In the fourth round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) today, the #6 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT AutoArenA finished third, confirming their previous success. With two victories and a second place in the first three NLS races, HAUPT RACING TEAM has achieved another remarkable result in this year’s Nordschleife season.
- 3rd place for #6 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT AutoArenA
- HAUPT RACING TEAM confirmed its previous success in the NLS
- Smart strategy by pitting early
The #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 started from position five. Patrick Assenheimer who set the fastest time for HRT in this morning’s wet and tricky qualifying at the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife was the first behind the wheel.
After the start of the four-hour race Assenheimer could retain his top ten position among the 133 cars in the field. Following a successful first pit stop one hour into the race, he remained in the car for a second stint and steadily worked his way up through to second place, closing in on the leader.
During his stint there were some exciting moments fighting for the lead. He kept attacking the #34 BMW, closing the gap and finally securing top position less than 1.5 hours into the race.
With a lead of six seconds the HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 came in for its second pit stop and a driver change. Dominik Baumann taking over from Assenheimer managed to maintain a position in the front-running group. Baumann kept a steady pace and a podium position during his stint, despite heavy traffic.
The final hour of the race was a pretty intense affair after Baumann handed over to Dirk Müller while in second position. After some bad luck in traffic and with yellow flags, the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 eventually crossed the finish line in third position.
The next race meeting for HAUPT RACING TEAM is the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe in Misano on 8 August.
Sean Paul Breslin, team principal HRT: “Good finish in the end for our car #6 after a difficult qualifying. Patrick did an amazing job in the first stint with slicks in the wet. They came back really strong to take the lead and finished on the podium. Well done to the whole team.”
Patrick Assenheimer, driver, #6 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT AutoArenA: “What an exciting race, especially the first two laps with slicks on a pretty wet track. I´m happy that I made it through without any incident. Traffic forced us to change our strategy and we pitted early which worked quite well for us. The performance of the car is great.”
Dominik Baumann, driver, #6 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT AutoArenA: “It was pretty hot out there. I had a great battle with the Walkenhorst BMW with several leader changes and luckily could pit ahead of him. It was an uneventful 8-lap stint without any issues.”
Dirk Müller, driver, #6 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT AutoArenA: “What a race. I wished I could have secured first spot on the podium like my team-mates. But nothing is lost, we still have a few races to go. We had a difficult start but kept our cool. It was a really intense race, but I’m happy for the team with our podium position.”
About HRT
HRT stands for HAUPT RACING TEAM. Formed in July 2020 by racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt, the team enjoys success in GT3 racing. Among other things, HRT secured the 2021 DTM drivers' championship in just its second motorsport season. HRT lines up with extended works support from Mercedes-AMG in many of the team's outings. The outings and cars are prepared in Meuspath, not far from the Nürburgring. HRT is also involved in professional sim racing and is a sought-after partner for motorsport events of all sorts. HRT can call on a host of experts with a wealth of motorsport and engineering experience, which the diverse motorsport company leverages when implementing technical development projects for and with its partners. The headquarters of Haupt Racing Team GmbH is Grünwald near Munich. The team owner is racing driver and businessman Hubert Haupt. As well as motorsport, Haupt is primarily known as a successful property developer. With his real estate company, he implements high-quality living and building concepts in southern Germany – from innovative buildings to complete districts.
