In the second of his three weekends of back-to-back races, British driver Adam Christodoulou arrived back at the Nurburgring to do the double, following his victory in Round 7 of the VLN Nordschleife Championship.
Last weekend’s ‘Nürburgring 1000km’ was the climactic final round of the Europe’s greatest GT3 championship, the Blancpain Endurance series. Racing on the famous 5.1 kilometre German grand prix circuit, it was set to be an action packed race with 51 cars vying for their space on-track.
Christodoulou’s Black Falcon team had high expectations on their home circuit, and a track that all three of their drivers knew well; Klaas Hummel, Steve Jans, and Adam Christodoulou.
The lead up to the race looked good. On Friday afternoon Hummel showed good pace in the Bronze test, and on Saturday morning Christodoulou set the pace, finishing outright fastest in testing - a fantastic feat - and stealing the lead from every pro class car.
Qualifying took place that afternoon, and as normal all three drivers took their turn. Klaas was followed by Steve, then finally Adam who inherited a lighter fuel load and a set of new tyres. Following a series of unavoidable inconveniences created by other cars during qualifying, Christo was unable to make the best use of this otherwise optimal setup, and the time posted was only good enough for 3rd in class (12th overall). But with a six hour battle ahead, there was going to plenty of time to set that right in the heat of the race.
The lights went out, and the race started with Steve behind the wheel first.
He made a clean start but in a chaotic episode, found himself back a few positions. Having battled it out with the pros, at the one hour mark the car was now standing 5th in class and 20th overall. Christo took the wheel. Fighting back, the car crawled back to take the class lead and give a 10th overall position.
Third and fourth stints were taken by Klass, and after pit stops the team were back in 5th until the final driver change. Christo found himself back in the car, and a podium position was within reach - the driver grabbed 3rd but quickly came under hot pursuit.
At this time, a number of other competitors started to experience brake failures - the heat and high brake wear seemed to be a fact of the track - and in these closing stages Christo was experiencing worrying vibrations whilst braking. The pressure was on, and with 20 minutes to go the final stage of the race was about staying out of trouble.
Finally the chequered flag fell on the six hour mark, and the team claimed a momentous 3rd in class and 13th place overall.
Christodoulou was elated, “It’s been a sterling job by the Black Falcon team, especially in the pit stops and a great job from my co-drivers drivers in this six hour sprint.”
“After the five rounds, including the Spa 24 hours, we’ve finished the championship in an incredible 4th position.”
“It's been an exciting year in this championship with highs and lows, and on balance, it’s been a great experience. I’m gutted that the championship is over so soon, but I’m looking forward to doing it all again next year.”
Despite the closing of the 2013 Blancpain Endurance series, Christo returns to the racetrack next weekend in the next round of VLN in the BMW M3 GT4, and looking to repeat the success of his last appearance in the car.
