As mentioned previously, here is the clip of the Cadillac CTS-V lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in sub 8 minutes. A time GM claims is a Nordschleife record for a production based 4-door saloon.
American car. Nordschleife. Record. Hmm, okay, this is not a joke, a 2009 model Cadiallc CTS-V with GM Performance Division’s John Heinricy behind the wheel has reportedly lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under 8 minutes, or 7:59.32 to be precise. This time is now being claimed as the fastest ever lap around the Nürburgring by a standard production model 4-door sedan.
With a little over a week to go until the running of the 36th ADAC Zurich 24 hour race I thought I would list all the Australians entered in the event, as sourced from the official entry list. Some of the names and teams are very familiar to AUSringers readers, others are names I hadn’t heard of until going through the list. Whoever they are and wherever they come from I hope they all do Australia proud and return home safely after running a succesful race.
For a full schedule of events, including support races, read this earlier AUSringers article. The list of Aussies taking part is shown below and a full starting list, in PDF format, can be downloaded by clicking here:
Sadly the images are not exclusive to AUSringers. You’ll need to go to Left Lane News to see more.
There’s just two weeks to go until the running of the 36th Nürburgring 24 hour race, or as the sponsors would prefer it be called, the ADAC Zurich 24 hour race. The green flag drops at 3pm on Saturday 24 May for the main event, with qualifying sessions taking place from 9:25am-10:55am and 7:35pm- 11:30pm on Friday 23 May.
Other events taking place in support of the 24 hour include the ADAC Procar MINI Challenge, the ADAC GT Masters, the ADAC Formula Masters, the ATS Formula 3 Cup and the ADAC Chevy ‘Egons 500′, with a few demo laps thrown in for good measure. Judging by the footage shown from the 2006 event, as shown in Mal’s Big Green Hell, these demo laps can get a little bit wild!
A full schedule of events can be downloaded HERE (880kb PDF).
Volkswagen’s stunning purpose built race Scirocco was put through it’s paces around the Nürbirgring Nordschleife yesterday. The testing was undertaken by factory driver Dieter Depping and judging by his boss’ comments it went rather well. “The new Scirocco was in its element from its very first lap around the Nordschleife. The car also ran perfectly on this unique and difficult track,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “Our technicians have produced excellent work up to now. Now it’s a just a question of preparing the three Scirocco perfectly for the race. After all, the 24-hours is a merciless test for man and machine.”
The Race Scirocco is front-wheel drive and will use a 2 litre TFSI engine delivering over 300 hp, fitted with a direct-shift transmission (DSG) including shifting paddles in the steering wheel.
News just to hand, direct from Nissan, that a standard R35 GT-R has lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes, 29 seconds. Recorded on April 16 and 17, the GT-R used was a base specification car and fitted with the standard Japanese market tyres. Driven by GT-R chief test driver Tochio Suzuki, this latest lap time beats the previous fastest time for the GT-R by an astounding nine seconds.
The all new Volkswagen Scirocco has been spotted in endurance testing at Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben. Volkswagen will be taking three Sciroccos to the Nürburgring 24 hour race (22-25 May), all will be fitted with 2.0 TFSI engines coupled to DSG transmissions. Tweaks to the engine will see the cars running around 223kW (300hp). As previously reported o AUSringers the Volkswagen assault on the Nordschleife will be led by two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz and two-time Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck. You can read more at the Volkswagen Motorsport website.
(Thanks to AUSringers reader Lee for the tip.)
Sydney’s Mal Rose, from The Supercar Experience, is all set to, once again, lead an Australian contingent to the Nürburgring 24 hour race (May 22-25). This will Rose’s fifth consecutive appearance at the German enduro event and this year he will driving a newly acquired ex-Garry Rogers Motorsport VY Commodore. Mal will share his drive with Peter Leemhuis and Tony Alford, both will be lining up for their third start in Nürburgring race. This trio of drivers have some healthy enduro credentials, with class wins at the Dubai 24 hour (2007) and Malaysia 12 hour (2006) events behind them. Mal Rose Racing also claimed 2nd in class (SP2) at the 2005 and 2006 Nürburgring 24 hour race, so, no doubt, the lads will be attacking this year’s race with great expectations.
