Good morning from the wet Green Hell. Laptimes are down in the 10min10 region for the GT3s. After 100laps the #22 ROWE Mercedes SLS is leading, infront of #3 Phoenix Audi R8 and the #20 Schubert BMW Z4. #9 Raeder Audi R8, #11 Wochenspiegel Manthey Porsche, #26 Mamerow Audi R8 and the #65 & #66 Hankook Team Heico Mercedes SLS. These Top-9 all on the lead lap. 8h25min to go.
EDIT: fits here as well
I loved how John Hindhaugh was trying to figure out what car the onboard came from. He came to the conclusion it must be a Sauber.
What a bizzar 24h race... I even had the feeling it was more of a crashfest then last year though less cars were on track. And so many twists. And the finish... I mean the Clio, I somehow can understand that after 24h you are not used to catch up to a Porsche. That was close to my iTCC shunt a few years back. In an interview it was stated that the Porsche wanted to wait at the start/finish-line since they were 1 lap short on fuel.
First ever win for Audi at the Nürburgring 24h. Third time a Winkelhock won.
Last 20 minutes, didn't list it in purpose I rather not have it spread all over the net. Muxed with radiolemans comms, includes the smoking merc plus the mess in the end.
he was most likely wondering if that lap was the last, being overtaken by leading cars just seconds before. Was an amateur driver they said on german TV
Photo of the burning P4/5. After that it continued driving without KERS.
also:
In a TV Interview, Sabine Schmitz said, she's going to take the marshals on to a ride around the Nordschleife. "The best would be to take a Transit and to show them the track. I guess with a bus that would also be fun and that would be new to me as well."
One of the track marshalls sent a eMail from his position into the Sport 1 commentary booth. That way she would like to thank all trackside workers who helped that this 24h race was possible.
I only had a quick visit to the race this year, but again it was a real, real blast! It had everything from quick cars, slow cars, beautiful cars, strange cars and loud cars - on and beneath the track. Well, not just cars! The weather was fine as well (very uncommon!), as were the girls on the grid.
But not everything stood in order till the end of the race: There was a lot of carnage and everybody who has seen the last minutes of the race knows what I'm talking about.
And it's never ever to get boring, considering the extreme range of the field. A night at the ring (not the GP track actually) is mind-blowing, even being there as a spectator only. And here I refer not exclusively to the great atmosphere around the track with its barbeques, fireworks and parties, but rather to the sheer craziness of the drivers maintaining their speed even from dusk till dawn, getting not more than a glimpse of tarmac ahead of them. I'd just call them lunatic and every single one of them must have balls of steel.
To cut a long story short, like the year before I'd like to share some of the impressions with you in pictures.