Abt is giving away prizes to three Red Bull Lamborghini drivers

Abt Sportsline will also start 2024 with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (June 1-2). As part of a big fan event in the Gurgl ski area (Tyrol), Abts presented their driver line-up for the long-distance sport on Monday: With Kelvin van der Linde and the two Lambo factory drivers Marco Mapelli and Jordan Pepper, the team of the German race is based on its tried and tested line-up from the previous year.

The three were already on track for the Kempten team in the return to the Nürburgring in 2023, where Abt Sportsline used a car from the Italian sports car manufacturer in the Eifel classic for the first time. There was also Aston Martin works driver Nicki Thiim, who will drive a GT3 Lamborghini in DTM with SSR Performance in 2024 and will no longer be part of Abt’s squad at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

Martin Tomczyk: He didn’t want any unknown reasons

Last year, Thiim received approval from Aston Martin for off-brand use of the Nordschleife and Äbts. According to Abt Motorsport Director Martin Tomczyk, the German-speaking Dane was not available for 2024.

The Allgäu team has therefore decided against another driver and is running the Nürburgring 24-hour race with three drivers instead of four. “Since we didn’t want to bring any unknowns into a well-organized team, it became clear that we would compete with three drivers instead of four in 2024,” explains Tomczyk. The former DTM champion himself started the 24-hour race in 2023 in a three-man team (with Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller in the ‘Legend’ Audi).

Abt driver: The two-time Nürburgring winner meets two factory Lambo drivers

Even without Thiim, the Abbot 2024 squad can look back on a wealth of experience in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. For five-time DTM race winner van der Linde, who will also drive an Audi R8 LMS GT3 for Abt in the classic series in 2024, it is already his eighth race start on the Nordschleife. With two overall wins in 2017 and 2022, the South African is the only driver of the trio to have already won the 24-hour race.

The two Lamborghini factory drivers Mapelli and Pepper have already completed seven and four starts respectively, but the race with Äbten in 2023 is the highlight of the general classification so far for both: In this, the quartet with Thiim finished ninth, two. laps behind Frikadelli the winner reached.

Frikadelli’s team next to team boss Klaus Abbelen will compete again in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2024. However, the team is pre-empting any race on the Nordschleife due to political tensions between the NLS and the new NES. You can read what this is about in this article:

Abt at 24h Nürburgring 2024: Fighting for overall victory is the goal

Abt-Lamborghini suffered multiple tire losses at the start of the race last year and made an impressive comeback as the race progressed. That is another reason that makes Tomczyk optimistic: “Without the tire damage, we would definitely have been able to be at the top last year. Michelin has looked at the problem in detail. I am sure that the tire damage in this form will not happen again. .”

Hans-Jürgen Abt, CEO of the Abt Group, has set high goals for the second time in the 24-hour race with the GT3 Huracan: “After a good performance at the premiere last year, we are aiming for an overall victory this year. . ”

Abt with Red Bull Lamborghini at the 24h Nürburgring

In relation to the financing of the operation, Abt Sportsline receives great support. As with the DTM, the Kempten company is also supported by Red Bull in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. The renewed cooperation of the DTM with the Austrian beverage producer, a long-term partner of Abt, was already announced in the finale of the 2023 season. Thanks to the sponsorship, the team will compete at the Nürburgring under the name ‘Red Bull Team Abt’.

“Last year, our black Lamborghini was very popular in the 24-hour race,” says Hans-Jürgen Abt, “But with the blue color and the red bull, our car looks even more attractive in my eyes.”

In preparation for the Nürburgring season highlight, the abbots are testing the Lamborghini in Red Bull’s new look on the Nordschleife next Friday. The first two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) will take place on April 6 and 7, before the Nürburgring 24-hour Grand Prix a week later. The 24-hour race will take place in 2024 from May 30 to June 2.