We were surprised to see Red Bull Racing testing a new ring-taxi concept after last night’s German Grand Prix. We think catching a pax lap in a Formula One car around the Ring would be an awesome experience. We didn’t see the RB7 head out to the Nordschleife, but think Red Bull Racing should definitely consider that in their plans. We do think, however, that some work needs to be done on the seating arrangements.
That’s the question being asked over at the ‘Race of Two Worlds’ blog. Here’s a snippet from the article:
In a bye-gone age when true road racing over mammoth stretches of tarmac still existed the confines of the Nordschleife still managed to conjure up fear in even the most daring drivers. Nobody conquered the 14 miles as convincingly as Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957 or Jackie Stewart in 1968, both of whom later confessed to the fear that taming the Green Hell struck into them. That a circuit as daunting and idiosyncratic as this still hosts racing, let alone members of the public hurtling round in their own cars and bikes, is a rare triumph for the thrill-seeking spirit in an ever more homogenised world. That this Mecca for motorists is struggling under the weight of its debt is a more than a shame, it is a threat to a great symbol of the freedom of motoring.
Follow the source link below for more.
[Source: Race of Two Worlds]
Falken Tyres brings us this fascinating footage filmed inside their Porsche 911 GT3 R during the 2011 Nürburgring 24 hour race. Strap yourself in for 9 minutes 55 seconds of the most daunting motorsport footage you’re ever likely to see. It’s enough to try and master the ‘Green Hell’ on a clear sunny day; in the dead of night? You must be kidding!
This weekend the German Grand Prix will be held at the Nürburgring. Reigning Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel grew up not too far away from the Ring and he will be a huge drawcard. Indeed organisers are expecting record crowds. But will this be enough to ensure the Nürburgring maintains its position on the F1 calendar?
[Source: YouTube]
Apologies for such a long break between drinks as far as Nürburgring 24 hour race post mortems go. Sister site AUSmotive has been demanding our attention during the Australian International Motor Show.
To help get us back on track here’s a short highlights clip from Aston Martin. Incidentally, they have just announced they will be making 150 V12 Zagatos for the road. Bravo!
Good news for fans of motorsport action captured on film. The very clever chaps at Stereoscreen are making a feature-length film about this year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race. It will be titled 24hours. One team. One target.
You may remember their short film from last year, 24 hours in 19500 frames. Great work indeed. Again, Stereoscreen has been following the fortunes of the BMW team.
After the break you can see a couple of teasers for 24hours. You can also keep tabs on the project via the film’s dedicated Facebook page.
BMW Motorsport came to the 2011 Nürburgring 24 hour race as defending champions. Again they pinned their hopes on the M3 GT which has been impressive since its introduction. This year, though, it wasn’t to be and they had to make do with an honourable second place.
Despite finishing within 4 minutes 23 seconds of the winning car, Charly Lamm, Team Manager, says second was the best they could achieve. “We fought like lions, but more than second place was just not possible today. We were able to show, how strong the BMW M3 GT is, that we are a true endurance team and how breathtaking motor racing can be,” said Lamm.
Worth noting is the fact this was the last race in which Dr Mario Thiessen held the position of BMW Motorsport Director. He’s been in the role since 1999 and among many other achievements, including a Le Mans win, he has overseen three wins for BMW at the Nürburgring 24 hour (2004, 2005, 2010). Thiessen will be replaced by Jens Marquardt.
More from BMW after the break.
Well the stunning Audi R8 LMS didn’t win the Nürburgring 24 hour race outright, but it did finish third and in doing so managed to win its class. The highest place #14 car was also involved in a terrific scrap with the #32 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the closing stages, which made for great viewing.
All things considered, it was actually a pretty good recovery effort from the Audi crews, as all four cars suffered some degree of problem during the race. So much so that a podium finish seemed unlikely at various stages.
After the break there’s a huge image gallery with over 65 pics for you to look at, in addition to the team’s press release.
The interwebs brings word that the new F10 BMW M5 has set what is being claimed as a new lap record at the Nürburgring for a production model four-door sedan. The time has been set, apparently, by a BMW test driver. The time being bandied about is 7 minutes 55 seconds.
That’s pretty quick, but it’s actually no quicker than the time claimed by Subaru; former world rally champ Tommi Mäkinen posted a 7:55 lap at the wheel of a WRX STI sedan around this time last year.
Let’s put that aside for a moment, then, and compare the F10 M5 against its older brothers:
Steady improvements there for each new generation. Either way, we’re certain the new M5 will be up to Ring-Taxi duties when it returns in 2012.
[Source: Bimmerboost via BimmerFile]
Here is the official Porsche brag sheet from yesterday’s 24 hour race. It was a great win for Manthey Racing with the lead car heading the field for 208 laps and more than 16 and a half hours. In doing so the winning #18 car covered 156 laps in total covering 3,958.968km—a new distance record.
Five-time race winner (all with Manthey), Timo Bernhard said teamwork was the key to their victory, “We already knew before the start that we could only win if we worked together as a team, from the drivers through to the mechanics. And this worked very well for the entire time.”
It was a largelly trouble-free race for the #18 car. Race-winner Lucas Luhr explains the team’s only glitch, “During a pit stop the petrol pump didn’t work. Fuel simply didn’t come out. So we had to push our car back to another pump and in doing so lost almost a minute.”
Not bad going if you can cover almost 4000kms and suffer only a refuelling issue. Having said that the winning car did have some damage to its front spolier, can’t have been anything major, we assume.
We will continue to update with other team press-releases and then conclude our 2011 N24 coverage with a Porsche photo gallery.
