Nurburgring 24 Hour Race Victory For Frank Bird
After a double class win in the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers last month, Cumbrian racin driver Frank Bird ventured back to the German circuit to contest the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring and once again emerged victorious.
The Penrith-born driver was once again behind the wheel of the Haupt Racing Team’s new Team HRT Mercedes-AMG GT2 in the SPX class alongside teammate Thomas Jäger, who is the Mercedes-AMG test and development driver, and fellow German drivers Elia Erhardt and Jörg Viebahn who were contesting a 24-hour race with the new customer racing model for the first time as a four-man team.
Frank was again entrusted to take the first stint in the new car and gave the team another great start despite suffering damage caused when another competitor collided with him, which resulted in a lengthy pit stop.
Undeterred, and along with his teammates, they gradually climbed back up the leaderboard throughout Saturday night and into Sunday morning and as the race progressed to its conclusion, they consolidated their position in the pack to cross the line and take a memorable SPX class victory.
Frank Bird, #46 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT: “That’s my debut Nurburgring 24 Hours completed. It was an amazing experience to say the least, firstly starting the race and then driving in the night with a fantastic atmosphere is an experience I won’t forget. It was a long 24 hours with lots of action packed racing but the new Mercedes-AMG GT2 was faultless and we could give it the proper debut weekend it deserved, coming away with first in the SPX class. Thanks to the team for the hard work throughout the event and to my teammates for getting us over the line. Thanks to my dad and all our sponsors too for allowing me this fantastic experience.”