The 1350kg VY Commodore has a 5.0 litre Chevrolet V8, coupled to a six-speed sequential Hollinger gearbox. It will be rolling on 18″ OZ racing wheels fitted with Toyo tyres. The long Döttinger Hohe straight should see the V8 Supercar reach its 295km/h v-max. The use of carbon fibre for the bonnet and front guards saves 15kg. The team will also be taking along a specially designed bonnet fitted with xenon lighting for night racing (see image above).
Attention to all Sydney readers: AUSSIES IN NURBURGRING DOCUMENTARY TO AIR ON TVS
Mal’s Big Green Hell, the adventures of a group of Australian racers, featuring Aussie Nürburgring pioneer Mal Rose, at Germany’s famous ‘Green Hell’ race circuit, will be telecast on TVS (Channel 31 ).
This will be aired from Thursday 8.30pm May 1st and then each week after (Thursdays at 8.30pm) with repeats on Saturdays at 11.30pm and 1.30am on Wednesdays. The series is a total of five 30 minute episodes. Produced locally by Stuart Greaves, it features footage and interviews, including Sabine Schmitz, from the 2006 Nürburgring 24 hour race. Make sure you don’t miss it!
The rapidly approaching Nürburgring 24 hour race has a new face ready to take the grid in the shape of Volkswagen’s new third generation Scirocco. The race will take place over the weekend of 23-25 May and while the Scirocco will be new to Nürburgring competition, a couple of the team drivers have credentials of outstanding merit. Hans Joachim Stuck, three time Nürburgring 24 hour winner, and Carlos Sainz, twice World Rally Champion, will be spearheading Volkwswagen’s new lineup.
Also joining the lead mean will be other drivers with strong rally and circuit backgrounds, along with two journalists.
Stuck says, “I’m proud that, at my age, I have the chance to take part in the racing debut of a new car like the Scirocco.” Stuck is also confident the team can do well in a race he regards very highly, stating, “For me, the 24 hour race at the Nürburgring, along with the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and the Indy 500, is one of the world’s four most attractive races. With the Scirocco we can compete for class victory and a good result overall.”
While Sainz, now a factory Volkswagen driver, will be making his 24 hour debut, and his first return to circuit racing in over 20 years commented, “I’ve never driven a 24-hour race and I’m looking forward to it very much. I only know the Nürburgring from what others have told me about it and I’ve heard that this race poses a very special challenge.”
Source: Autosport
Read more at our sister site AUSmotive.com.
News of Nissan’s lighter, faster V-spec version of its GT-R has been around for a while now. Again, from Autoblog, is news that the car has been spied in testing at the Nordschleife. This photo, taken at the mini-Karussell, shows the car being put through its paces, read the Autoblog article for more detail and images.
Autoblog recently published a story about the new Chevrolet Camaro being tested at the Nürburgring. While clearly designed for the North American market, much of the engineering of this car has been undertaken at Australia’s Holden facilities, a fact highlighted by the Victorian registration plates on the car spied in testing.
Surely we won’t, finally, have a big “yank-tank” muscle car that can go around corners as well as it can blast down the quarter mile?
For more detail and plenty of images, read the Autoblog article in full. (Thanks to AUSringers reader Peter for the heads up on this story.)
Colin Osborne, current CAMS president, and keen racer in his own right, has just packed up his trusty Osborne Motorsports Toyota Corolla to the brim and sent it off to Germany for the 36th Nürburgring 24 hour race, to be held over the weekend of 22–25 May 2008. He was kind enough to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon on the phone to AUSringers to let us know what’s involved in tackling one of the world’s most prestigious 24 hour enduros.
This will be Colin’s fourth drive at the Nürburgring 24 hour, and for 2008 he will be joined by Nordschleife rookies Stu Jones and Iain Sherrin. Both Stu and Iain are well known within the MINI community having competed in R53 MINI Cooper Ss at various club events and tarmac rallies over recent years. Indeed, Iain Sherrin is currently competing behind the wheel of an R56 MINI Cooper S in the 2008 Australian MINI Challenge. All three drivers have extensive front wheel drive experience and, with enough laps around Bathurst, the two rookies have as good a preparation for the Nürburgring as one could hope for in the Southern hemisphere. Of course, nothing can prepare you for a Ring debut that will see you sharing the track with well over 200 cars in conditions that could well include heavy rain and dense night time fog. Don’t worry chaps, I’m sure you’ll be fine!
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