RPR Racing strategy brings success in a challenging VLN #5

Typical Eifel weather conditions is no concern for Einstein's experienced drivers.

5 July 2014

...but first, Destination-Nürburgring #10 (DN10)

Its not that the lads are competitive or anything, but Carsten and MC have snuck in a few extra days practise in Einstein by volunteering to help out with the lads from Mission Motorsport – if you haven’t heard of them, its one of the most worthwhile UK charities you might happen across (check out www.missionmotorsport.org) as it actually takes practical steps to rehabilitate badly-injured soldiers: guys who have put their lives on the line for all of us; into normal jobs in civilian life through motorsport. Plug over – for a couple of days mid-week, just before VLN 5.

“Carsten, where are you? There’s a briefing session at 1630hrs, and you need to sign on.” “I’ve just left RPR”, Carsten responds. He’s beginning to get MC’s approach to documentation, you see. No problems, says MC, I’ll fix. He also confirms that we can park the truck at T13 and use that as our base instead of the Grunne Holle entrance, hopefully less-crowded. Well, it would be if a bunch of Italians hadn’t parked their transporter, about ten cars between five of them, a truck and a socking great awning on about a third of T13. Many entreaties have no impact, and the transporter remains there for the whole two days: thanks chaps.

Its two days of beautiful weather which see MC sneaking straight from the shade of the transporter into the car and back again; and Carsten going first red, then rather brown in the sun. The second order of activity, after helping the lads with hot laps in Einstein and the Hungry Hornet and instructing them in one of Mission’s MX5s, is to test different springs on the rear of Einstein. Out go the softer springs, in go some shiny new 100kg springs. Even with a passenger on board, this is a big upgrade. The rear wing is backed off, then backed off again, so its completely level; the new set up has Carsten grinning like a Cheshire Cat – even from his body language in the car, you can tell that he trusts the set up in a way that he hasn’t to date. Danny drops by for a few laps in HH and a passenger lap with MC in Einstein, but the hoped-for drive in Einstein isn’t to be: just as he’s strapped in and ready to go, the red flags come out for another smash. Its been a very worthwhile two days. We choose to skip the test session on the Friday evening: free practise is one of those great misnomers – its anything but free.

Friday

Friday night, pizza night translates into Friday night, documentation night at the Nürburgring. However, without the practise session, there’s plenty of time, so Carsten is saved his usual heart attacks with MC’s casual approach to documents. All signed up, except Einar, who is still in the Netherlands when the drivers’ briefing starts. Mercifully, its very brief, as Germany is playing France at football; and we are all excused for the evening.

Once that’s over, the boys set into checking the car over thoroughly, new pads, check geometry and general TLC. Michael is looking rather feverish, so MC prescribes a brew of whisky, sugar, lemon juice, ibuprofen and hot water. Feels a bit kill-or-cure to the rest of us. Einar arrives, having had a traffic-ridden journey from the Netherlands and starts moving the camera across from the Hungry Hornet: you can never have too much data….

Saturday

It’s a grey morning at a grey Nürburgring; and quite a bit cooler than the night before. There’s talk of rain, and teams crowd around computer screens trying to work out the unpredictable weather. Michael appears looking a lot more sprightly having broadly follows our team quack’s direction. Good lad.

Qualifying

Under Tom’s calm direction, the team’s tradition of being ready 15 minutes into the session is failing: Carsten is strapped in, engine running and ready to rock and roll when the pit lane light turns green. He’s also overridden the usual Chinese Parliament, Mao-style, and decided the order: good man. There’s a monumental queue; everyone seems to have decided that it might rain later, so all want to bank a lap. CO is on used slicks, with a target to get the car warm and checked for a few GP laps, then bank a lap for us as well.

