Since the qualifying rounds, the great balance between the most competitive crews running for victory in the 50th edition of the German race was evident. Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and Audi competed for the top positions on the grid, predicting a 24-hour race struggled up to the end.
Mike‘s team, Phoenix Racing, confirmed to be competitive, placing always in the top ten and Michele, every time he went out on the track, was among the fastest.
The Audi R8 #16 took off for the 24-hour ADAC from the third row but stayed behind in the early stages, slipping to 22nd position after two hours of racing. Michele and his teammates, Jakub Giermaziak, Kim Luis Schramm and Markus Winkelhock worked hard to recover, being able to take their Audi back to fight for the very first positions, entering the top-5 at the end of the twelfth hour of the race.
The second half of the 24 hours proved to be particularly balanced, Mike‘s Audi R8 #16 fought for a place on the podium until the end. An excellent fifth place came under the chequered flag, given the very high level of teams and drivers participating.
Order of arrival ADAC 24 Hours of Nürburgring 2022 (top-10)
1 – Van der Linde-Vanthoor-Vervisch-Frijns (Audi R8) – Phoenix – 159 laps
2 – Christodoulou-Gotz-Schiller (Mercedes AMG) – GetSpeed – 23″273
3 – Engel-Gounon-Juncadella (Mercedes AMG) – GetSpeed – 3’33″519
4 – Haase-N Muller-Niederhauser-Rast (Audi R8) – Car Collection – 4’40″864
5 – Beretta-Giermaziak-Schramm-
6 – Kolb-Drudi-Mies-Niederhauser (Audi R8) – Car Collection – 7’01″159
7 – Marciello-Ellis-Stolz (Mercedes AMG) – HRT – 1 lap
8 – Haupt-Dienst-Bastian-Piana (Mercedes AMG) – HRT – 1 laps
9 – Evans-S Muller-Pilet-Seefried (Porsche 911) – Falken – 2 laps
10 – Jefferies-Pepper-Di Martino-Hacklander (Lamborghini) – Konrad – 3 laps
