Steller Motorsport battles adversity at the Nürburgring

Steller Motorsport battles adversity at the Nürburgring

Steller Motorsport returned to GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup action at the weekend, fielding its Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the Nürburgring three-hour. However, its return ended in retirement after a collision on lap one.

The team was back on track with a refreshed lineup that included Texan Alec Udell - currently racing Corvettes for DXDT Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - alongside regulars Lorcan Hanafin and Daniel Ali.

Working steadily through practice, utilising both Udell’s and the team’s growing experience with the car, expectations were high for a strong showing in the race.

However, contact into turn one on the opening lap forced the No. 24 Corvette off of the circuit and onto the grass, resulting in significant damage that required an immediate pit stop.

The team worked hard to patch the car up and get back on track, however, after Ali’s stint in the second hour, the team eventually made the call to retire from the race.

Alec Udell said, "The team made good progress with the car every time we went out on track over the weekend, and we had the Z06 GT3.R in a good spot come Sunday. Unfortunately for us we picked up some unnecessary and unlucky contact at turn one, which led to a lengthy repair. The crew from Steller did a great job and worked brilliantly to get the car back out and running again and it was a shame not to be able to make the finish. I appreciate all the hard work and look forward to seeing how the next races play out for them."

Team manager Max Daymond reflected on the race, saying, "This was a tough way to mark our return, but, with 60 GT cars piling into such a tight first corner, these things can happen. However, I am proud of the determination and professionalism the team showed in trying to get us back into the race. With Alec joining Daniel and Lorcan we had a nice feeling inside the garage this weekend, good team spirit, and I want to thank Alec for coming over from the US and being part of the Steller team. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get a result to top it off. We’ll regroup now and look to come back and finish the GT World Challenge Europe season off on a high at Barcelona in October."