CO looks pretty happy when he leaps out. The car’s feeling good, he’s feeling happy and he got a decent clean lap in. ET is dragged kicking and screaming from the laptop he has installed in the pits and told to helmet up & get in the car. He gets one GP lap in and sets off on the big circuit chanting: “the rear is meant to be more lively; the rear is meant to be more lively”; alternating with “Not the Clio braking points; not the Clio braking points”, eventually relaxing into the rhythm of Einstein again. His laps are both spoiled by a double yellow in Flugplatz, where the tattered remains of Mario Merten’s #350 car was being craned onto a Bongard truck. Bonked Bonk on Bongard, no less.

ET comes in to find the GT40 parked particularly considerately and we have to manoeuvre Einstein around to get to the fuel pump. Fresh hot tyres go on; the tank is filled and MC sent out. Two GP laps are needed to warm the tyres enough to kill the juddering of cold tyres, and he’s off on the Nordschleife. Hello Mr. Understeer, where have you come from? The back is more mobile, but sadly, so is the front – away from the apex. An RSR barges past into Aremberg and promptly parks itself in the scenery at Adenau Forst – can’t fault him for testing the limits I guess? Balked by a 3-series heading up to Kesselchen allows the Lubner Astra to close up and pass, but MC hangs on gamely, watching the Lubner car flick into corners as he eases the car into each corner. He stays out for a second lap and catches our old friend the Sing SLK exiting Hatzenbach and spends the rest of the lap until Dottinge Hohe staring at his tailpipes. As the duo exit Galgenkopf, the Camp David Astra is ahead: 404’s superior speed allows him to drift past, but MC can’t quite stay with 404, so follows the Camp David car into the compression (haven’t we been here before boys, or somewhere like it). Caution has clearly increased and the leading Astra brakes entering the right kink into Tiergarten taking MC by surprise. He stands on the anchors and the newly mobile back end joins in, waving the car from side to side. Its not pretty, but he gets the car stopped in time and crosses the line in a 9:35.

It’s a frustrated MC that gets out of the car. The front tyres turn out to have been way over pressure at 2.3-2.4 bar, so the understeer is easily explained, but no less irritating. A 9:31 would have been possible, but the understeer cost a lost of time. Exit traction is better than before, even with the over pressure, so the set up is an improvement, but we won’t really see how much until we see a clean lap on fresh correctly-pressured tyres. Need to sort that properly, boys!

Race

The weather forecasts prove remarkably accurate at around 1100hrs, the first drops start to fall. It’s not heavy; perfectly judged to be enough to worry a driver, but not enough for rain tyres. Another Chinese Parliament and the drivers decide to opt for cut slicks, so as to make sure that the tyres don’t cool off.

ET has been sitting in the car for quite a while before the tannoy comes to life and states the blindingly obvious: the race start is delayed. Much misinformation and rumour follows but it turns out that there are two main causes: firstly the repairs to the barriers at Flugplatz, where the Bonk car bonked the barriers; but astonishingly 67 cars infringed the double yellows that ensued and its taking the organisers some time to work out the starting grid. That’s nearly half of the entire grid, and is on top of those who infringed the new red line rule at the start of quali… The only other real piece of information to come out for some while after that gem is that the race will still finish at 1600hrs, as there is a kart race to follow the VLN race: it would be too much to think of running that race before the VLN, of course. However, its great news that the organisers are beginning to impose proper sanctions against offenders.

Somewhat sadly, although the entire Cup 1 grid agreed to Bonk’s using their junior car in the race, the DMSB documentation mullahs remain inflexible, so they won’t be able to race. I guess it’s not just us, then - we’ll miss you chaps.

Much later, as in 1348hrs, the first start group moves off. The start procedure involved a lot of shouting and arm waving: almost Italianate. The race will run until 1645hrs and only count half points. ET is happy with the choice of cut slicks, even though most cars are on slicks. Tom’s spies tell us that Brünchen is rather wetter, as is the rest of the lower part of the circuit.

