In a race marked by cold, wet weather and many accidents, the Girls Only Team celebrated a successful end to the NLS season with a class victory for Carrie Schreiner, Janina Schall and Patricija Stalidzane.
The Girls Only team, consisting of Carrie Schreiner, Janina Schall, and Patricija Stalidzane, achieved a remarkable victory in the SP8T class at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, in the final round of the 2024 NLS season.
Overcoming a number of issues during the weekend, the Girls Only squad delivered a stellar performance, showing great pace throughout each driver's stint. Schall started strong, taking the class lead, then Stalidzane maintained the advantage through a chaotic middle stint marked by frequent Code 60 phases. Schreiner delivered a commanding final stint, overcoming traffic to fend off the competition and securing another milestone victory for the all-female team.
Although every training kilometer counts on the Nürburgring Nordschleife—especially in the wet and adverse weather conditions of mid-November—the Girls Only team faced a delayed start to Friday's training.
The delay was caused by a problem with the vehicle radio, which could not be securely attached to the car. Once the issue was resolved, the team, consisting of Carrie Schreiner, Janina Schall, and Patricija Stalidzane, was able to proceed with their BMW M4 GT4 without further interruptions.
On Saturday, just in time for the start of qualifying, the weather had completely changed, leaving no trace of the wet conditions from Friday. The track was dry and very fast. Janina Schall initially set the fastest time in the SP8T class with an 08:51 lap. However, due to a prolonged Code 60 phase at the first corner, it was Carrie Schreiner, on her final lap, who managed to improve the time to 08:46.771.
This secured second place in class and 31st overall for the team, making them the best-placed BMW in the field. The class pole position was claimed by the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 driven by the Dumarey family, which started from 28th overall.
Janina Schall started the race for the Girls Only team. The young German got off to an excellent start, overtaking both Porsche Caymans in the Cup 3 class and the Aston Martin, securing the class lead into the first corner. Although there was minor contact with another vehicle, it had no consequences. After a turbulent start, the BMW entered the Nordschleife in first place in class and 29th overall.
However, the race quickly became challenging. On the first lap, Schall reported an error message: the electronic traction control had failed completely. Despite this, she maintained a strong pace, pulling several seconds per lap ahead of the Aston Martin and setting the temporary class best lap of 9:04.2 in her second lap.
The early phase of the race was disrupted by several accidents and Code 60 phases, resulting in slower overall lap times. After six laps, the team pitted for the first driver change. Schall described her stint as successful and, despite the lack of traction control, enjoyable. Unfortunately, the team could not resolve the issue.
Patricija Stalidzane then took over and maintained a competitive pace despite ongoing accidents that resulted in lap times of around 10 minutes. The Aston Martin, which had pitted a lap later, switched drivers and began closing the gap to the BMW, reducing it to 90 seconds through slightly faster pace and favorable Code 60 conditions. Stalidzane defended the lead until the next pit stop.
Carrie Schreiner then took over the last stint. The Saarland native was initially held up by a short power cycle after a long stop, but then quickly found her rhythm. The Aston Martin changed drivers again one lap later and was able to move forward thanks to the BMW's issue.
Carrie had to fight with a few vehicles from other classes before she could catch up with her class competition. She was then able to catch up with the older Dumarey sibling during her second lap and overtook him, as he could not keep up with her pace and fell significantly behind.
Around an hour before the end of the race, the Aston Martin team switched back to their faster driver and completed the remaining minimum pit stop time. As the track cleared, Schreiner's lap times also became faster until she also came in for the last pit stop.
The team quickly refueled and served the minimum pit stop time, with the hard slicks remaining on the car. The Girls Only BMW returned to the track with a one-minute lead.
After the last pit stop cycle, Dumarey and Schreiner drove similar lap times in the region of 08:45. However, bad luck continued to follow the Girls Only team: Carrie Schreiner still had to drive through a few Code 60 areas where the accident had already been cleared.
This meant that the Aston Martin behind her could already see the green flag and drive at a racing speed, with Dumarey therefore able to make up around 20 seconds over several laps. Despite the challenges, Schreiner crossed the finish line with a lead of nearly 28 seconds, securing her ninth class victory and 21st place overall with a total time of 4:03:53.182. It was the first class victory for both Janina Schall and Patricija Stalidzane and marked the first win for the Girls Only team since its mid-season restructuring.
Two women also competed in class V4: the early winner of the Ladys Cup, Desiree Müller, crossed the finish line with her BMW 325i as class winner, but the team was subsequently disqualified. The class win was inherited by Flavia Pellegrino Fernandes, who finished 51st overall.
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