Aditya Patel secures historic victory at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring

The 40th edition of the 24 Hours ADAC Nurburgring race concluded with a record victory for Audi India and its race talent Aditya Patel, whose stellar performance drove team Pro-Handicap e.V. to victory in their category, SP 4T in the iconic Audi TTS.

The celebrations
doubled when Audi also claimed victory in the overall category for the first time ever as Audi Sport team Phoenix, with their all German lineup took first and second place in their Audi R8 LMS Ultra race cars.

Audi India backed race talent Aditya Patel, driving for team Pro-Handicap e.V. together with Wolfgang Muller and Oliver Rudolph, completed a total of 126 laps of the 25 km long ‘Green Hell’ track to race past the finish line first in their category. This was Aditya’s maiden stint at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, making him not only the first Indian to participate in the marathon race, but also the first Indian to win it. Driving a total of 3 sessions (7.5 hours), Aditya began his final run in second place and 12 laps behind the lead car. Battling stiff competition and tough weather conditions, he put in a series of consistently fast laps to cut away at the deficit, eventually taking the lead before handing the car over to Oliver Rudolph for the final half hour. Commendably, team Pro-Handicap e.V. won the race with a lead of 12 laps of over second placed Besaplast-Racing.

“This is a proud victory not only for Audi but also for India. We were confident that Aditya’s talent combined with the technical capabilities of the Audi TTS put the team up as a strong contender in the challenge. With this victory we further consolidate our strong association with motorsport and will continue to nurture Aditya’s promising career,” said Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India.

Reacting on his historic win, Aditya Patel said, “I am ecstatic. This is a great victory for team Pro-Handicap e.V and also for Audi. This victory is very special because this is my first attempt at the 24 Hours challenge. The tough weather conditions were not a concern thanks to the thorough preparations made by the team and the Audi TTS race car that I was equipped with. This result has reinforced my faith in the brand and I would like to thank Audi India and my sponsors for making this dream come true.”

This victory has also kept team Pro-Handicap’s record of finishing the race each time they have entered, intact. This was their 8th attempt and a big win as it was one of the few teams to race with only 3 drivers, while most other teams are racing with 4 drivers. Aditya recorded an average lap time of 00:10:40 (10 minutes, forty seconds) and a personal fastest time of 00:10:23 (ten minutes, 23 seconds) while the team’s fastest lap was recorded by Oliver Rudolph, at 00:10:11 (ten minutes, 11 seconds).

Posted in: 24 Hours,Aditya Patel,Audi,Audi India,India,International,Michael Perschke,Motor Sports,Nurburgring,Oliver Rudolph,Pro-Handicap e.V.,Wolfgang Muller