Darkness has descended on the Eifel region and with it came heavy fog and rain. The worst area affected is the drop into the Fuchsröhre and it’s been bad enough to force the race into a temporary red flag.

The red flag was first waved around three hours ago and race organisers say there’ll be as much as two hours notice before racing resumes. It’s around 2:30am German time and we can’t really see anything happening until after sunrise.

There was some confusion as to the race order but we can tell you the #007 Aston Martin is leading the race, with 32 laps completed, from the #18 and #50 Manthey Racing Porsches.

Updated placings for our Aussie/Kiwi drivers can be seen below. There’s good news, too, Wayne Moore and his team have managed to get back out and have posted 13 laps. No doubt the extended break will allow them to ensure their repairs remain in good working order.

Continue reading →

Two hours have already elapsed in the 2013 Nürburgring 24 hour race and up front the #4 Audi and #007 Aston Martin spectacularly fighting for the lead, as we write the Aston Martin has just taken the lead.

For the Aussies and Kiwis there was drama early with the #190 BMW of Wayne Moore suffering damage in the first hour. Almost as soon as that was shown on the live stream the Australian crewed #90 BMW lost control near Aremberg and punted off a Toyota 86. It appeared there was oil on the track which contributed to the mayhem.

Unfortunately it appears as though the race is over for both cars. Updates for the 11 Aussie/Kiwi cars can be seen after the break.

Continue reading →

Like Mal Rose, New Zealander Wayne Moore has been a great supporter of AUSringers over the years. And, also like Mal, he’s ready for a milestone race at the Ring in 2013. Can you believe it will be Wayne’s 20th consecutive Nürburgring 24 hour race. What an effort!

And it’s a feat that hasn’t escaped the notice of the official race website, which said: “His record book features two class wins, nine podiums and an amazing 17 finishes with the most different racing cars, such as Seat León Supercopa, VW Golf, VW Bora, VW Polo, Suzuki Swift, BMW M3.

“This year, Moore contests the race together with his compatriots Maurice O’Reilly and Michael Eden as well as Denmark’s Niels Borum. He once again will race a BMW M3 E36, entered by the Danish Scangrip Racing Team for the V5 category.”

Before departing New Zealand Wayne sent in the following words for us to share:

The Endless Race

New Zealand endurance race car driver Wayne Moore will experience a memorable weekend when he races his 20th consecutive Nürburgring 24 Hour Race with the 41st annual staging of the iconic German event on 17–20 May.

Nürburgring is the infamous race circuit that Jackie Stewart labelled the ‘Green Hell’ and it almost claimed Niki Lauda’s life in a fiery crash in 1976 before F1 cancelled its annual booking and deemed the race track too dangerous. Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson believes the mountainous Nordschleife part of The Ring claims one death a week when open for tourist laps as a public toll road after bike, car, tyre and fuel companies have driven thousands of torturing kilometres testing their products during the day.

Moore has raced on the gruelling Eifel Mountains circuit every year since 1994 and that feat has attracted international interest even before the race starts this year. One German reporter claiming aside of German nationals no race driver in the world has driven more N24 races. That’s quite an achievement when you consider the 24 hour spectacle which is the culmination of days of supporting races accepts entries from 200 cars and attracts up to 800 drivers from 30 nations around the world.

Continue reading →

A quick shout out for Mal Rose who is about to tackle the Green Hell for his tenth Nürburgring 24 hour race in a row. That’s a fine achievement for any racer and even more admirable for the fact Mal travels half way around the world to compete.

Here’s a few words Mal shared with AUSringers prior to heading off to Germany a few weeks back:

It all started in 2004 by shipping three Mirage Cup Cars to Germany after our successful run at the 2002 and 2003 Bathurst 24hr events, I found these cars could do almost 24hr without a brake pad or tyre change!

Then in 2005 I shipped two Mirage Cup Cars to see if we could win our class, after being runner up in 04. We were leading for most of the day until an electrical problem ruined our chances. My friend Adam Wallis raced with me in 2005 and got the bug for the 25.3 km Nordschleife race track. After the race he asked, “Why don’t we run the ex-Perkins V8 Holden?”

