Driving a Hyundai i30 N, Akshay Gupta finished second in the VT2-F 4WD class at Round 6 of the ADAC Nurburgring Langstrecken series, held on August 16. Gupta was the only Indian driver on the grid that featured 309 racers from 27 nations.
- Gupta, D’Hauw and Schneider go from P6 to P2
- Gupta was the only Indian driver on the grid
Gupta P2 at Nurburgring 6h endurance race
Heavy morning fog forced organisers to shorten qualifying from 90 minutes to just 40 minutes, while the 6-hour race was also shortened to 4 hours and 30 minutes. Racing for team Stenle Marketing by Mertens Motorsport, Gupta shared driving duties with German driver Alex Schneider and Belgian driver Jarno D’Hauw. The trio qualified P6 in their class.
Gupta was behind the wheel for the race start and climbed to podium contention during his first stint. D’Hauw then moved up to second place during his double stint before handing the car over to Schneider.
However, the German was unable to complete all the remaining laps due to health issues, and Gupta was brought in for a second stint. Gupta managed to hold on to second place, and Schneider then took over for the final three laps to seal the podium result.
“This result is a much-needed turnaround for us this season,” said Gupta. “After a series of DNFs and setbacks earlier in the year, standing on the podium again is a huge relief and a big step in boosting the team morale. We basically did 28 qualifying laps. The competition in our class keeps getting tougher and tougher, so it is getting more rewarding to race here. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this race.”
This marks Gupta’s third major endurance racing podium this year, following successes at the Dubai 24 Hours (TCE class) and the Nurburgring 24 Hours (SP3T class).
Dipan Sur
