SpeedHunters has looked at the top ten qualifiers for the race but before the action starts in earnest it is I think appropriate to have a quick snapshot of some of the other cars that will be out on the track this weekend.
The weather right now is beautiful, sunshine with a little breeze, almost perfect. Of course this being in the Eifel region, things can change almost in the blink of an eye. So just as a reminder to myself to pack the waterproofs here is the Japanese BMW M3 sailing along on Thursday night.
In complete contrast and a good representation of how things look right now we have an Aston Martin N24 entering the Caracciola-Karussell.
Not all cars are Porsches, BMWs or even Audis. Vulkan Racing bravely bring out their Dodge Viper GT3 to wrestle it around the Nordschleife.
And not all cars are shall we say, current. A Mercedes Benz 190E EVO2 from the 1980's is probably not the most obvious weapon of choice but here it is, setting the 123rd best time during Thursday and Friday.
And other cars are based on pretty standard road models, it does not get more standard than a Toyota Corolla, this one all the way from Australia.
The President of Toyota is not the only senior executive from a motor manufacturer racing in the 24. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg is Volkswagen's Technical Development Director and is here in a VW Scirocco GT24-CNG. This is powered by compressed natural gas version of a two litre petrol engine.
VW have three petrol engined Scirocco GT24s to join their CNG pair, making a significant effort in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, perhaps this will mark the start of a bigger involvement in motorsport from the German giant.
Far away from the factory ethos is this beautiful Porsche 993 Cup……………………
Out in the country, amongst the thousands camping is a Nissan 350Z, being chased by a Scirocco and an R8.
Another motor industry CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez, of Aston Martin in his V8 Vantage N24.
Executive express, Mercedes Benz SLK 350.
Back in the rain, a BMW M3 GTR.
On to the banking, a pair of BMWs.
More humble origins, a local team runs two Ford Mondeos.
The wing on this Honda S2000 is not standard………………….I wonder if it works.
Honda Civic Type-R.
Up the hill, Porsches chase the Alpina B6.
BMW Team Hungary's 120d.
Only one Mini Cooper in the race.
Former Ferrari Grand Prix star, Arturo Merzario, races this Nissan 350Z with a few Italian mates.
A full factory effort from Nissan with this Z33.
Heavy traffic, a narrow circuit, a big crowd, rain and sun……..yes it's the 2009 Nurburgring 24 Hours.
More later……………
John Brooks
That first snap of the BMW in the rain is SO sick!!!
Where are the LF-A's?
A rain storm should show up later on. It would make for some beautiful pictures. Nothing comapres to the Nordschliefe at night in the rain.
The LF-As are are not even in the top 30 right now. Thankfully, Volkswagen Motorsport's Sciroccos are hanging in there with the GT3s. The Germans can build proper drivers cars and they don't need to be dyno queens to pull of a good lap time. Superior engineering always wins out.
Alot of American cars are hanging in there as well. Wish them luck.
Unfortunately the S2000 was passed by its own wheel while breaking...
Btw is there a way to see more rankings than the top 30 from the live section ?
lets get thos LF-As dialed in! hahah
Not like the Japanese dont know how to make engine! come on, Some of the German makes lost some of there so called reliability they used to famous for.
I quite agree with the dyno thing though, its on the Realworld/road track that counts in the end!.
WTF is wrong with the guys that designed the wing on that S2000?! That's FUGLY AS HELL!
Yes, I am sure they pulled a Red Green-job for downforce so it could look pretty, Mr. JDM Tyte.
One of my goals in life is to drive on this course...
Does anyone have any links for streaming? pictures?
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the s2000 is actually rocking a powerhouse amuse aero kit ... minus the wing of course haha
I would love to see Lexus LF-A.
the best from Lexus
@ Naga_Ten:
Yes that wing is ugly, I agree...but what do you know about aerodynamic? Did you see THIS specific S2K in the wind tunnel doing test with the wing? Let's stop assuming is not working here.
BTW, whoever the owner is, this S2K sports a full Amuse dry carbon fiber body kit. Before going out and spend thousand of bucks on a body kit like that I'm sure he did his homework.
S2000 with Amuse GT1 kit.. Yes!!!!! I so want to go to this race one year...
i want that BEEMER!!! that photo is rad!
Nice pic!
But where is the Subaru?
For streaming... I think this link works.
http://wige-iptv.com/cms/livecast/24h/live3-4.asx
@ Lieze
I believe a beemer is a BMW motorcycle. "Bimmer" would be the correct term. Finally all those years of reading Roundel pays off.
Goes to show there's nothing like 24hours at the Nurburgring. How many different engine sounds are you going to hear? Almost unbelievable!
Seaninc, Lieze - while that maybe the case in America, BMW cars are known as Beemer's or BM in UK. I hadn't heard of a 'Bimmer' until I moved to the States...and I've owned a few
wige-iptv.com stream works great, use vlc
+1 internets Alfonzo
superb photography. >:D
im lovin this coverage.
That isn't an M3 GT-R in that rain shot. As far as I know the normal E9X chassis hasn't been used for a GT-R yet, and if BMW's history proves to continue they'll end up using the M platfrom E9X chassis instead of a normal 3 series.