So in 2006 we turned up in a slightly modified V8 Supercar with 600hp on tap. Unfortunately Adam had a minor crash and we went home to rebuild determined to complete the 2007 race. And we did!

In 2008 I had purchased my own V8 Supercar from Garry Rogers and teamed up with Peter and Tony to enjoy the best 24hr endurance race in the world for GT and touring cars.

We again raced in 2009 with my V8 Holden and during the race we had a clutch slipping. We took the time to fix it and even though we ran for the final hour and I crossed the line we were classified as non-finishers.

Then in 2010 I teamed up for the first time in another team, this time a Subaru STi with Mike Rimmer and Peter Venn. This would be another challenge as it was left-hand drive and all-wheel drive, all new to me! We had a great race with some 30 cars in our class.

In 2011 again I took back my V8 Holden with Peter and Damien. The car had just raced in the Spa-Francorchamps 12hr race in Belgium the weekend before and without going into too much detail the engine overheated and we packed up and went home to work the problem out. The car was rebuilt and raced eariler this year in the 2013 Bathurst 12hr (we won our class and finished 12th).

Last year the opportunity came up to race for a factory team with the Aston Martin Test Centre based at the Nurburgring. I was competing in a V8 Vantage with 4.7 litre engine, paddle shift, ABS, traction control and of course left-hand drive. We finished third in class and 33rd outright.

Now, for my tenth race I’m back with Aston Martin again. It’s special, too, because it’s Aston Martin’s 100th anniversary. Let’s hope we can maintain Aston’s 100 per cent finishing record.

Hear, hear. All the best to Mal and his teammates.

Continue reading →

Phoenix Racing has got their defence of the Nürburgring 24 hour off to a good start by putting one of their cars on pole position for tonight’s race. The #4 entry driven by Michael Ammermüller, Frank Stippler, Ferdinand Stuck, Johannes Stuck set a best time of 8:17.212 to claim P1. They will start alongside the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT driven by Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke, Allan Simonsen, Pedro Lamy.

It’s worth noting that last year’s winner, the #3 Phoenix Racing Audi, started from P12 with a lap time over four seconds off the pole position time.

During the race the top 40 cars will carry flashing blue lights to indicate there’s a faster car coming through. With an starting list of 168 cars there’s still a lot of drivers who’ll be watching out for them!

The best placed Australian driver is Paul Stubber in the #27 De Lorenzi Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S who will start from P34. The list below shows the starting order for all Aussie and Kiwi drivers (those marked with asterisk are from NZ).

• P34 – #27 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S (Paul Stubber)
• P52 – #89 BMW Z4 Coupé (Rob Thomson)
• P56 – #72 Aston Martin Vantage V8 (Ric Shaw)
• P60 – #42 Porsche 997 (Clint Harvey, Brett Niall, Malcolm Niall, Mark Pilatti)
• P75 – #6 Aston Martin Vantage V8 (Mal Rose, Peter Leemhuis)
• P85 – #177 BMW E36 (Angus Chapel, Garth Duffy)
• P91 – #102 Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 (Gregory Spark*)
• P142 – #153 Seat Leon TDI (Martin Bailey)
• P145 – #90 BMW E36 M3 (Tony Alford, Kean Booker, Richard Gartner, Peter O’Donnell*)
• P157 – #190 BMW E36 M3 (Michael Eden*, Wayne Moore*, Maurice O’Reilly*)
• P158 – #144 Renault Clio Cup (Christopher Gleeson)

You can download the full starting order HERE (158kb PDF) and the Top 40 qualifiers can be seen below.

Continue reading →

Here’s the finalised list of entries (86kb PDF) showing the Australian and New Zealand drivers taking part in this weekend’s Nürburgring 24 hour race.

