‘GIRLS ONLY’ ROCKED THE GREEN HELL DURING THE 24H NÜRBURGRING

WS Racing’s mantra is “Girls only - ready to rock the Green Hell ". And last weekend, the all-female team from Germany proved that mantra right when they snatched P1 in their Audi R8 at the 24 hours of the Nürburgring. Germany’s all-female racing team started in 2019 with partners Giti Tire and Motul at their side. They truly are all-female, from the drivers to the mechanics. We chat to team manager Nicole Willems to find out more.

In 2015 my husband Thorsten and I had the idea of bringing ​​a women-only team to the start of the 24-hour Nürburgring. Because of the time-consuming and extensive support of our own customers as well as the commitment of our own vehicles, it was initially not possible to set up the project in such a way that it met our desired professional standards. So, we postponed the project and officially launched in 2019.

All-women teams in endurance racing are not new. WS Racing had this idea rolled out and consistently developed it further: the result is the use of one complete women's team in and outside of the cockpit. The sportive success depends on the focus and engagement. The primary goal is to have an extensive training and coaching in order to build a team ready to perform in the competitive environment of a 24-hour race. But also, to show that motorsport doesn’t have to be a purely male domain.

Yes indeed, we finally scored the desired class win we were aiming for. At the third try our Audi R8 LMS GT4 took the class win. In a race that was severely shortened by fog, our pilots Carrie Schreiner, Célia Martin, Pippa Mann and Christina Nielsen piloted the Audi R8 LMS GT4 across the finish line in first place in the SP8 class. It was such a great feeling!

We’ve been working with Motul since 1998, merely for their exquisite performance oil 300V. Back in 2018 we started talking about the expansion of our partnership as the Girls Only project started. Hence, we collaborated on all fields we could, marketing, promotional and technical support. This has led to today where all the fluids we use for the car are ‘Motul only’. Ranging from the car cleaning products to motor oil, braking oil and cooling fluids. In racing it’s the total of all the small details that make the difference between winning or losing a race. Motul’s braking oils perform better than regular ones, which allows us to brake fraction of seconds later than our competitors. We also have the engine oils analyzed for better performance. We’re very happy with the way the partnership has evolved and the products Motul is supplying us.  

Absolutely, from a sports perspective, the class win for “Girls Only” is of course the highlight. We have been working towards this goal since 2019. This win means a lot to us because we had to fight hard against strong competitors to get it. There were six changes in the leadership position, but the racing was always extremely fair. We also want to thank the Lexus team competing fiercely during the race. Watching the Girls Only team was truly a joy. They are working together perfectly now, and the pit stops are almost like those of a GT3 crew. An outstanding performance! The Giti Compete GTR1 racing tyres, which worked and performed extremely well under difficult conditions, also contributed to this success. Finally, a great big thank you to Audi Sport Customer Racing and Motul, who always support us to the fullest. This is how customer sports is done! In conclusion, I have to say I am very proud of my entire team. We handled all problems in record time under these challenging conditions and the team spirit has been great.