One of the most manic races in the European calendar is the Nürburgring 24-hour race. Peter Dumbreck will be driving the Falken new Porsche 997GT3 R at this year’s Nürburgring 24-hour race.
In an exclusive interview, Dumbreck commented on the race, and the Falken Porsche he will be driving. “Nürburgring is a more much relaxed and fun event than Le Mans. The atmosphere is much more friendly and the fans in the forest are night seem to have a good time. From the racing side, our car should be right at the sharp end of the grid so me dealing with traffic is very different to my recent races in the GT2 Spyker.
Porsche 997GT3 R
At Le Mans, the prototypes can be double our speed and you are constantly wary of them whereas at Nürburgring, it’s the (Renault) Clios and older cars that we have to thread our way by. With around 200 cars on track, it can be busy and nowadays with many factory cars the pace is hot so we have to be on it from the start.
“I think it is more of a family event too and it’s great they have kept the atmosphere as it has grown. They are also keeping things fair between the professional teams and the amateurs too. For instance, we all have to queue for pump fuel which is dispensed at similar rate to a regular petrol station. So we can be queuing there but it means there is less rush for putting belts on and getting settled in the car.”
What are your impressions after driving the car? “Very driver friendly and predictable. The rear is very stable even over some of the jumps. I looked down at Flugplatz to see we are doing over 200 km/h, that’s quick enough through there and the car feels good. The ABS is also really good; it’s subtle and really inspires confidence. For less experienced drivers it enables you to go harder into the corner, something that’s important in the Porsche. You can flat shift with the sequential box too, with an auto blip on downshifts, it all helps and prevents risks of locking the rears or miss-shifting.”
The ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race at the Nürburgring has been held on the around 25 km long combination of the Nordschleife and Grand-Prix track since 1970. The route length makes a field of more than two hundred vehicles possible, which are driven by up to around 700 drivers, who take the wheel in shifts. Due to the large starting field and more than 200,000 fans along the track, the race is regarded by some as the largest motor sports event in the world. In 2011, it will be held from the 23rd to 26th June.
