Race Review 55. ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup (VLN 3. Lauf)
The weather forecast for the third VLN race did not look good. 90% rain probability for both days is not what you’re looking for driving the most difficult track on earth. This race weekend we had the first six guest of our season. They were part of the team on Saturday for the race and guests on the passenger seat in the training on Friday. On Friday afternoon dark clouds covered the sky and it started to rain. We fitted rain tires on the Aston and our guests received racing suits and helmets for the exciting wet ride through the ‘green hell’, as for the Nürburgring’s nick name given by Jackie Stewart. The temperatures were around 5 degrees with heavy rain and it was difficult to get the tires up to temperature. The guest taxi ride in the cold wet was around thirteen minutes long instead of the usual ten minutes per lap. After ninety minutes we drove all guest fast and safely around the track and were ready for the group shot you see here with seven happy faces. Now it was time to get the car to the technical check for the race the day after.
On Saturday morning for the qualifying the weather had not improved. We decided to do only two laps per driver to keep the car safe and undamaged for the race. Both Andy and Ronny completed the two laps without issues. Two hours later for the start procedure it was communicated that two introduction laps instead of one will be driven. The temperature was still at five degrees and it rained. Furthermore it had fog on different parts of the track to block visibility.
Already the introduction laps posed a difficulty to some drivers. Ronny noted a badly damaged Peugeot 308 and less damaged Mercedes SLS and Porsche 911 cup. After these two very slow laps the race was released. “I was astonished how well the drivers behaved on the track and looked after each other, as I’ve rarely had a yellow phase in the first seven laps”, said Ronny after his first stint. It was Ronny’s first real wet race and therefore he took it on carefully. “It was very difficult for me to drive the car faster in the wet. I was just lacking the grip needed. We need to work on the setup of the car for these conditions to improve our lap times”, said Ronny after the race.
After seven laps Ronny handed the Aston to Andy who should drive the middle stint. “After one wet lap the track quickly dried and I improved my lap time by one minute. After the start finish line the steering suddenly became stiff and I spun on the GP track. I noticed that something is wrong and carefully finished the lap and drove into the pit”, said Andy Sammers after three laps. The problem was identified but it was not possible to exchange the part quickly during the race. The servo pump failed to operate and without the servo it was not possible to complete the race. “We have a great deal of work ahead of us, luckily we have almost eight weeks between now and the next race due to the 24 hours race”, so the conclusion of Andy Sammers.
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