BMW won the first VLN race at the Nürburgring, starting and ending first and second. Check out the start from this amateur video to see how the two ///M cars work in tandem to keep the Mercedes SLS behind them and get on their way.
Of course one caveat is that the BMW were running in the E1XP class along with the N.technologies P4/5c... the more populated top class, SP9, was won by the Black Falcon Mercedes SLS GT3 who actually had a faster lap time than the BMWs. 8:24.240 vs 8:25.231.
Video from the front would be exciting but ..there isn't any. This one, produced by RaceMedia.tv, is fun: a nice fight between the Car Collection Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup S of Peter Schmidt and a Mercedes SLS GT3. Onboard with nat sound start about one minute in
The SLS must be very either very restricted or have bad aero because the 911's kill it on the long straight.
Look carefully ahead and you can catch a glimpse of the Gliekenhaus P4/5 up ahead. That car, I would venture to say, did not live up to expectations, retiring after 8 laps and setting an 8"44 sec lap time, some 20 seconds off the class pace.
Schmidt finished 15th overall. full results HERE
Bonus video after the jump: Careful on that right curb in the middle of the Hatzenbach esses....
where can one watch these VLN races? I live in America
ReplyDeleteJeremy Sean White - I haven't ever seen full race videos online (only as torrents) but you can watch clips on VLN's site (http://www.vln.de/index.gb.php) or Sport Auto (http://www.sportauto-online.de/nuerburgring-vln-978776.html)
ReplyDeleteAnd to the author - if you're referring to the part on the video where the 911 overtakes the SLS into the fox hole I think that's more a case of bigger balls on the Porsche driver than it is speed of the Mercedes - the car pulls away out of Aremberg like you would expect then he just seems to coast for bit. You can see the hesitation of the Porsche driver to pass at first like he's having a "WTF" moment, then he decides to go around just before the uphill section.
Jeremy,
ReplyDeleteas far as i can remember, there is no official coverage in the US at all. There is very little coverage in Germany as well, official coverage, that is. I sometimes manage to find a Highlights video on Racing Underground, but that's about it.
I wonder if BMW will make a GT3-spec car at one point. I'd like to see one, personally.
That curb doesn't look like much but a lot of crashes take place there.
ReplyDeleteEven on the track you don't really see how downhill the next curve is so if you are too violent with the curb it creates a second weight shift and you are done.
Last time a 80's Opel Corsa crashed there. He went home with a 1000€ + repair bill for the track.
It is shame about the P4/5. Finger crossed for the 24h !
Try these
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-LP-y1K8dI
or here
http://ring-fokus.de/videos.php?vid=90
http://ring-fokus.de/videos.php