CG was in Germany last week, popping his VLN cherry! Here's the scoop. Enjoy, dream....
I have been visiting the Nürburgring for almost 10 years, ever since AC and I took a break from a Monaco Grand Prix week for a "quick" drive up from the Riviera in his Ferrari 360... back when speed limits were not as strictly enforced in France.
That was a great wake up call to the awesomeness and intimidation the 'Ring is. We survived a few Touristenfahrten laps in the wet with the car in one piece but, it was so slippery we both thought there was something wrong with the car’s tires, but we got good marks from the locals for actually taking a Ferrari out on track rather than just the parking lot.
I have done many pilgrimages to the Nürburgring since, almost on a yearly basis skipping just a few while focused on racing in the US. In the past decade, in part because of Jeremy Clarkson’s 10 minute challenges and the emergence of "Sabine, Queen of The Ring", Touristenfahrten has become too popular to safely lap at decent speed in a fast car. Private track days, like those organized by RSR or Destination Nürburgring, are now the hot ticket, especially when complemented by renting one of RSR Nurburg’s track weapons, preferably one of Stuttgart finest GT3 du jour.
Vodafone will show off the speed of its LTE network with a broadcast, live from the 2015 ADAC Nurburgring 24 Hours, via SIM cards installed in number of cars and even a drone.
Vodafone promises not only networked cars but data from drivers wearing special race suits capable of measuring their pulse and stress levels.
Can Vodafone deliver HD signal live over cellular from inside cars speeding around the Green Hell straight to You Tube? I'm guessing they figured it out:
The live stream starts a 9AM EDT Go HERE for details
The Deutscher Motor Sport Bund, Germany's governing body for racing was in a pickle: following the horrific crash of Jann Mardenborough's Nissan GT-R and the death of a spectator at the first VLN race of the season, it had issued a ban on all the faster classes, essentially everything from a Porsche 997 Cup on up.
That meant no Mercedes SLS, no Porsche RSR, no BMW Z4 GT3, no LFA, no Ferraris, no Audi R8, no Scuderia Gliekenhaus and, of course, no GT-Rs.
The 2015 24 hour race would have been a bust in the same year Germany failed to secure a Formula 1 race for the first time in many decades. Not good.
So here's the solution, temporary apparently, to save the race: GPS monitored speed zones in areas ahead of the fastest points on the track:
Flugplatz : 200 kmh / 125 mph
Schwedenkreuz: 200 kmh
Antoniusbuche: 200 kmh
Döttinger Höhe: 250 kmh /155 mph
Why did they chose this solution is a practical one, it is a version of the "Code 60" system already in use in WEC and indeed at the Nürburgring for the 24 hour race.
The idea is that these zones will take the place of a chicane which there is no time to properly build.
Cars will be slowed down "several hundred" meters ahead of the fastest corners. They will be released ahead of the turns but without the momentum they usually would have, corner speeds will be lower.
Along with the speed restriction, there will be a 5% power reduction and better spectator control.
For the long term, there are no easy fixes. You could put limits on aero but a VLN specific spec would make it extremely difficult to get guest entries for the big race.
Or you could build chicanes. Not sure there is room for temporary chicanes on the Nordschleife. Maybe on the Döttinger Höhe but probably not before Flugplatz and Schwedenkreuz. Can you imagine the uproar if they changed the track?
One solution could be, if they find the space, to build a Le Mans type chicane where the original track can be preserved and used for slower events. But with the Green Hell's trouble with greens, both people and bills, it's probably not so simple to chop and pave.
Endurance racing is equal parts preparation and luck, Team Falken ran out of the latter in 2013.
We've seen similar movies before but, even if the race is the same, each story is different and while the music gets a tad heavy at times, it's well worth your 30 minutes.
Client: FALKEN Tyre Europe DoP & Director: Toby Kahler Ex. Producer: Michel Pathe Post-Production: motionctrl Produced by: nürburgring.tv - media services GmbH & motionctrl Filmproduktion (motionctrl.de) Join us on Facebook & Twitter: facebook.com/motionctrl | twitter.com/motionctrl motionctrl.de
The 2013 edition of the Nurburgring classic, the ADAC 24h Rennen got additional exposure through an amazing video on the Drive Network: Leh Keen’s eye view of a dusk lap in the pouring rain, I’m sure you’ve seen it.
What you have not have seen is what it was like to drive later in the night, when it was completely dark, the very lap conditions became so bad even the notoriously hairy chested Germans were forced to red flag the race. Have a look.
Scary, yes?
Axis friend Sergio Negroni competed in his seventh 24 hour at the ring. Last year, driving an Aston Martin Vantage, his race came to a premature end when the car was punted off the track by another, spatially challenged competitor. Like the good maniac he is, he was back again, this time in a much more familiar car. Driving with him, Alessandro Cremascoli, Massimo Colnago and Andrea Sapino.