Car #6 – Aston Martin Vantage V8 // Class SP8
Mal Rose (AUS), Peter Leemhuis (AUS), Joachim Kern (GER), Egon Allgäuer (SUI)

Car #27 – Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S // Class SP9 GT3
Paul Stubber (AUS), Roberto Fecchio (ITA), Dario Paletto (ITA), Marco Mapelli (ITA)

Car #42 – Porsche 997 // Class SP7
Clint Harvey (AUS), Brett Niall (AUS), Malcolm Niall (AUS), Mark Pilatti (AUS)

Car #72 – Aston Martin Vantage V8 // Class SP8
Ric Shaw (AUS), Kim Hauschild (GER), Tom Moran (GER), Dieter Svepes (AUT)

Car #89 – BMW Z4 Coupé // Class SP6
Rob Thomson (AUS), Stefan Aust (GER), Frank Weishar (GER), Andreas Weishaupt (GER)

Car #90 – BMW E36 M3 // Class SP5
Tony Alford (AUS), Kean Booker (AUS), Richard Gartner (AUS), Peter O’Donnell (NZL)

Car #102 – Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 // Class SP3T
Gregory Spark (NZL), Olaf Schley (GER), Andres Serrano (ECU), Yasuyoshi Yamamoto (JPN)

Car #144 – Renault Clio Cup // Class SP3
Christopher Gleeson (AUS), Hugh Buckley (GBR), Volker Kühn (GER), Bashar Mardini (UAE)

Car #153 – Seat Leon TDI // Class D1T
Martin Bailey (AUS), Ivo Breukers (NED), Sjaco Griffroen (NED), Henk Thijssen (NED)

Car #177 – BMW E36 // Class V5
Angus Chapel (AUS), Garth Duffy (AUS), Dominique Bastien (USA), Michael Clemens (GER)

Car #190 – BMW E36 M3 // Class V6
Michael Eden (NZL), Wayne Moore (NZL), Maurice O’Reilly (NZL), Niels Borum (GER)

In preparation for this weekend’s Nürburgring 24 hour race here’s how you can watch and listen to the race online.

It’s likely that more options will become available once the race gets underway, so make sure you bookmark this page for future reference.

The only other point worth noting is the timetable (110kb PDF) for this year’s race. The Top 40 qualifying will start at 2:00am Sunday 19 May (Australian eastern time) and the race will start on Sunday and finish on Monday. On the eastern seaboard of Australia that means the race will start at 1:00am on Monday 20 May and finish at 1:00am Tuesday 21 May.

2013 Nürburgring 24 hour race—Live streaming

• Official race website (includes live timing)
• Audi live stream (simulcast from Sport1)
• Sport1 TV (geoblocked)

Other resources

• Official race live timing
• Radio Le Mans (race commentary in English)
• GPSauge app for iPhone & iPad
• Nürburgring webcams
• Nürburgring 24h on Facebook
• Nürburgring 24h on YouTube

The Nürburgring – world’s leading motorsport resort

The Nürburgring is the world’s leading motorsport resort and the main centre of attraction for motorsport enthusiasts worldwide. Close to 90 years of tradition and history have formed this motorsport icon with unsurpassed global brand recognition. The Nürburgring stands for world-class racing, amateur and junior racing events, as well as countless tourist drives.

The Nordschleife – the so called “Grüne Hölle” – was built in 1927 and is truly unique in length and difficulty. This historic race track is complemented by the ultra-modern, state-of-the-art Grand Prix circuit which was built in 1984 and hosts, amongst others, the “Formula 1 German Grand Prix 2013”. Together with the newly built accommodation, dining and leisure infrastructure (built in 2007–2009) the race tracks have developed into a venue for motorsport fans, business events as well as cultural events.

The Nürburgring employs approx. 300 people, generates a turnover of up to €60 million p.a. and delivers sustainable positive cash flows.

That’s the opening three paragraphs in the official document calling for expressions of interest for the sale of the Nürburgring. The deadline for submissions is 12 June. Although expect any sale negotiations to drag out for some time.

Speculation says the expected sale could be around €120 million. That’s for everything. The GP track, the Nordschleife and the white elephant NüroDisney complex.

