The legendary starts on Pentecost weekend 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. An event that turns racers into heroes and is full of small tragedies. There is no other place in the world where desire and frustration are closer together. The race victories of the local favorites from Manthey will never be forgotten - after many years the knot broke in 2006 and the team around Olaf Manthey took the top spot on the podium for 5 years in a row.Greatest chariot race since Ben Hur”.
The Audi Team Phonix won the Audi R2012 LMS Ultra in 8, with Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock at the wheel.
The 2013 race - 24 hours in the green hell
Before going through the times from Friday night's first qualifying session, I want to try to answer the question of what makes this race so special. Which is why there is no race in the world that even remotely has this legendary reputation.
The Eifel
On the one hand, there is the venue around the formerly tranquil town of Nürburg. Located between quiet forests and a hilly meadow landscape, a “test and test track” was opened in 1927 with an original total length of 28 kilometers. That was 86 years ago – a lot has happened in those years. A certain Niki Lauda had a fire accident, the automobile industry around the world has covered millions of kilometers on this route and - thanks to the “Nordschleife” development environment – presented us with the safest and sportiest cars of all time.
The success and history of the Nürburgring also attracted the dark figures - inept politicians and insane decisions had to be endured here in the Eifel. It has become particularly dramatic at the moment. This all works together if you want to understand what makes the “Racetrack in the Eifel” special.
The fans
They come to the ring a week before the start of the race. They endure all the imponderables and nasty weather attacks. From hailstorms to sunburns, a real one N24h fan comes back from massive injuries from the race weekend. I don't mean the hangover after the night of drinking in front of the tent.
Great fan structures around the track, campfire romance between the scent of hot rubber and even hotter brake pads. While the engines roar on the track for 24 hours, the pit towers on the campsites fight against vehicles with loud music.
200.000 fans - this is rather normal and not the exception. A grandiose and huge folk festival.
The main actors
180 racing cars and 650 racing drivers - there is nowhere else. This diversity, these emotions, this pathos - a folk festival with more than 200.000 spectators and a larger number of active motorsport athletes has no other motorsport event in the world to offer!
Le Mans? Formula 1 in Monaco?`Indy500? Compared to the 24-hour full-throttle party in the Eifel, this is all “kindergarten”!