2013 was my seventh time at the Eiffel marathon, this time with a car I am much more in tune with with: a Porsche GT3 Cup, a car I have raced since 2007. While the Porsche holds no secrets for me anymore, the Nürburgring, even after seven attempts at the 24 and countless test laps, always demands the upmost respect.
My comrades in arms on this latest campaign were new to the race, all “gentlemen drivers” without much racing experience, not much time in Porsches but with plenty of 'ring laps under their belts. I must say, they did very, very well.
Onboard with Leh Keen in the Farnbacher Racing Porsche GT3 R competing in the top SP9 GT3 class at the ADAC 24 Rennen at the Nürburgring this past week end. Leh was running in P 17 when the race was stopped because of weather. The Farnbacher car dropped out in the 18th hour ending 141st overall.
A sick thought: as impressive and terrifying this video is (check out the "code brown moment" at the Pflanzgarten 2 crest!) it's entirely possible there may have been drivers even faster than Leh in the rain! Insane.
With a name almost as long as its bonnet, The Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 took the overall win in the 2013 edition of the ADAC 24 Rennen at the Nürburgring. The car was driven by DTM ace Bernd Schneider with Porsche Supercup regulars Sean Edwards, Nicki Thiim and Jeroen Bleekemolen. If winning the N24 was not a memorable enough, Bleekemolen had to run from the track during the night to be at the birth of twins... what a week end!
The Black Falcon SLS was in a hard battle with the Marc-VDS BMW Z4 driven by Martin, Piccini, Buurman, Göransson. Maxime Martine was at times lapping 40 seconds faster than the rest of the field and had an 8:22.088 lap four laps from the end of the race.
In third another Mercedes, the ROWE Racing SLS.
The race was (...shocker) punctuated by rain so heavy it had to be stopped overnight.
It's N24 week end at the Nürburgring and top contenders paraded through the streets of the tiny town of Adenau on the way to the Green Hell.
All the top cars are there: Audi R8, Mercedes SLS, BMW Z4, Porsche 911, Aston Vantage and ...an Opel Manta with the fox tail on the antenna? Of course, by now the Kissling Motorsport Manta is a tradition at the 'ring.
The fight at the top looks to be between Audi and Mercedes with Porsche, BMW and Aston in as spoilers. American readers will take note of Leh Keen racing in the number 17 Farnbacher Porsche GT3 in the top SP9 GT3 class. Also, keep an eye on the number 18 Manthey Porsche, though in the lower SP7 class, it qualified 8th overall. Driving it, four Porsche aces Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr and Timo Bernhard.
Of course the Nürburgring 24 Hours is more than just a race, it's an excuse for a giant party with plenty of sausage grilling and drinking, hopefully nobody will be a dick and stop the race by painting body parts onto the track
Live streaming of the race can be found HERE. English commentary on RadioLemans.
Latest news about the sale of the Nürburgring can be found on Save The Ring and Mike's own blog HERE
All the best to Axis friends Sergio, Alessandro, Massimo and Andrea as they are set to attack the ADAC Nürburgring 24 Hour this week end. They will drive the number 51 Porsche GT3 Cup in SP7 class. Cheers!
Read about Sergio Negroni's experience at the 2012 N24 in an Aston Martin GT4 HERE
Granted, it is the world's longest track but it's just not very wide most of the time and the speed differential between all the classes is tremendous.
Check out this cool film put together by our old Terroristenfahrt friends at RSR Nürburg. As Angus "4hr stint" Chapel says, this is mostly practice for the big show, the Nürburgring 24 Hour coming up later this year.
The international Axis of Awesome strikes again as our longtime favorite Italian tracktard (and GT racer) Sergio "Sergini" Negroni will be carrying the Axis colors at the 2012 ADAC 24h Rennen at the Nürburgring.
The original plan was for Sergio to drive his own Porsche GT3 Cup but last minute issues made it so he had to find another ride. He worked out a deal to drive an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 from team HRT competing in the SP10 GT4 class.
Sergio is a long time Porsche driver and I was was just teasing him asking if he still remembers how to drive a car with and engine in front. He said the Aston's engine is fantastic but the car has very little feel and communication compared to a 911. "Feels like the Playstation".
As I write Night qualifying is starting. Live timing and scoring can be found HERE along with a live video (for the race) feed with RadioLeMans.com commentary sponsored by Simraceway.
Sergio promised to send pictures during the event but, I know how these things go so if you find any shots of the car in action, send them to us!
The 2012 Nürburgring 24 is this week end, BMW Team Schuberth is among the 145 or so teams ready to do battle in the Eiffel.
Keep an eye on the HRT Aston Martin in SP10/GT4. Sergio Negroni will be "our man at the N24" and share his driving insights, pictures and video clips after the race. Go Sergini!
