Fullfilling a dream: Mazatis will race the 24h Nürburgring 2024
Benjamin Mazatis meets the challenge “green hell“. The 26-year-old German will start at the legendary 24h race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife from 31st May to 3rd June 2024. His race rocket: the brand new 665 hp strong Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. Mazatis teams up for this event with the prestigious Walkenhorst Motorsport Team. The team is well-known for DTM-victories, as well as the overall victory at the 24h of Spa-Francorchamps in 2018.
Last year, Mazatis successfully took part in the 24h Dubai race. After witnessing the heat of the desert there, he will come to the Eifel, well known for its unpredictable weather changes. The 24h race on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife is one of the most iconic and prestigious events in motorsport. The 20,832 km (combined with the GP-track at the 24h event even 25,378 km) long track is known to be the most difficult racetrack in the world. The Nordschleife pushes the drivers to their limits and sometimes even further. As there are no runoff areas, every small mistake gets punished. But Mazatis arrives with nice memories in the bag. In 2016 he won his very first race on the Nordschleife. And he did collect further happy moments and successes on this track. Nevertheless, so far, the 24h race there is missing in this biography.
For driver, teams as well as manufactures does mean winning the Nürburgring 24 hours everything and will mark a career highlight. But the race is also a season highlights for all the motorsport fans out there, as the event is simply a happening. In 2023, 235.000 spectators visited the track. All the others who couldn’t make it to the Nürburgring watched it live on TV. This year as well, the race will be broadcasted 24 hours live in German free TV on RTL-Nitro.
Knowing the track in and out is an important key to success. During the off-season a lot of changes on the track have been made and in some parts the tarmac changed as well. To be as well prepared as possible Mazatis will take part in the qualification race from 13th to 14th April and the NES race 3rd to 4th May, ahead of the big event.
“I am absolutely looking forward to this challenge. Last year Dubai, now the 24 hours Nürburgring – to drive a GT3 car at these races and have the change to fight for the overall victory is awesome. My goal has always been racing at the Big 5 Endurance Events: Le Mans, Nürburgring, Spa, Daytona and Dubai. Being ambitious it’s not just about driving them, one day I want to win them as well. But it’s still a long way to go. First of all, now full focus on the chapter Nürburgring.“
The racecar: the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo
Aston Martin Racing stands for success in Motorsport. The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo was launched mid of February. It is a further development of the very successful Aston Martin Vantage GT3, which won 52 class victories and 11 World Championships.
“I already had the opportunity to test the car at Circuit Paul Ricard (France) and Barcelona (Spain). It is amazing. In fast corners the car is very stable, thanks to its great aerodynamic. Also tyre degradation is low, which can be a big asset in endurance racing. You really notice that everything on the car has been planned wisely, by absolute experts. Aston Martin wants to continue the success story of the previous car. We all have the ambition to continue this success story and to add a new chapter to it. “ said Mazatis about his new 665 hp strong racecar.
The raceteam: Walkenhorst Motorsport
Walkenhorst Motorsport is a prominent German Motorsport team. The team won the 24h of Spa in 2018 and the Intercontinental GT Challenge in 2020. In 2021 and 2022 Walkenhorst Motorsport, located in Melle, did start in the DTM and celebrated successes there, including three victories and several podium results. In 2023 the team won the Asian Le Mans series. For this year, they changed manufacture from BMW to Aston Martin and are willing to continue their success story.
“Walkenhorst Motorsport is a fantastic team. It is well known above the speres of motorsport for its successes in the recent past. “, said Mazatis. „From the first moment on, I felt that we all steer towards the same direction and work extremely hard to earn victories and success on the racetrack. I am looking forward going the way with them.
Three Questions to Benjamin Mazatis
What does it mean to you driving the 24h Nürburgring?
When we were young, we all drove this race on a PC or a gaming console. And who didn’t own racing games, did do so by a friend. The 24 hours Nürburgring is together with the 24 hours of Le Mans the biggest and prestigious race event in the world. It is a dream of every driver to drive this race in the top category and fight for the overall victory. Now I will be privileged to witness it – in a proper race car and not just online. That’s huge, that’s something very special and I am looking forward to it!”
What is your goal for this race?
Of course you want to be as successful as possible. Nevertheless, to speak about winning ambitious of such a big event would be a bit too much. Especially as there is this one universal rule for all big endurance races: “you can’t win the race, the race let you win!” And that’s very true, as I also experienced in Dubai ‘23. We were so quick, probably the fastest car out on track, but we hadn’t the race luck on our side. Apart from that, it’s an unbelievable strong field at the 24h Nürburgring. Everyone is there, boys who have won everything in the last few years, true legends of the sport. And at the end of the day, everyone wants to win, but only one squad can lift the trophy. That’s why I will only focus on myself, my preparation, and my performance. Top priority, as always in endurance racing, is to finish the race and see the chequered flag. That’s always the basic. And then you are automatically in the mix and simply see what’s going to happen and what chances will arise.
How does your preparation look like? Is there a special training?
Of course, preparation is one of the decisive factors for the later success on the racetrack. It’s the foundation. Having already experienced a couple of 24h races, I did build a routine. Nevertheless, every race has its own characteristics where you need to adapt to and include some new, different and event specific stuff in your prep. Also striving for perfection, striving to become better day by day. That’s why I already spent a lot of time in the simulator. Therefore, I was in England in February and plan to do so in April and May as well to be perfectly prepared. In addition to the on track and sim work I have fitness blocks. There I do daily cardiovascular training of 70 minutes, which is round about the duration of a race stint at the Nürburging. Afterwards I do strength exercises for shoulder, neck and core muscles, speed and agility and round it off with some balance and reaction drills. On social media @benjaminmazatis I am giving you some insides in my preparation routine. Zusätzlich will ich mich auch stetig verbessern. Ich war bereits im Februar in England im Simulator und werde auch im April und im Mai noch einmal auf die Insel fliegen, um mich optimal vorzubereiten. Zudem stehen zwischen Rennen und Simulatoreinheiten noch Fitnessblöcke an. Hier trainiere ich jeden Tag mindestens 70 Minuten Ausdauer. Das entspricht in etwa der Länge eines Rennstintes. On Top kommen abwechselnd Krafttraining, besonders für die Schulter-, Nacken- und Rumpfmuskulatur, dazu noch Balance- und Reaktionseinheiten. Auf Social Media @benjaminmazatis werde ich euch an dieser Vorbereitung teilhaben lassen.