2009.05.29
Nurburgring 24 Hour Race
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May 24th, Nurburgring (Germany) The new Nissan 370Z, campaigned by Nissan Germany and a local media team, and the Falken Motorsports Fairlady Z (Z33, 380RS-C) from Japan, raced in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on May 23rd through 24th. In this grueling event which saw 52 of the 170 participating cars (more than 30%) retire, Nissan Germany's all-new 370Z overcame a variety of troubles to finish sixth in the SP6 class (113th overall). Meanwhile, the Falken Motorsports' Fairlady Z left its own mark, finishing fourth in the SP7 class (11th overall).
The 24 Hours of the Nürburgring is contested on a circuit consisting of intense ups and downs, run on a track connecting the Nordschleife ("North Loop"), built in 1927, and the modern grand prix circuit, stretching to 25.378 kilometres in a single lap. Nearly 200 touring cars, heavily modified from commercially available machines, compete in this, the world's most grueling endurance race. This year marks the 37th running of the race since its first inception in 1970. For this event, NISSAN Germany and the German magazine "Auto Zeitung" teamed up to sponsor the newest 370Z, built by the British RJN Motorsport squad. Driven by former Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) champion Kurt Thiim (Germany), editor of Auto Zeitung Holger Eckhardt (Germany), racing driver Alex Buncombe (Great Britain), and anchorman of the German television show "Grip" Matthias Malmedie, the yellow 370Z debuted in a four-hour endurance race at the same location on May 2nd. Improvements were subsequently made to the car in preparation for the challenge of this 24-hour race. In qualifying, held on the 21st and 22nd, the 370Z finished in good standing, taking fourth among 10 cars (42nd overall) in the SP6 class (for cars with engine displacements of 3001-3500cc). The 24-hour race began at 4:00pm on the 23rd and proceeded in mostly dry conditions, despite a sprinkling of rain overnight. Seven hours into the race, while running well at about 11pm, the 370Z advanced as far as 2nd in its class (36th overall). However, the car crashed on the grand prix circuit at just after 2:00am. Repairs were carried out on the damaged body and suspension, but trouble with the drive system forced it into an extended pitstop, which lasted until morning. However, due to the heroic effort of the team, it returned to the track for the final stages of the race, taking the checkered flag sixth in its class. The Falken Motorsports' Fairlady Z (Peter Dumbreck, Tetsuya Tanaka, Kazuki Hoshino, Dirk Schoysman) started ninth in the SP7 class (for cars with engine displacements of 3501-4000cc), 39th overall. It ran without any particular problems, finishing and taking the flag 4th in class (11th overall). In addition, the privately entered (Italian) Lanza Motorsports' 350Z, reached the goal fourth in the SP10 GT4 class (114th overall), despite trouble with the car. A 350Z entered by a German team retired in the final stages of the race. |
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NISSAN MOTORSPORTS |
