The trailblazing #gitiracing all-female team, driving the Giti Tire Motorsport by WS Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4, have secured their first class win at the Nürburgring 24-Hour.
Racing in the powerful SP8 category against a highly competitive Lexus RCF, driver Carrie Schreiner scorched a time of 9:19.646 minutes into the Eifel asphalt to secure pole position in the class.
With the race then starting off in driving rain and a 14-hour delay for thick fog, making it the shortest in the event’s history, the crew kept their concentration to deliver a near faultless performance and emerged victorious in a highly entertaining shootout, which included six changes of class leadership.
Célia Martin set a phenomenal fastest lap of 9:11.605min and the team completed 52 laps of the famous Nordschleife.
The team finished 45th place overall, with 121 cars on the starting grid and 99 finishing an extremely challenging race.
The Audi, which raced with an entire female team inside and outside the cockpit and works under the project name ‘Girls Only – Ready to Rock the Green Hell’, was driven by Célia Martin, Carrie Schreiner, Christina Nielsen and Pippa Mann.
Giti Tire Motorsport by WS Racing had two more cars complete the 49th ADAC TOTAL 24h Race, with the VW Golf 7 GTI overcoming a crash 1.5 hours before the end to secure 7th in the VT2 Class, while the BMW 328i suffered two defective wishbones to finish 9th in the same category.
All cars, liveried in the new Giti Tire Motorsport design, ran on GitiCompete GTR1 tyres.
Forming part of a comprehensive range of competition racing tyres which are used in events around the world, the proven technology findings are adapted to further develop its everyday portfolios, taking learnings ‘from the racetrack to the streets’.
All the circuit and pitlane activity was brought to life online with Giti Tire’s online #gitiracing programme delivering full 24-hour multimedia coverage, including the launch of new mini-movies from the first practice laps on the Thursday to the race’s conclusion on Sunday.
Stefan Fischer, Managing Director – Product Technology at Giti Tire Europe, said: “Everything we witnessed this weekend, from the changes in severe weather to the crashes to the 14-hour stoppage, is what makes this race so unique and what places phenomenal emphasis on tyre performance and management.
“Of course the results on race weekend come from months of tireless dedication from everyone involved with every car, and we take great delight in the post-race feedback from all the drivers and teams which was entirely positive. To be part of the #gitiracing all-female team secures first class win is a privilege.
“It is only by placing your technology at the forefront of high-performance motorsport that you can truly learn what is and isn’t achievable and then take this knowledge into everyday products, such as the new GitiSportS2 UHP and GitiSynergyH2 HP tyres, to deliver maximum performance and safety in every tyre.”
Team leader, Thorsten Willems for Giti Tire Motorsport by WS Racing said: “What a roller-coaster weekend! From a sports perspective, the class win for “Girls Only” is of course the highlight. This win means a lot to us because we had to fight hard against strong competitors to get it.
“The Giti Compete GTR1 racing tyres, which worked and performed extremely well under difficult conditions, also contributed to this success.”
