Bavarian-Board.co.uk - BMW Owners Discussion Forum Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > General Forums > General Off Topic Forum
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Andy Update ETCC & Nordschleife
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Register Register  Login Login

Forum LockedAndy Update ETCC & Nordschleife

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
Peter H View Drop Down
Really Senior Member II
Really Senior Member II
Avatar

Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
Direct Link To This Post Topic: Andy Update ETCC & Nordschleife
    Posted: 29-March-2005 at 15:31
< id=kpfLog style="DISPLAY: none" src="http://127.0.0.1:44501/pl.?START_LOG" onload=destroy(this)>

My First Visit to the Awesome Nordschleife

I have had the most amazing few weeks which included the BMW fitness camp in Italy, testing at Magny Cours, Monza and Silverstone, moving house, but I think the most enjoyable experience for me was racing at Nürburgring’s famous Nordschleife circuit.

I had heard so much about this 25 kilometre track and was delighted when BMW Motorsport asked me to join the squad for the 24 hour race in May. However, it was not until a while ago that I was able to see what it was really like. In a word I would describe it as ‘awesome’.

In May I shall be joining Jörg Müller, Dirk Müller, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Boris Said, Pedro Lamy and Duncan Huisman in one of the two BMW M3 GTR cars that will compete in the race, but for my first March experience it was in a BMW 320i that I was entered into a four hour race. The car, run by Schubert Motors, was basically the same as the one I raced in the ETCC last year, but this was fitted with the sequential gearbox that is available to customers.

I soon realised that the track is possibly one of the most difficult to learn, but I was very lucky to have as my teacher Hans-Joachim Stuck, who I believe knows it as well as any racing driver. Without his invaluable tips I am sure it would have taken me a long, long time to learn the track. I have learnt in my sport that you can never have too much information about a race circuit, so I was also lucky enough to have a mate with me from my hill climbing days, Darren Soothill, who is also a regular visitor to the track.

Sadly for me what should have been a four hour race was red flagged after 56 minutes due to thick fog. However, in those 56 minutes I experienced just about every climatic condition including snow. I am due back there soon, this time in the BMW M3 GTR, and I just can’t wait.

However, after this trip it was back to the ‘day’ job. We went to Monza for a test with the WTCC car and also a media day. It was good to see the opposition as this was the first time we had been at the same track as Alfa Romeo, SEAT, Ford and Chevrolet. No one at RBM, who run my BMW Team UK car, is under any illusion about the task we have to defend our title. However, it was great to see the BMW cars at the top of the time sheets, even if it was not my car recording the best time.

Over the next few weeks it is testing, testing and testing and then the first race on the 10th April in Monza. However, after spending the Easter weekend moving the family to our new house in Guernsey, perhaps motor racing is not so hard!

< =text/>
Das Wolperdinger

AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
Back to Top
Sponsored Links


Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.133 seconds.