Jake Hill was back at a happy hunting ground in early August, as he returned to the Nurburgring in early August, this time it ended in an unfortunate retirement.
He was back in Germany to take part in the ADAC 6 Hours of Nurburgring Lang Streken (NLS) Race 7 on the opening weekend of August.
After a ProAm Pole Position and Podium last time out with Prosport’s Mercedes AMG GT, Era Motorsport’s Kyle Tilley decided to acquire their own car, and put together a strong crew to run the it, and the same driver line up of Tilley joined by former Nurburgring 24 Hour Winner Adam Christodoulou and Jake Hill for the NLS7 event
Running for the first time on Friday in blistering heat, the trio all felt comfortable with the balance, and with ‘Christo’ starting qualifying on Saturday morning looked competitive from the outset.
Strong laps from Tilley who found a huge amount of time over his previous best on the legendary 14.5 mile Eifel circuit, with Hill rounding out the 90 minute session.
Putting in a 7.56.308 – his personal best ever at the track – Hill was in the top-six, before pitting for new tyres with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Finding some clear air, Hill stunned the locals – in only his second NLS race in a GT3 car on this toughest of circuits – and took provisional Pole with a 7.52.922.
“I couldn’t believe it when that time came up on my dash! The car was so hooked up, and I am finding time every lap I do here – really pleasing”
Late on the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours winning Mercedes AMG GT of Ralf Aron put in a 7.51.506, with Frank Stippler’s Mustang and David Jahn’s BMW also in the 7.52’s just nipping ahead, meaning the #20 Era machine would start fourth overall.
“Puts us in great shape for the race – 6 Hours here will be tough in this heat, so strategy will be key, so lets see how we get on”
Christodoulou started and immediately passed the BMW and into third, putting in strong laps and what was to be Fastest Lap in Pro Am and second fastest overall with a 7.56.359. Late on in his stint, a ‘Code 60’ zone ahead saw the AMG GT on the tail of the Mustang, and as the Green Flag flew Stippler hesitated and ‘Christo’ made heavy contact as he accelerated.
Despite a lot of damage, the Era machine made it back to the pits only losing minimal time, but as Hill took over more than 45 seconds were lost as the team hastily patched up the nose, splitter and front wing.
Charging into action now P8, Hill immediately set-off after the pack, closing on the Black Falcon Porsche, the Gamoa BMW and the Schuberth BMW, gradually catching and then passing the Porsche, and then in a great battle swept past the two BMW’s in swift order, by now in P4 and closing on P3.
Just before pitting for fuel, Hill was clipped by a slower Porsche as he lapped it, and the already damaged front splitter was damaged behind repair, forcing the team to retire the car.
“Adam was flying, and despite the damage the car felt great. Had a mega fight with Tim Tramnitz in the Schuberth BMW M4, and we had the pace to fight for the ProAm win. Great shame, and I feel for Kyle as he didn’t get to race – as always a huge thanks to him for this amazing opportunity. Hopefully we can do some more here ‘cos I absolutely love it!”
Next NLS round is 12th & 13th September, with the final Michelin 24 Hours race – the 24 Hours of Barcelona – up the following week.
“Cannot wait to be back here, and also back in the Ferrari , and I love 24 Hour races, so let’s see what we can achieve”
Images courtesy of Mika Pietrus