Australians deliver British team’s first class win

On their debut at the Nordschleife, they raced in ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Series Rounds 7 and 8 in the BMW M240i Racing Cup class for a third and a win.

On arrival they had do their DMSB permit license course before they could compete in their first two NLS races over the September 13-14 weekend.

Breakell Racing was established at the turn of the century with the father and son combination of Geoffrey and James Breakell in United Kingdom club motorsport championships.

In the NLS Series they field a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for James Breakell and Martin Rich as well as the BMW M240i. In the outfit also contested Porsche Sprint Challenge GB and the Ginetta GT Championship.

In the first race the boys experienced the full Nürburgring experience. It started off dry, then heavy rain on slicks, back to dry after that. They finished the race, the first of two four-hour races, third in class and 63rd overall of 118 starters.

“I can tick off the bucket list, sharing the track with a four-time F1 world champion, Max Verstappen too!” Drew Russell reported on socials.

For the second race, they had new tyres. Drew started and worked his way from seventh in class to second before he handed over to Aaren who finished the race and took the lead in the final complex of corners on the last lap.

“It’s been an absolutely unbelievable weekend. Third in class in the opening race and then our first ever NLS class win in race two,” was the message from team boss Breakell.

“This is a very emotional result for me. I first started coming to the Nürburgring 12 years ago, just doing any arrive and drive opportunities we could afford. We’ve built up the team from there and to take our first class win is so special.

“Thank you so much to everyone in the team for their incredible work, and to Aaren and Drew Russell who delivered on track. They were great, professional guys to work with and it was a pleasure racing with them.”

Races on the Nordschleife regularly attract more than 100 cars, in various machinery from GT3 and GT4 sportscars, touring cars and production cars. Formerly known as VLN, the events features races from four to twelve hours while the 24h Nürburgring is one of the hallmarks.