The 54th edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours concluded with an excellent fifth-place finish in class for Alex Fontana. Driving the #4 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO entered by the Goroyan RT by Car Collection team alongside Artur Goroyan, Oleg Kvitka and Nathanaël Berthon, the Swiss driver capped a successful weekend in the SP9 Pro/Am class, reaping the rewards for the efforts he has made in recent years to prepare for one of the world’s most important events. Teams entering a GT3 car were allowed to treat the qualifying sessions as if they were free practice, their grid positions being determined by the top qualifying sessions. In those initial sessions, the team placed 16th overall and 2nd in class. In the top qualifying session, the #4 Porsche recorded a time of 8:22.065, good for 5th in class and 27th overall.
The start was entrusted to Alex Fontana who went on to complete a double stint. An early pit stop temporarily dropped him to 10th in class, but he then set a time of 8:22.099 – which proved to be the crew’s fastest lap – settling into 6th place after a couple of hours. Alex then handed the wheel over to Artur Goroyan, resting for a while before returning to the wheel later. The team shared the driving stints equally, but Alex was consistently the fastest for Goroyan RT. Throughout the race, retirements and problems with other cars allowed the team to gain positions in the overall standings, first entering the top 20 and then gradually climbing up to 13th place. Alex had the privilege of finishing the race, crossing the line in 14th place overall and 5th in the SP9 Pro/Am class, rounding off a splendid weekend that demonstrated the competitiveness of both Car Collection and the driver from Lugano.
Alex Fontana
“It’s been a thoroughly positive weekend; I’m very pleased with the result we achieved here at the Nordschleife. The 24 Hours is hardly an easy event to prepare for or to race in, but 5thplace repays us for all the efforts we made to arrive here well-prepared. The whole team and my fellow drivers Artur, Oleg and Nathanaël, all did an excellent job of which we should be proud, not least because we achieved it at an event that attracted 352,000 spectators at the track and global exposure thanks to the presence of four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen. Although I hadn’t driven in dry conditions on the Nordschleife for over a year before the start, I really enjoyed myself; despite having driven for over nine hours, I’d be back on track tomorrow to take part in such a special race.”
The start was entrusted to Alex Fontana who went on to complete a double stint. An early pit stop temporarily dropped him to 10th in class, but he then set a time of 8:22.099 – which proved to be the crew’s fastest lap – settling into 6th place after a couple of hours. Alex then handed the wheel over to Artur Goroyan, resting for a while before returning to the wheel later. The team shared the driving stints equally, but Alex was consistently the fastest for Goroyan RT. Throughout the race, retirements and problems with other cars allowed the team to gain positions in the overall standings, first entering the top 20 and then gradually climbing up to 13th place. Alex had the privilege of finishing the race, crossing the line in 14th place overall and 5th in the SP9 Pro/Am class, rounding off a splendid weekend that demonstrated the competitiveness of both Car Collection and the driver from Lugano.
Alex Fontana
“It’s been a thoroughly positive weekend; I’m very pleased with the result we achieved here at the Nordschleife. The 24 Hours is hardly an easy event to prepare for or to race in, but 5thplace repays us for all the efforts we made to arrive here well-prepared. The whole team and my fellow drivers Artur, Oleg and Nathanaël, all did an excellent job of which we should be proud, not least because we achieved it at an event that attracted 352,000 spectators at the track and global exposure thanks to the presence of four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen. Although I hadn’t driven in dry conditions on the Nordschleife for over a year before the start, I really enjoyed myself; despite having driven for over nine hours, I’d be back on track tomorrow to take part in such a special race.”