It’s quite possible that a large car manufacturer could buy the Ring, with Chris Harris suggesting Volkswagen could be a good fit. Hyundai has also been mooted. Which would at least give some more certainty to their Nürburgring test centre investment.

On the one hand Volkswagen, or any car maker, owning the Nürburgring could be a very good thing. We just wonder how such things as open public days would be viewed in the corporate world.

It’s all fun and games until someone sticks it in the armco, or worse. Would any car maker really want the negative publicity and blood on their hands associated with a touristenfahrten fatality?

[Source: nuerburgring.de]

While we welcome the news that Mal Rose will be making his way to the Nürburgring again for the 24 hour race next month we’re a little sad that he won’t have his V8 Commodore in circulation. That means fans of Aussie V8s will have to make do with this spy shot of the new VF Commodore ute which was seen at the ‘Ring last week.

[Source: Carscoop | Pic: CarPix | Thanks to Matt and John for the tips]

Michael Schumacher’s first gig as an official Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador is perhaps one of the coolest things you will read today. Not only will the seven-time world champion get back in a Formula 1 car he’ll be doing so around Nürburgring Nordschleife. How cool is that!

Schumacher will pilot a 2011-spec Mercedes GP W02 for a demonstration lap around the ‘Ring during the 24 hour race weekend on 19 May. As you might expect he’s quite looking forward to it too.

“I have a lot of fond memories of the Nürburgring and am really looking forward to giving fans and friends from my home town of Kerpen, which is quite close to the Nürburgring, something to remember as they see me drive by,” Schumacher said.

“But it will be a fantastic experience for me too, driving along the Nordschleife in a state-of–the-art Formula 1 Silver Arrow, particularly in view of the fact that the Silver Arrow’s legend began here. Posting a lap in a modern Silver Arrow on the most beautiful and most testing circuit in the world, what a brilliant mix—it’s every motor racing driver’s dream!”

It will be the first time a contemporary Formula 1 car has been driven on the Nordschleife since Nick Heidfeld did so in a BMW Sauber F1.06 back in 2007 (see video below). No official lap time was recorded when Heidfeld drove the ‘Ring and Stefan Bellof’s 6 minute 11 second lap set in a Porsche 956 in 1983 remains the all-time ‘Ring record.

We’re not sure if Michael will be chasing that record, but imagine if he did he could easily break the 6 minute barrier. That would be wow!

Continue reading →

We’re less than a month away from the 2013 Nürburgring 24 hour race (17–20 May) and here’s our first official look at who’s going to be having a crack, thanks to the provisional entry list (94kb PDF) published last week.

The good news is there is plenty of Aussies and Kiwis returning to the Nordschleife, starting with Mal Rose who’ll be driving with Aston Martin again. This year marks his 10th successive N24h start. Another hat tip to Wayne Moore, too, who is celebrating his 20th N24h race. A great effort by both.

A list of the Australian and New Zealanders competing can be seen after the break. As always if you have any updates or notice any errors be sure to leave a note in the comments section.

[Thanks to Obi and Mal for the tip]

Continue reading →

Colin Alton, take a bow. We’re not too sure of Colin’s background but he’s clearly a half decent steerer as this video posted to YouTube shows. And he’s obviously completed many laps around the Nürburgring. Behind the wheel of his Nissan GT-R Colin has posted a bridge-to-gantry lap time of 7 minute 30 seconds.

The time was set a couple of days back during a regular public open day. Luckily for him the track was near empty and he pretty much had the 20.832km of Nordschleife to himself. Lucky guy.

To put this lap time in perspective a 7 minute 20 lap is around the mark for Nissan’s hero lap around the Ring. If you add an extra 20–30 seconds lost by not being able to complete a full v-max run down the main Döttinger Hohe straight we’re talking a 7 minute 50 lap, or thereabouts, if Alton was able to do the full circuit. That’s not too shabby at all.

[via Bridge to Gantry]

Continue reading →