Romain Dumas’ first Nürburgring 24 Hours

  This year Romain Dumas wanted to take part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. He is entered by Manthey Racing with Timo Bernhard, Marc Lieb and Marcel Tiemann as co-drivers. Four Porsche drivers in a car that is heavily supported by the factory in Stuttgart. The three VLN championship races that Romain competed in over the last two months have served to identify the car’s weak points. Its aerodynamics have been modified in line with the factories recommendations. Michelin has tested various specifications of tyre in order to find one best suited to the particular requirements of the Nordschleife.

Good drivers, a good car and a good team. Three positive criteria.  Would it be enough to guarantee victory? Of course not, as many other factors can affect the result at any moment. Weather, the other competitors, mechanical reliability, tiredness and the drivers’ attitude, yellow flags and other interruptions to the race can completely alter the established order but that is fate and the attraction of all long-distance racing where nothing is guaranteed.

The Team. It’s the one that won the race last year. In 2006 the Manthey Racing Porsche started from pole and was in the leadafter the first round of fuel stops. It maintained the lead until the chequered flag, smashing the distance record, covering 3882.078 kms in 24 hours. This year the team had a few problems in the early rounds of the German VLN series and had to re-think, modifying the car according to Porsche’s advice and fine-tuning its pit-stops and driver changes. They also had to take into consideration the other, no-less successful teams entered this year in the 24 Hour race. Just to mention a few, Zakspeed Racing with its two GTS-R Vipers, the Aston Martin DBRS of Phoenix Racing,  Hankook H& R’s Porsche Cayman and the Porsche GT3 entered by Land-Motorsport which had made life difficult for the Manthey team in the VLN races leading up to the 24 Hours.  
The Car. A Porsche 997 RSR prepared  especially for this event.  The four drivers at the wheel will have all the means to counter every move made by their competitors on the track, with over 220 cars entered this year.  That’s less than in 2006  (270 cars at the start and 220 at the finish) but it will still be a delicate operation negotiating the traffic around the track. The Porsche 997 will carry the number 1 and is painted in yellow and green which will make it fairly easy to recognise amongst all the other cars.

The Drivers. Timo Bernhard, the driver who won the event in 2006 has for long been Romain’s co-driver in the ALMS. Marc Lieb has also driven alongside Romain in the ALMS and they know each other well. Marcel Tiemann for his part, has won the Nürburgring 24 Hours three times in ten years, so he knows all the pitfalls and tricks of this event. For Romain, this is his first time he will have competed in this mythical race. With Timo, he won the last round of the VLN series on this circuit. Faced such a special environment, the Porsche driver’s ability to adapt was severely tested. And as usual, Romain knew how to turn every difficulty to his advantage on every occasion. It might not have been evident, but he got to know the circuit, the traffic, the conditions, the tyres and most of all, he took a certain pleasure and had fun driving in those conditions. But he has still not driven any laps in the dark around the Nordschleife. Among the other drivers, some better known than others, entered this year are the Alzen brothers, tom Coronel, Christophe Bouchut, Klaus Ludwig, Marcel Fässler, Robert Lechner, Marc Basseng, Pierre Kaffer, Franck Stippler, Marino Franchitti and Peter Dumbreck. Several of them will also, like Romain, be competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours the following weekend. Click here for the full entry list

 The Nordschleife. It’s a very long lap, more than 22 kms in length. The track is set in the relief of the Eiffel tableland which one could call the German Ardennes. It has more than 70 corners, which will be more-or-less difficult to negotiate, depending on the traffic encountered.
The weather.  It will play an important role if it deteriates during the race.     


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