In advance of the highly anticipated Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race on the legendary Ardennes circuit next weekend, we’d like to cast a glance back at the activities of the past June weekend. KW has a well-established reputation for supporting our motorsport clients throughout the season, and this past June was no exception. Virtually every race weekend sees our KW Racing suspensions in action, pushing the boundaries of performance alongside our valued customers.
Our customer teams triumphed at the 69th ADAC Westfalenfahrt, part of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), despite facing initial challenges from the weather. Thick fog caused a two-hour delay to the start.
The overall victory in the Eifel went to the Falken-Porsche (#4), driven by Sven Müller and Julien Andlauer. Our KW Motorsport Sales colleague and racing driver Tim Heinemann shared the cockpit of the second Falken-Porsche (#4) with Martin Ragginger.
“Unfortunately, a puncture forced my teammate to park the car shortly before the finish, preventing us from finishing the race. It’s a real shame, especially considering our sister car, number 3, won! A double podium would have been fantastic for the team,” said Tim Heinemann.
In contrast, the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (#5) narrowly missed the podium, while Walkenhorst Motorsport secured a top-ten finish with their Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT3 Evo (#35). Additionally, they celebrated a class victory in the SP9 Pro-AM.
Following its success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lamborghini Iron Lynx hoped to repeat this in the IMSA at the “6 Hours of the Glen” race at Watkins Glen International Circuit in New York (USA).
The Lamborghini SC63 (#63) ‘s starting position was excellent. The KW V6 and KW V5 Formula Racing Series dampers had already proven their effectiveness in free practice and qualifying.
Heavy rain showers later dominated the race, and thanks to a good tire strategy, the Lamborghini SC63 was in third place overall — ahead of the established competitors in the GT Prototype class (GTP).
With the final third of the race approaching, the Lamborghini Iron Lynx team identified an issue with the cooling system in their #63 car. Forced to pit, the #63 couldn’t be repaired in time, and the team was forced to retire.
The Heart of Racing Team triumphed in GTD Pro with their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (#23). Among other GTD Pro top 10 finishers using KW V6 Racing dampers were the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (#77) in sixth and the Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 (#1) in eighth.
In the GTD of the IMSA “6 Hours of the Glen” race, Magnus Racing finished third with their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (#44). The Turner Motorsport team finished fifth with their BMW M4 GT3 (#96), while the MDK Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (#86) finished eighth and the Andretti Motorsport 911 GT3-R (#43) tenth in the class standings.
At the Fuji International Speedway in Japan, our motorsport customers achieved an overall victory in each race of the GT World Challenge.
Origine Motorsport (#87, Porsche 911 GT3 R) claimed first place in Saturday’s opening race. Following closely behind were the Porsche teams: AAS Phantom Global Racing (#93) in fourth, Absolute Racing with their #1 car in fifth and #911 car in sixth, and Porsche Center Okazaki rounding out the top seven in eighth place. Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO from Team D’Station Racing (#777) crossed the line in tenth place.
Sunday mirrored Saturday’s results, with Absolute RRacing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R (#1) taking the checkered flag. Saturday’s winners, Origine Motorsport (#87) with their Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, placed seventh and ninth, while Phantom Global RRacing’s Porsche (#13) rounded out the top ten in tenth place.
However, our KW Racing customers were successful on the circuit and at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the USA. Despite an unscheduled stop, Romain Dumas drove the Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck to the summit of Pikes Peak in 8:53.553 minutes on June 23, 2024.
Fotos Teams, Veranstalter
