Highs and Lows at the NBR24 Qualifiers

As the dust settles on the Nürburgring 24H Qualifiers (NLS 3-4), Josh reflects on a mixed weekend in his Hyundai i30N Fastback.

Carrying the momentum forward from their double victory the previous weekend, Josh and Dany got off to a flying start on Saturday morning, both setting times fast enough to take pole position in the VT2-FWD class. The race began later that day and unlike the previous races, this one went into the night. Dany took the start and after dropping a few places off the line, was able to fight back to take the lead before handing the car over to Josh for a double stint that ran through the sunset and into darkness. Josh took a commanding lead and Dany, once again, was able to manage the car to the end of the race, taking a dominant victory, two laps ahead of the second placed car.

Josh had this to say about the performance “I’m a bit lost for words really. This class is so competitive that I never would have expected to win three races in a row. It really couldn’t have gone much better today.”

Sunday began in similar fashion with Josh setting the pace early in the qualifying session to maintain the team’s 100% pole position streak. He then took the wheel at the start and produced a great opening lap, pulling out a healthy lead over the rest of the field. Unfortunately, halfway into the first stint, the team suffered a mechanical failure and Josh was forced to pull off to the side of the track. Once the car had been recovered back to the pits, the crew got to work, and did an exceptional job to rectify the failure and send Dany back on to the track with an hour and a half left to go in the race. At the final pitstop, Josh jumped back in and instantly displayed his confidence in the team and car, setting the fastest lap by over four seconds on his way to the chequered flag.

Reflecting on the day, Josh said “Sometimes things happen that nobody can control and today was one of those days for us. It’s hard for the whole team, but they did an amazing job again this weekend. To repair the car so quickly and get it back on track in good enough condition to take the fastest lap is incredible; I owe them a huge thank you for that and for all their efforts over the last two weekends.”

Although the final result on Sunday was not what they had hoped for, Josh and the team showed their speed yet again and are sure to come back fighting at the next round of the NLS, which will take place on the 22nd June. With Josh aiming to compete at the legendary Nurburgring 24 Hours next month, there is plenty of work to do. He commented “For the next few weeks, all my efforts will be on finding a way to get in car for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, it’s a very important race to me and with the performance we’ve shown in the opening NLS rounds, I hope that we can secure the funding to make it happen and push for a class win.”

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