NÜRBURGRING, Germany – Malaysia’s Viper Niza Racing Team is gearing up for one of its biggest challenges yet as it prepares to make its debut at the iconic 12 Hours of Nürburgring this weekend (3-5 July), the penultimate round of the Michelin 24H Series.
The race marks the championship’s first-ever visit to the legendary German circuit, adding another layer of intrigue to an already fiercely contested season. For Viper Niza Racing’s driver trio of Douglas Khoo, Dominic Ang and Melvin Moh, the objective is clear – secure a strong result and strengthen their bid for a top-three finish in the GT3-AM championship.
Heading into the Nürburgring round, the Malaysian outfit sits third in the overall GT3-AM standings with 80 points, trailing GetSpeed Team PCX Racing on 90 points and championship leaders Hofor Racing on 96 points. The team is also joint sixth overall in the highly competitive GT3 category.
A total of more than 45 sports cars across multiple classes are entered for the event, with 14 cars competing in the premier GT3 class, including the #65 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO fielded by Viper Niza Racing Team.
“This will be both the team’s and drivers’ first visit to the Nürburgring,” said Team Principal and lead driver Douglas Khoo. “Unlike many European teams with previous experience at this venue, we’ll be heavily reliant on the two full days of testing before the race weekend. Our focus is entirely on securing maximum points to boost our championship hopes.”
Although the Nürburgring is synonymous with the fearsome 20.83km Nordschleife, famously known as the “Green Hell”, the Michelin 24H Series event will be contested on the shorter 5.148km Grand Prix circuit featuring 16 turns.
Even so, the track presents its own unique challenges, with significant elevation changes and technical sections including the Mercedes Arena, Haug-Hook, Dunlop-Kehre and the Michael Schumacher S.
“We’re all very excited to race at a new circuit, especially one with the history and reputation of the Nürburgring,” Khoo added. “We’ve spent plenty of time preparing on the simulator and we’ll also be driving GT4 cars around the full Nordschleife to familiarise ourselves with the environment and truly experience what Nürburgring is all about.”
The team heads into Germany looking to bounce back from the previous round at Paul Ricard in France, where it finished 10th overall and fifth in GT3-AM. Despite slipping to third in the standings, Viper Niza Racing remains firmly in contention for its championship objective.
“Before Paul Ricard, we were actually leading the standings, even if only marginally,” said Khoo. “Now, we’re focused on consolidating third and potentially moving up again. Finishing in the top three remains our target this season.”
The team narrowly missed out on a top-three finish last year, ending the campaign fourth overall after missing one of the five rounds and finishing just 22 points adrift of the podium positions.
“This year we’ve been consistently scoring valuable points, and if we can maintain this momentum and possibly secure podium finishes in the final two races, we have a good chance of achieving our goal. But endurance racing is unpredictable, and sometimes that unpredictability can work in your favour.”
Viper Niza Racing Team is supported by Motul, IWC as its Official Watch Brand, Momentum Autoparts and SPARCO Italy as it continues its pursuit of international endurance racing success.
