Kirchanschöring, Bavaria – Last weekend saw one of the world’s biggest motorsport events take place: the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. For the 54th edition, a total of 352,000 spectators flocked to the Eifel region, creating a unique atmosphere around the Nordschleife.

For Reiter Engineering, the event marked both a return to GT racing and an emotional highlight following months of preparation and intensive development work.

After several races in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie as preparation for the season’s highlight, the team lined up in the SPX class with the KTM X-BOW GTX, alongside Miklas Born, Arne Hoffmeister, Marcel Marchewicz and Laurents Hörr.

Wednesday – Adenauer Racing Day

The special atmosphere surrounding the 24-hour race began as early as Wednesday. At the traditional Adenauer Racing Day, teams and vehicles were on display for fans in downtown Adenau, including Reiter Engineering’s #66 KTM X-BOW GTX.

Just as the event began, the sun came out over the Eifel as the team, drivers and car made their way through the crowds.

For Reiter Engineering, this marked the official start of one of the most intense weeks of motorsport of the year.

Thursday – Eifel weather dominates qualifying

On Thursday, the Nürburgring displayed its typical Eifel weather. Hail, rain and sunshine alternated every few minutes, creating challenging conditions on the Nordschleife.

In the first qualifying session on Thursday afternoon, the team secured P2 in the SPX class and 40th place overall.

That evening saw the first night session of the race week. Despite challenging track conditions and an early end due to heavy rain, the team once again secured second place in the class and 40th place overall.

Friday – New Top Qualifying Format

Friday marked the first time the newly introduced Top Qualifying format was on the schedule.

In Top Q1, Reiter Engineering placed the KTM X-BOW GTX in second place in the SPX class.

Finishing 36th overall, the team missed out on qualifying for Top Q2 and Top Q3, but was able to build on the positive progress made in recent weeks.

Saturday – 24h Motorsport

On Saturday morning, the team first completed the one-hour warm-up in cool but sunny conditions. Marcel Marchewicz found a good rhythm in the KTM and secured 6th place overall. In the SPX class, this even meant the fastest lap time.

Around noon, the grid formation finally began, giving fans one last chance to get up close to the cars.

At 2:40 p.m., the formation lap began, accompanied by cheers from the fans lining the Nordschleife. At 3:00 p.m., the green flag finally dropped for the 24-hour race.

Arne Hoffmeister took the wheel in the #66 KTM. During the turbulent opening phase, the car lost a few positions but consistently stayed out of any incidents. After the first pit stops, the car briefly dropped back to 52nd place, but Miklas Born and Laurents Hörr behind the wheel managed to fight their way back into the top 30.

The team brought the car into the night without any problems. Shortly after 10 p.m., however, the car had to be brought into the pits for an unscheduled stop. The KTM X-BOW GTX was pushed into the garage while the team checked the water cycle.

At the same time, Marcel Marchewicz took over the wheel and brought the car back onto the track.

However, after just one lap, the car returned to the pits once again. Due to engine overheating, the team ultimately had to make the difficult decision to retire the car early.

Class victory for customer car provides a consoling conclusion

Despite the early retirement of its own car, Reiter Engineering still had reason to celebrate in the end. The customer car managed by the team, the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup driven by Lukas Ertl, Maximilian Ertl, Stefan Ertl and Matthias Benndorfer, secured the class victory in the SP7 class.

Particularly noteworthy: Shortly before the end of the race, the team performed a gearbox change. Joining forces, the team once again mustered all its reserves to get the car back on the track in time and secure the class victory.

Outlook

Even though the 24-hour race ended prematurely for the KTM X-Bow GTX, Reiter Engineering draws a positive conclusion overall from the race week.

The past months of intensive development work and the races in the NLS provided valuable insights for the future.

In particular, the data collected, the refinement of internal processes, and the collaborative work carried out under extreme conditions form an important foundation for future projects.

 

Special thanks go to our partners and sponsors—Sonic Equipment, Ravenol, ZF Motorsport, and Expotrade—who are supporting this development project and enabling the team to grow continuously and position itself for the long term.