Impressions after night qualifying for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring

• Mercedes-AMG Teams used the nightly sessions for race preparation
• Arjun Maini also posts fastest time in second qualifying with the #6 GT3

The end of night qualifying concludes the opening day of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring. The #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 already having secured first place in the afternoon session, it was again Arjun Maini (IND) who ended up in first place for Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN with a time of 8m 13.190s. With this fastest time of the day, the car with starting number #6 got itself in a good position to become yet another Mercedes-AMG GT3 to secure a slot for Top Qualifying on Friday evening. The two Mercedes-AMG GT2s put in a strong performance as well. The #222 Mercedes-AMG Team Schnitzelalm attracted the attention as the fastest car that is not listed in the GT3 category.

“Happy that the action finally started today. The atmosphere is great, the camp sites are full, the weather is fine. From that point of view, everything is set for a party. We were able to complete our laps without any major issues. Now, we try to prepare well for tomorrow’s qualifying and tweak the final details on the race set-up.”
Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #3

“As we have already secured our slot for Top Qualifying, we were already able to focus on the race set-up and procedures today. In a 24-hour race, qualifying isn’t all that important. So far, however, things are going really well, I feel comfortable in the car. Nevertheless, we still have to get a little bit better tomorrow.”
Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #4

"It always feels good to be on top. But in the end it's just preparation for the big race at the weekend. But of course you can say that the preparation is going very well. I did my best, of course I was also a bit lucky with the traffic. But that won't be an issue tomorrow in the top qualifying. Driving here and enjoying this unique atmosphere always is something special. You can still smell some of the fans' barbeque in the car."
Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN #6

“So far, everything has one to plan on the opening day of the action. As we already have both cars in top qualifying, we are able to take it comparatively easy in these sessions. We are now running through our programme so that all drivers get their laps in. Tomorrow, things will get really serious. Being here is always highly emotional. We went around the track with the entire team yesterday and we had a bit of an early party together with the fans. This simply is unique here.”
Marek Böckmann, Schnitzelalm Racing #11

“The atmosphere is great. Driving during sunset is great fun. I was also on a very good lap, but unfortunately, it was interrupted by a code-60 phase. Still, it makes me confident for the days that are coming up.”
Reinhold Renger, Haupt Racing Team #89

“Having been unable to drive in first qualifying, these were my first laps. I am very happy with every single lap. A lot of power, little aero, the Mercedes-AMG GT2 is a sensational car. Now, we just need to get a slightly better understanding of the tyres and then it will be a nice weekend.”
Elia Erhardt, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #46

“The atmosphere is unbelievable and the Mercedes-AMG GT2 is a veritable rocket. As a result, it was fun to drive it here at the Nordschleife today. The team is very happy so far as well and we are already looking forward to the upcoming sessions.”
Jay Mo Härtling, Mercedes-AMG Team Schnitzelalm #222

Additional information, entire press article(s), directly from its original source: Daimler AG