ENNEPETAL, Germany, June 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
At this year's 40th anniversary 24-hour race at the Nurburgring, the winner's podium definitely belonged to BILSTEIN. Known in the racing world as "The Ring", Bilstein's success here certainly defines them as "Lord of the Ring!" At the end of the fastest and most exciting race of all time, which included numerous breakdowns and passing challenges, BILSTEIN celebrated the victory of Phoenix Racing. The team of four Nordschleife experts - Marc Basseng, Frank Stippler, Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock - did an excellent job and secured 1st place in the Audi R8 LMS ultra in BILSTEIN's distinctive blue and yellow design theme.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120602/LA17762 )
Equipped with BILSTEIN's modular damping system (MDS), the second-placed Audi R8 LMS ultra, driven by the Mamerow Racing team, also delivered an impeccable performance. And there was plenty of drama in the battle for third place, taken in the last second by the BILSTEIN equipped Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 piloted by the Heico team. This meant that, in the 40th anniversary year of the classic long-distance race, the first three places went to two Audi R8 LMS ultras and a Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 fitted with BILSTEIN suspension systems. Besides its overall victory, BILSTEIN also scored seven class victories, including the SP9, the most powerful class. Once again the majority of the teams relied upon racing suspensions from BILSTEIN in the toughest race in the world.
Over 235,000 spectators witnessed this victorious event. The 40th edition of the 24 hour race at the Nurburgring was a grueling race to the finish line, and by the time the checkered flag waved, the leaders had changed an incredible 30 times during the course of the anniversary race. A total of seven cars battled for the highly prestigious endurance crown. After 155 laps and a total of 3,933.59 kilometers around the legendary "Green Hell" of the Nordschleife, the Phoenix quartet in their BILSTEIN Audi R8 LMS ultra passed the finish line ahead of their Mamerow Racing marque colleagues Christian Abt, Michael Ammermuller, Armin Hahne and Chris Mamerow to take the first Audi victory in the 24-hour race.
In the highly dramatic finale, it was only in the last few kilometers of the race that the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of the Heico team managed to pull away. And so Christiaan Frankenhout, Andreas Simonsen, Pierre Kaffer and Lance David Arnold joined the others on the podium.
Bilstein has had great success worldwide in 2012 at 24 hour races. Recently, BILSTEIN equipped Magnus Racing and TRG Porsches captured the first and second place podium finish at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in the U.S., where nearly 27% of vehicles in the GT field were equipped with BILSTEIN Shocks.
Congratulations to the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring 40th Anniversary event, the racers and their team members for putting on an amazing performance.
For the leading technology, winning performance, and superior selection, look no further than BILSTEIN.
For more information, contact Bilstein at (858)386-5900 or visit their web site at www.bilsteinUS.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Chelsea Bell
Senior Marketing Specialist
chelsea.bell@thyssenkrupp.com
858 386 5900
Don Fall
Fall Advertising
donaldf@fallads.com
619 258 6225
SOURCE BILSTEIN
