Rest in peace.

On Sunday, a minute of silence was naturally observed for Juha before the start, followed by applause. Impressive. Then it was time for the warm-up lap. Drivers and spectators waved to each other, after which the field started in groups.

The leading group consisted of a substantial lineup of GT3 cars. Max Verstappen didn't even get a chance to drive in the race on Saturday, but took charge of the start on Sunday. He quickly climbed up the ranks. And just like the NLS race in February, a fantastic battle unfolded once again with Christopher Haase's Scherer Sport PHX Audi. We saw them chasing each other. Eventually, Max got past him and took the lead, holding a substantial advantage. But by the time we had arrived at the Karussel on our walk from Brünnchen, we hadn't seen the car pass by for quite some time. Max had to go to the pits with a broken splitter, which cost him a considerable amount of time. The race was therefore won by the #16 Audi R8 of Scherer Sport PHX. It turned out to be a beautiful Sunday afternoon for us too, with a walk through the Eifel and some cool racing action. Check out the photos below.