Misfortune hits most female driver entries at NLS7, Girls Only retire after technical issue
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 2 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Alongside another class victory for Katja Thomas, there was once again misfortune for the "Girls Only" team and most of the other teams featuring female drivers at the NLS 7 round at the Nürburgring.
Alongside another class victory for Katja Thomas, there was once again misfortune for the "Girls Only" team and the other teams featuring female drivers at the NLS 7 round at the Nürburgring.
The NLS headed into its 6-hour race weekend with another high number of entries. Unlike the previous round, temperatures were high but not stifling—much to the delight of many drivers and race control. During the previous race, the heat had caused many drivers to make mistakes, resulting in significant damage on the track. Consequently, the drivers received a stern warning during the drivers' briefing.
At least during qualifying, this resulted in fewer incidents. Despite the heavy traffic, the drivers were able to drive freely. Among the teams with female participation, Janina Schall’s #977 Cup 3 Porsche came out on top, securing 52nd place overall after qualifying. The "Girls Only" team—still awaiting the return of their Porsche GT3 Cup car following an accident during the Nürburgring 24 Hours and competing this time in a Porsche Cayman GT4—finished 61st overall, driven this weekend by Fabienne Wohlwend, Michelle Halder and the returning Chloe Chong.
Further back, Gina Jobes made her NLS debut in 99th place driving a BMW M2. She was followed by Flavia Pellegrino Fernandes in her usual Golf in 109th place overall, just ahead of the WS Racing car driven by Elena Egger and Tabea Jünger. That BMW had been fielded as a "Junior Team" for "Girls Only" at the start of the season, but due to the drivers' budget constraints, they were supported by two male drivers for this race.
Chantal Prinz had no luck in qualifying with her Cup 2 Porsche, managing only 114th place. The last of the female-crewed teams was Katja Thomas; however, despite finishing 131st overall, she secured pole position in her class.
For the start of the race, grid positions were adjusted according to class for safety reasons, though little changed within the starting groups themselves. As early as the first lap—which fortunately remained incident-free—Wüstenhagen managed to move the Cup 3 Porsche up to 42nd place, securing 7th place in the class. Schönfeldt also made a leap forward at the start, claiming 84th place—a podium position.
The "Girls Only" Porsche, driven by Michelle Halder, also made good progress, climbing to 46th place overall while holding 7th in the SP10 class. Maryl maintained 99th place overall in the BMW M2, corresponding to 5th in the class. Although Prinz started in the first group, the timing was adjusted based on actual position, placing the team 106th overall and 12th in the class. Elena Egger, driving the opening stint for the first time, lost one position but held onto 8th place in the class. Finally, Thomas—driving the only car in the V3 class—led that class and maintained 129th place overall.
The relatively calm opening phase did not remain quiet for long. After just 25 minutes, the first "Code 60" phase was triggered near the Tiergarten section. Although it was short-lived, the track did not return to fully green-flag conditions after that point. The initial Code 60 was immediately followed by another in the Hatzenbach section.
After nearly 45 minutes, the WS Racing BMW (#665) came to a halt on the approach to the Veedol Chicane near the Falken Arch; the recovery operation triggered a Code 60. Chaos ensued as the safety zone was established; several drivers were caught off guard by the relatively sudden implementation of the zone while battling for position or driving at speed.
Egger was nearly overtaken under double-yellow flags; shortly after passing the Code 60 sign, she veered across the grass and then through the gravel trap. Everything turned out fine and without penalty, though it was definitely a bit of a scare.
"Two cars ahead of me almost came to a standstill, so I had to go off-track to avoid them," she told us later. Other drama unfolded behind this incident as well: a Cup 2 Porsche sped past a line of slower cars—under double-yellow and Code 60 conditions—with virtually no braking. Additionally, two GT3 cars collided at the start of the zone, though all parties involved were able to continue without significant damage.
Within the first hour, Wüstenhagen managed to gain two positions in the Cup 3 class for the 977. Although Halder lost a few overall positions to cars from higher classes, he gained one spot within her own class. Pellegrino Fernandes has already taken over the Golf, maintaining her third-place standing in the class.
After the eventful first stint, Egger showed no signs of the earlier shock and secured sixth place in her class. While Prinz was unable to move up in the overall standings, she gained a position in class following a rival's retirement and was now hunting down a top-ten finish.
Maryl, driving the BMW M2, was also making progress; running in fourth place, he chase a spot on the class podium. Thomas was also moving up in the overall rankings moving up to 123rd place.
After a relatively calm opening phase, the track marshals found themselves busier again. The fast section starting at "Pflanzgarten“, in particular, saw constant activity. A yellow-flag zone emerged there, extending into the "Schwalbenschwanz“ section with a "Code 60" speed limit. The "Ex-Mühle“ section was also under a yellow flag during the first hour. While the latter area was cleared after just a few minutes, the "Pflanzgarten“ restriction remained in place for a long time; the yellow-flag zone there eventually extended as far as "Galgenkopf“. Just as that area finally cleared half an hour later, another slowdown occurred near "Flugplatz“. This pattern continued throughout the race, primarily affecting the high-speed sections.
After eight race laps, Michelle Halder handed the GT4 Porsche over to Chloe Chong. She explained: "It’s going well so far; I drove the opening stint, and now Chloe is in the car. The car handles well, and I’m comfortable with it. Technically, this is my third race, though we weren't able to compete in the 24-hour race."
