The Ring Cycle: Nürburgring 24 Hours Race Recap

August 16, 2014
Story By
John Brooks

The scene was set, 165 cars in three groups line up to perform in front 200,000+ fans. Ah yes the fans... who at Nürburgring 24 Hours are an integral part of the race. Treated with respect by competitors, and in return the fans are loyal and enthusiastic.

There are plenty of activities going on prior to the start of the race. One such event being competitors making a drive down to Adenau, creating a parade of sorts, with autograph sessions and interaction with the drivers. But we're here to talk about the race...

16:00 Saturday

When it came time for the race, what happened after this pack, the first of three, finished tooling along the Döttinger Höhe, and were released by the Pace Car?

Those of you paying attention will have seen that Audi triumphed after the anticipated battle royal with Mercedes-Benz and BMW. While the result was not a surprise, how the the journey unfolded contained more than a fair share of twists and turns.

18:00 Saturday

The first hour or two of the race was largely led by the #66 Dörr Racing McLaren, pole sitter, Kevin Estre doing a fine job. However the McLaren struggled to match the fuel economy of the German rivals, then the problems arrived, starting with a water leak. After several visits to the pits the MP4-12C GT3 retired during the night.

The first casualty from the leading bunch was the #3 Audi. Marc Basseng had a massive shunt at Tiergarten, pretty much damaging the whole car, so one of the favourites was out. Basseng was taken to hospital for a precautionary check but was declared OK.

The next retirement from the front runners was the #19 Schubert BMW. An incident at Bitburger-Kurve damaged the suspension, which in turn destroyed the oil pump, blowing the engine.

20:00 Saturday

The vast majority of the crowd at the Nürburgring camp out at the track. As the sun sets on the Saturday the smell of the hundreds of BBQs adds to the unique atmosphere, the sausages being washed down by an ocean of beer - and especially on a lovely summer evening, the Ring is pretty special place to be.

Speaking of fans - the bond between competitors and fans has strengthened in the past few years. When the financially disastrous leisure park project dragged the circuits and facility into bankruptcy- it is only by full support of all parties that the track seems to be surviving the loss of €350 million of debt accrued by "NüroDisney". The Save The Ring campaign was launched to prevent the closure of the iconic circuit and seems to have worked. In March of this year it was announced that an automotive parts supplier, Capricorn Group, had acquired the enterprise from the receivers. Their plans have met with approval from the hardcore fans and would appear to have saved this most important race track.

Still near the time of sunset, the spectators were treated to an enthralling contest with the three German brands each having a dog in the fight - #4 Audi versus #14 Mercedes versus #26 BMW.

But the action was not just confined to the sharp end, with 165 cars starting the race, there was a show on all the time.

As night approached, one icon of the Nürburgring 24 Hours was about to reach a historic point. The Kissling Motorsport Opel Manta has been at every 24 Hour race on the Nordschleife since 1998 and during the 2014 race it clocked up its 1,000th race lap. An amazing achievement, illustrating perfectly why this car is so popular!

01:30 Sunday

The hours of darkness were disastrous for the Marc VDS team, first the #26 Z4 GT3 lost four laps in the pits repairing a throttle related problem. Then around 01.30 in the morning, the #25 BMW which had been fighting for the lead, stopped on the Döttinger Höhe after a collision with another car. Less than 30 minutes later team boss, Bas Leinders, crashed out of the race while driving #26, The Belgian team would only take disappointment home from the Nürburging.

BMW was now down to one car, the #20 Schubert Z4 GT3. This was scrapping with the #4 Audi and the #22 and #1 Mercedes pair for the lead - thanks to a blisteringly fast stint from Martin Tomczyk.

06:00 Sunday

As the light returned from the East the #22 Mercedes dropped from contention after a 3:30 minute penalty for failure to observe Yellow Flag Zones. The remaining trio swapped the lead as if it was a ten lap sprint.

Gradually the #4 Audi found a little breathing space as pit stops and minor penalties created a gap to the pursuing pair. The performance was a repeat of the winning effort at Le Mans the previous weekend - race as hard as possible, do not make mistakes and wait for the opposition to wilt. Easy to say but almost impossible to do, and we had a repeat performance on the cards.

13:00 Sunday

Tomczyk had been a hero for #20 BMW during the night but he blotted his copybook by earning a penalty for avoidable contact with a Porsche. Then a further 20 minutes were lost repairing the front splitter and suspension after an incident, so no win for BMW. The main threat to the #4 Audi now came from the Black Falcon SLS... but the leader had the situation under control.

BMW suffered a further indignity as both the Falken Porsche and the factory Aston Martin passed them in the final hours, after posing the strongest challenge to Audi, sixth place was all that was on offer.

16:00 Sunday

The 2014 Nürburging 24 Hours finished with usual chaotic scenes common to all such endurance events. Audi had proved to be just too good for the opposition and thoroughly deserved their victory. The distance record for the race was broken, 159 laps and 2,507 miles, a result of extremely fast pace and, by Nordschleife standards, relatively few serious incidents. The race was a classic, roll on 2015!

Speaking of 2015, a big announcement that came out during race week concerns a new support race for 2015. Well that is not strictly accurate, as it involves a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship... and that is no ordinary support race.

It will be the first FIA World Championship event run on the Nordschleife since 1983. The details were made a little clearer of how this will work. François Ribeiro, Eurosport Events COO explained. "The race at the Nordschleife will definitely be a highlight of the season. To tackle this monument of car racing history, we asked FIA to revise the sporting regulations for that event. The idea is to hold one single 120km race, with one pit stop. The details of this particular format will be worked out between FIA, Eurosport Events and teams before the next FIA Touring Car Commission. Then a proposal will be submitted for approval to the FIA World Motor Sport Council. WTCC drivers are all excited about this idea.” It will certainly be a race worth witnessing!