One of the most anticipated endurance races every year is the thrilling 24 Hours of Nurburgring, and luckily, we’ll be witnessing the 2013 edition of the race firsthand this weekend.
At the Nurburgring 24H, drivers will have to cover a distance of over 25 kilometers per lap – 5.1 kilometers on the Grand Prix circuit and 20.8 kilometers on the Nordschleife – so multiply that number by around 150 laps and you get more than 3700 kilometers, which equates to more than half a Formula 1 season; and we only speak of the race, without mentioning practice and qualifying.
What makes the event so special though, is the presence of more than 200 cars on the starting grid, ranging from small Volkswagen Golfs and Renault Clios to much faster Audi R8s and Porsche 911 GT3s; what’s even more cool is that spectators are able to wander through the paddock throughout the weekend, they are also allowed to see the cars up close and touch them.
The team to look out for this year is Team Schubert; equipped with a very strong driver lineup and two BMW Z4 GT3s, the team has got what it takes to fight for overall victory against last year’s winning Audi. Team Schubert’s best result at the event came in 2010 with a 4th overall; they also previously won the diesel class in 2006 and 2007.
Team Schubert’s driver lineup for 2013 consists of Claudia Hurtgen, Dirk Adorf, 2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk and Jens Klingmann in the #20 Z4 GT3, in addition to Jörg and Dirk Müller, Uwe Alzen and Augusto Farfus in the #19 car.
The presence of seven-times Formula 1 World Champion Micheal Schumacher will surely add up to the event’s excitement; Schumacher will drive a Mercedes AMG F1 W02 car on the Nordschleife just before the 24-hour race kicks off.
Practice and Qualifying sessions are scheduled between today (17th of May) and tomorrow, while the race inaugurates on Sunday afternoon and ends at the exact same time on Monday.
