Opel, Audi and BMW Ready to Help Customers in the Nürburgring 24 Hours

This weekend is the 41st Nürburgring 24 Hours, and AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
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27 videos
, BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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and OpelOpelGermany, 1863 > present85 models
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are all ready to supply their customer teams and hope for an overall win. In recent years, Porsche has been the team to beat, but Audi won last year and hopes to take another overall victory. However, BMW holds the title for most overall wins since the event started in 1970 with 19 wins. Opel's customers will not be racing in the top SP9 class, which are equivalent to FIA GT3 cars.

There are 179 cars entered into this year's race and 33 cars in the SP9 class from seven brands.

Audi will be streaming the race live on its YouTube channel. The race begins at 4:00pm GMT on Sunday and runs into Monday, which is a German holiday. 

Opel

Opel has 12 Opel Astra OPC CupOpel Astra OPC CupGermany, 2013 > 2000 customer racecars entered into the race this year in the Cup 1 class, and there is one privately entered Opel MantaDatsun Z 432 SportsJapan, 1969 > present in the SP3 class.

The Kissling Motorsport #110 OPC Cup has received some extra help from Opel. It will be painted in the yellow and white Opel racing colors and have on-board cameras mounted on the car. Driver Alex Hofmann will provide live commentary and images during his stints in the race on the Sport 1 TV channel.

“I can’t wait to drive the Astra OPC in the 24-hour race on the Ring. The car drives great and is really fast. I will do my best to give all the viewers unfiltered coverage of the racing atmosphere in the cockpit," said Hofmann.

Opel is also trying to support its fans. It has set up a two-story hospitality center at the NGK chicane and will be handing out 1,000 Opel folding chairs to fans, but get there fast because over 200,000 people are expected for the race this weekend. 

Audi

Audi has eight R8 LMS UltraAudi R8 LMS UltraGermany, 2012 > present6 photos
customer cars in five teams ready for the race in the top SP9 class and is aiming for a second overall win, and there are 13 other Audis racing in other classes.

The driver's for the R8s include top drivers like Markus Winkelhock, Marcel Fässler, Mike Rockenfeller and Frank Biela. 

All of the R8 LMS Ultras are running at 2013 specs with an exterior rearview mirror, top-suspended rear wing and new exhaust system. 

BMW

BMW has a lot to prove at the Nürburgring. It has a record 19 overall victories and 155 class wins in the past 40 years. Unlike Audi or Opel, BMW has two fully factory-backed Z4 GT3sBMW Z4 GT3Germany, 2010 > present7 photos
entered in the race. Dirk Müller, Jörg Müller, Uwe Alzen and Augusto Farfus will drive the #19 car, and Dirk Adorf, Jens Klingmann, Claudia Hürtgen and Martin Tomczyk will drive the #20 car. Tomczyk and Farfus have an especially busy weekend because they will also be driving in the DTM race at Brands Hatch.

There will also be three other Z4 GT3s entered by customer teams.