Mercedes withdraws from Norisring

Norbert Haug, head of motorsport at the German marque, said that serious damage sustained to three CLR monocoques at Le Mans has made it impossible for the team to take part.

'We only have one car. Norisring was meant to be a show race for sportscars, and I don't think this is the right time for us to be promoting this type of racing,' said Haug.

He said a return to last year's CLK-LM chassis was 'an impossibility'.

German marques BMW and Audi had already stated they were not going to be taking part in the event.

Gernot Leistner, the organiser of the two 60-mile sprints on July 3-4, claimed the pullout of Mercedes on top of BMW's and Audi's decision not to join in as the reason for the cancellation.

'Naturally we are sad about this,' he said, 'but without the manufacturers it is impossible to run a race like this.'

A minimum of ten entries, including a trio of Ferrari 333SPs, had been arranged to support the four cars Mercedes planned to enter.

Whether Mercedes will contest the final three rounds of the American Le Mans Series is an 'open issue', according to Haug.