NEWS

FALKEN Announces Driver Line-up for Nürburgring 24h-Race and Wins Overall Victory in Nürburgring Endurance Series

Apr 12, 2024

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that Falken Tyre Europe, its European subsidiary, has announced the line-up of drivers of Team FALKEN Motorsports, which will be competing in the ADAC TOTAL 24-Hour Race (commonly known as the Nürburgring 24h-Race) held in Nürburg, Germany from May 30 to June 2. Again this year, the team will be competing for the overall victory with two Porsche 911 GT3R racecars.

Class	Team	Vehicle	Drivers
SP9 (FIA-GT3)	FALKEN Motorsports	Porsche 911 GT3 R (Car No. 33)	Julien Andlauer
			Klaus Bachler
			Sven Müller
			Alessio Picariello
		Porsche 911 GT3 R (Car No. 44)	Joel Eriksson
			Tim Heinemann
			Nico Menzel
			Martin Ragginger

* Activities above are current plans. Please note that they are subject to change.

The team competed in the 4-hour endurance race of the NÜRBURGRING LANGSTRECKEN SERIE (commonly known as the Nürburgring Endurance Series) held on April 6 and 7 in Germany, where its Porsche 911 GT3R # 4 won the overall victory in the first round and the third place in the second round. It won the overall victory in the Nürburgring Endurance Series for the first time since the fifth round in 2023.

The team has been in the top 10 places in the Nürburgring 24h-Race for 10 consecutive years since 2014. We literally support the feet of the team by supplying tires with high performance and durability.

For the whole picture of our motorsports activity plan, please see the news release issued on March 8, 2024, “Announcing Our DUNLOP & FALKEN Motorsports Activity Plan for 2024”.

Outline of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS)

It is an endurance race series made up of a total of eight races held in Nürburg, Germany. Unlike the 24-hour endurance race that is held only once a year, the NLS races range in length from 4 to 12 hours. Vehicle manufactures and tire manufactures, including us, use the NLS as a test field to aim for the win in the 24-hour race, and many leading teams compete in the NLS. A circuit of the course used for the races is about 25 kilometers, which is almost the same as that used for the 24-hour race. It is an extremely tough circuit, with around 170 corners, a height difference of approximately 300 meters, narrow course widths, and wavy and slippery road surfaces.