Yahoo Autos Two Americans Dominated at the Nurburgring 24
Lost among the peril and frenzy at Indianapolis last weekend, two young Americans made history 4300 miles east at the Nürburgring. A pair of Californians, a northerner on pole and a southerner in Victory Lane, gave the old Stars and Stripes a good workout over Memorial Day weekend.
Bay Area product Jeff Westphal topped qualifying in his SCG003C supercar, marking the first time an American has taken pole at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the 45 years since its formation. Alongside the young Grand-Am and IMSA veteran on the front row, SoCal’s Connor De Phillippi secured second in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 to lead the field of 160 cars into a weekend of relentless adventure at Green Hell.
“The Glickenhaus team is quite small, but they don’t lack any passion,” Westphal told RoadandTrack.com. “We had two cars racing at the N24, and it’s been great to watch the evolution of the car and the team since I joined it at the very beginning to learn what’s needed to take on the big GT3 factory teams.
“We have Italians, we have Germans, we have a French guy, and I’m the token American trying to help steer the ship. Driving for an American team owner at a hardcore European race like this, in a car he created, and being on pole meant the everything to us.”
Westphal led away at the green flag and the car would have been a contender for the win until an early hit from a slower car and a late crash pummeled the SCG003C into submission.
It left De Phillippi, a former Porsche Junior driver and protégé of sports car champion Patrick Long, to complete the mission with his teammates in the Land Motorsports Audi.
“We had a good showing last year at the 24 Hour until it was ended by contact by my new teammate this year, Marcus Winkelhock,” the German-based 24-year-old said.
“We knew we had a chance to win last weekend, and it was going against the best sports car drivers - guys from DTM to top LMP1 drivers. To stand on top of the podium there, we had tears flying... it was an emotional victory. It’s the greatest victory of my career.”
The 24 Hours of Le Mans might be the most famous endurance race in the world, but it’s nothing like the hardcore, cultish 24-hour contest at the ‘Ring. Free of creature comforts, adequate lighting during the night hours, and far from the leading edge of track safety advancements, winning the N24 is more of a survival experience than a straight-laced sprint to the finish line.
To come away with a pole and victory at such a punishing event should help Westphal and De Phillippi to advance their careers in Europe. And maybe, upon their return for the N24, their hosts will know their names.
“I’m certainly proud to be one of the U.S. guys over here on a big stage trying to show what we’re capable of,” De Phillippi added. “Having two Americans on the front row is something I don’t think has ever happened before, and our win was also something very special.
“And the funny part was after qualifying, the TV crews wanted to interview Jeff and I, but they had to delay the live broadcast while they Googled our names to learn who we were before they could ask questions… I’ve always been the underdog and like being in that position, but it’s starting to turn around and big wins like this helps. Hopefully I can be one of the main names as an American on one of the factory teams in the future. I think doors will open as more of this happens.”
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