After the triumphant performance of the Aston Martin crew in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the British team’s pilots will resume the struggle in the WEC championship.
It’s been almost a month since the Aston Martin race car in the hands of Darren Turner, Jonathan Adam, and Daniel Serra was the first in the LMGTE Pro class to see the checkered flag at the finish line of the most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The WEC championship declared a long break after completing such a grueling distance, but this weekend sports cars once again line up at the start of the next race. The fourth round of the endurance competition will take place at the legendary Nurburgring racetrack.
The Circuit
This truly unique track turned 90 this May. Over its history, the Nurburgring has hosted more than 800 different starts, which is the absolute record among all existing tracks. German fans call Nurburgring the home of European racing, and it’s impossible not to agree.
From its very beginning up to 2007, it was considered to be one of the most difficult Formula 1 tracks. In addition to the German Grand Prix, Nurenburgring repeatedly hosted the European Grand Prix, and at the end of the 90s it served twice as the home stage for the Luxembourg Grand Prix, which is just a stone’s throw away – it’s only 65 kilometers to the border of the Grand Duchy.
However, Formula 1 left this famous racing circuit in 2007 in favor of Hockenheimring, which is located in Germany’s industrial region between the cities of Mannheim and Karlsruhe.
This decision of the “royal races” allowed the legendary Nurenburgring to be used actively for touring car championships such as WEC (which Aston Martin is competing in) and DTM (a prestigious touring car series).
In addition, the track’s outdated (“long”) configuration now offers anyone the chance to feel like a real pilot – for a symbolic 25 euros, anyone can rent a sportcar here and take it around the 20-kilometer ring.
The Race
Since 1970, professionals and amateurs from around the world have been gathering here during the 24 Hours of Nurenburgring in order to test their endurance and their race cars. However, this marathon was restricted to just amateur teams a few years back, and professional drivers focused on a shorter version lasting 6 hours.
Needless to say, such an insignificant distance for an endurance championship virtually eliminates the possibility of even the slightest error. In addition, the current configuration of the German track leaves minimal opportunities for passing, unless we are talking about the two straights between the Coca Cola/Castrol turns and the Kumho-Michael Schumacher chicane.
As acknowledged by Jean Todt, ex-director of the Ferrari F1 team and one of the most authoritative experts in the world of racing, winning at the Nurenburgring requires German precision for maximum accuracy when passing each chicane and every turn on this tricky racetrack.
As for the race weekend program, it will follow the traditional scenario: qualification races will be held on Saturday July 15th, and on the 16th we will witness the fourth round of the WEC championship.
Prospects for Aston Martin
After the British team’s fantastic success at Le Mans, fans may hope for a repeat performance at Nurenburgring. The setback at the beginning of the WEC championship is far behind them, and now the team has a chance to improve their position in the overall standings. To do it, they’ll have to once again push the Aston Martin GTE to the max in Germany.
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