Germany (June 10, 2007)
Nissan Germany introduced the Nissan Fairlady Z (350Z in Europe) to the worldfs greatest touring car endurance race, the 'ADAC Zurich 24-Rennen', or as it's more commonly known, the '24 hours of the Nurburgring', the 35th running of which was held from June 7th to 10th at the Nurburgring circuit in central western Germany. Of the 219 cars entered, the 350Z started 29th after qualifying, reaching 19th at one point in the race. However, the car began to develop engine trouble later on in the event, leading to overheating and eventual retirement from the race.
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The 24 Hours of the Nurburgring is an annual endurance race for touring cars, and has been taking place for the last 35 years. More than 200 cars come from around the world, many from within Europe, but some from even farther a field. The Nurburgring is an 80 year-old circuit built in the Eifel Mountains and the race takes place using either the GP circuit that was used in Formula One and the traditional Nordschleife; or the old course. The total length of the track is 25.378km/lap, with the high speed and unique Nordschleife featuring approximately 180 corners and a 300 meter elevation gap, vertical blind corners, jumping points which literally lift the car off the track, and banked hairpins. The track is known as a testing ground for many auto manufactures to determine their cars' handling. The drastic changes of the mountain weather add some extra flavor, making the track even more difficult to conquer.
The event is also a summer highlight in the area, many people coming together around the circuit, camping as they watch the race. The number of fans enjoying the weekend over beer, barbeques, loud music and the excitement on track was over 210,000 in total.
For this year's 24-hour race, Nissan Germany joined forces with the car magazine 'Auto Zeitung' and had the car built at RJN Motorsport in England, based on the 350 Z. In February, the car completed a shakedown test in the UK and then joined the 4-hour test sessions held in April and May on the Nordschleife as an extra safety measure. RJN Motorsport is a motorsports- and car-tuning company established by Bob Neville, previously a staff member at Nissan Motorsport Europe. The company was founded in 2000, and has participated in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) and the Dakar rally. This 350Z complies with the GT4 category of the FIA. It is significant that very few modifications are allowed, and it is obvious that the car is very close to being a production car. The level of displacement falls into the SP6 category which is 3001 - 3500cc.
The team of drivers consisted of veteran Luxemburg driver Kurt Thiim, who is known in Japan for making a one-off entry in the JGTC with a Skyline GT-R; and 3 German drivers, Nicole Luttecke, Holger Eckhardt and Tim Schrick.
The first qualifying session was held from 10 to 12 on the morning of the 8th, when the temperature was around 23 - 24Ž. The 350Z recorded an acceptable lap time of 9f57h621 - 39th overall and 8th in class. After a 5 and a half-hour interval, the second session started, running from 7:30 to 11:30pm. The track surface had cooled down and each team set out to score their best times. The real heat began after 10pm as the sun finally set and the top teams started setting their grid times. The 350Z had improved a lot when they scored a 9'34"762, landing the crew 29th overall and 5th in class. This marked a good start for the 24 hours that lay ahead the next day.
On race day, more than 200 cars set out at 10am, the teams pushing them onto the grid. Only 20 minutes before the start of formation lap however, the sky suddenly got dark and some thunderous rain with hail interrupted the starting procedure. The rain stopped about an hour later, with the formation lap starting on the wet track. To confirm the condition of the track, there were two formation laps, and at 4:51pm, the race started - almost 2 hours after the originally scheduled start time.
By the time the race started, the rain was letting up and the track had begun to dry. The pit lane was in chaos when so many cars decided to return to the pits to change tires after finishing 3 to 5 laps. One hour after the race started, the 350Z had dropped to 47th position overall, (9th in class) but gradually moved up to its original position. fter 3 hours, it had reached 33rd place, and was 30th after 7 hours. By the nine-hour mark, the car was 19th overall (4th in class), though many cars were in the pits getting repairs by this time. However, in the middle of the night (at 3:54am to be precise) when the car was 22nd overall and 3rd in class, heavy fog forced the race to be red flagged. Supposedly, it was this delay that caused the engine to overheat.
The team then exchanged the engine gasket and prepared for the restart. As the sun came out and completely cleared the sky, the race was restarted at 9:39 am, after a nearly six-hour interval. The 350Z was now 20th. However, by the time the car returned to the pits in the afternoon on lap 69, the engine was in serious condition. The team decided that it couldn't take any further damage and withdrew from the competition. Only a few hours from the checkered flag at 4:51pm, the car retired. Still, it was a very fruitful accomplishment for both the team and the drivers. The fact that the car had shown the potential to drive within the top 20 against competition from all the other racecars present was very satisfying, particularly as the 350Z was so very close to being a normal-spec production car.
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