Egger also pitted after eight laps to hand over to Tabea Jünger. Unlike the Toyota she drove previously, the BMW didn't fully fit her drivings style, as she told us. Nevertheless, she was satisfied with the results so far.
Two hours into the race, there were two debuts: Jobes took over the BMW M2, running fifth in class. At the same time, Siri Hökfelt made her debut in the BMW 240i Cup with Adrenalin Motorsport—a team that has frequently dominated the NLS championship. She held her own, maintaining eighth place in her class.
Meanwhile, yellow-flag zones continued to appear on the track, with another one arising in the "Ex-Mühle“ section. Twenty minutes later, the first drama unfolded for the female drivers: Chong radioed the "Girls Only" crew to report that the engine warning light had come on. Shortly thereafter, the car stalled and came to a halt in the Pflanzgarten section.
Since the car would not restart, engine failure was suspected. However, subsequent analysis in the pits revealed a fuel-related issue. The car was forced to retire nonetheless.
The race remained dramatic for other teams as well. A car rolled over in the Miss-Hit-Miss section and came to rest on its roof. The driver was uninjured, but the accident caused a moment of alarm. New yellow-flag zones were also declared in the Klostertal and Brünnchen sections as the race approached the halfway mark.
After her stint, Hökfelt reported that she was thoroughly enjoying the BMW 240i. "It’s faster than the cars I’ve driven before and has more aero. It’s not quite a GT4 car, but it’s really fun." She felt things were going well and was looking forward to her final stint, when she could chase down fast lap times with a low fuel load.
Right at the halfway mark, Schall took over the Cup 3 Porsche. The car was back up to 7th in class, though trailing 6th place by 90 seconds. Meanwhile, Mühlenz had moved the Cup 2 Porsche up to 10th in class, although they were now a lap behind 9th place. Winkler took over the BMW 240i from Hökfelt; the team had climbed to 76th overall but slipped to 9th in class.
Olthof took over the M2 from Jobes, with the team maintaining 5th place in class. Tamm, who took over the BMW from Tabea Jünger, was also running 5th in class. Surace had even moved the Golf up to 2nd place in the VT2-Front class. Thomas continues to climb the overall standings, having now reached 107th place.
The yellow flag periods showed no signs of letting up, either. A new yellow flag zone appeared at the Sabine Schmitz Curve, effectively taking over from the one at Brünnchen. The constant changes continued as the four-hour mark approached, with new slowdowns introduced at Pflanzgarten and Klostertal.
Meanwhile, battles for position in Cup 3 and the 240i Cup intensified as Wisskirchen and Harbeck managed to narrow the gap to the drivers ahead of them to 20 seconds each. However, the best overtaking opportunity—the Döttinger Höhe—was ruled out after a Porsche left an oil trail stretching all the way to the pit lane; almost the entire straight was placed under yellow flags or a "Code 60" speed restriction for cleanup operations. Just five minutes later, another car crashed at the subsequent Hohenrain chicane, though it was able to continue the race.
Amidst the numerous incidents, Janina Schall’s Porsche fell victim after more than four and a half hours, receiving an 89-second stop-and-go penalty for a Code 60 violation. This effectively ruled out any chance of moving up the class rankings for the time being.
At the same time, the longest yellow flag period of the race so far—stretching from Brünnchen to the exit of Schwalbenschwanz—was implemented, eventually transitioning into a Code 60 zone. The Döttinger Höhe also remained almost entirely under yellow flags, with double-yellow and Code 60 phases alternating. Just a few minutes later, the short connection to the GP circuit came into play. However, this was a brief affair, as the car rolled behind the barrier on its own and simply needed to be collected; consequently, the GP circuit was quickly cleared.
The second WS Racing car, driven by Hubert Winter, quickly climbed to fourth place and began hunting for a spot on the VT2-RWD podium. However, the odds were poor, as they trailed by five minutes. The situation shifted when the car in third place made its next pit stop, completing the bulk of its mandatory stationary time in the process.
As the final hour began, the gap to third place had shrunk to just 90 seconds—the same margin separating Wiskirchen from sixth place in the Cup 3 class. In other classes, positions appeared fairly set: 9th (Prinz in Cup 2), 6th (Harbeck in the 240i Cup), 5th (Alger in the M2 Cup), 4th (Schönfeld in VT2-FWD), and 102nd overall (Schmitz in V3)—with gaps ranging from minutes to entire laps.
Ultimately, however, Winzer was unable to complete his charge up the field. Shortly before the race ended, the car lost drive and came to a halt after the Karussell. The pit crew suspected that the drive axle spun excessively upon exiting the banked curve, shattering the driveshaft. This effectively ended the race for the second car as well.
Hökfelt also faced bad luck at the end: her teammate crashed during the penultimate stint. He managed to limp the BMW back to the pits, where it was patched up in record time and sent back out for the final lap. Hökfelt missed out on her anticipated final stint, left only to watch as her teammate brought the car home in tenth place.
Prinz was able to capitalize in the closing minutes, securing 8th place in Cup 2. Following a penalty for Schall's team, the #977 entry in Cup 3 dropped back, ultimately crossing the finish line in 14th place. The other positions remained unchanged during the final hour.
The next races will be a double-header on September 12 and 13, leading up to the season finale on October 10.