The first start group howls by with a different note to earlier in the season. The GT3 category has been decimated, thankfully; and we are back to the VLN family. Not an SLS to be seen and only a couple of R8s. It’s much better for it. The carnage that ensues at the first corner is entirely familiar, though. Two cars spin; and the double yellows flutter in the strong breeze. MC shouts to Carsten to warn ET of the double yellow, so he is forewarned. The second start group join in the fun and and a few more cars a little further round the Mercedes Arena. Brave-hearted marshals risk life and limb on the track to try and steer cars away from the mess; and then clear it up – the in car video is pretty alarming.

Cut slicks were the right way to go. On the drying track, with dark patches here and there, and much more ominous glistening patches, but a dry line developing as 150 cars lay their power down; ET is feeling confident in the grip he has. A few places were lost in the first corner shuffle, where prudence rightly outweighed bravura. ET is in a group of three Cup 1 Astras all stuck behind the widest V6 Cayman you’ve ever seen. Corner after corner, they try to find a way past for more than a lap, until ET and one of the three slip by and disappear up the road.

What could have been a tricky and testing session turns into effectively a dry one. An R8 soon falls prey to the charging Astra – there’s one to tell the grandchildren if there ever was one – and then ET records a personal best of a 9:34. Great stuff. MC and Tom have a quick discussion about what tyres to use: there’s only one choice, slicks. Soon enough, the team is unwrapping four hot new slicks from the warmers and, after a briefing from the ever-vigilant Tom, gather in the pit lane for the car. ET rolls into the pits, the last of 5 Astras to come down the pitlane together: this is going to be close. “Pit stop race!” MC mutters to Julius, although we know it’s going to be defined by the fuel fill anyway.

The mechanics pounce on the car. ET leaps out and yanks the cushions out after himself (he’s getting pretty well-trained these days), tyres changed, air guns chatter, MC belted up and plugged in, radio checked, torque wrench clicks each wheel nut tight; and then we wait. The Astra’s 97-litre fuel tank takes rather longer to fill than Hungry Hornet’s meagre 55 litres. Tom stands impassively at the front of the car controlling the exit until finally, finally, Einstein’s thirst for fuel is sated; and MC is waved out.

The tyres have cooled off quite a bit, judging by the lack of retardation at the first corner. A 911 wisely gives MC a bit more room, and howls off, while the Astra struggles for traction. A gentle mist of rain is now falling on the GP circuit – as one wag said, you know when it’s summer in the Eifel, the rain is warmer – as MC sets off on the Nordschleife with ET’s briefing “its dry everywhere” in his mind. Coming back towards the pits along Dottinge Hohe for the first time, the mist has hardened into drizzle, which is moving quite quickly across the GP circuit, and a black sheen covers the entire straight. The car drifts worryingly towards the outside of the track as it speeds under the bridge and MC struggles to slow for the right, left combination at Tiergarten.

The whole GP circuit is now a treacherous slick of rain on fresh rubber. Even going entirely off line, there is precious little grip, and MC can see the dry line literally disappearing in front of him. The guardrail on T13 looms ominously close as he enters the Nordschleife again and MC watches a Clio clatter into the barriers at the entry to Hatzenbach, covering the circuit with dirt. Shortly after, a double yellow on the hill up to Mut Kurve speaks to the over exuberance of the Gently Swiss team driver; which remains in place for another two more laps. The rain is moving slowly from the GP circuit east towards Hatzenbach / Flugplatz, changing each lap and varying in intensity.

“Is everything OK with the tyres?” asks Tom after the usual sitrep from Dottinge Hohe; and is met with a briefing on the rest of the circuit and confirmation that slicks are right. The team had been worried that MC had lost 20 seconds to the Astras ahead, but the news of the Clio clattering into the barriers got lost in the static. MC soldiers on through the very tricky conditions, overtaking all manner of cars, and only being passed by the leading few cars; and having a major to and fro with a pair of M235is, who are quicker when the circuit is dry, but less confident when its not.

Yellows start to flutter from the guardrails just as MC exits Hohe Acht on the way down to Wipperman. The Pricon M3 ahead was too ambitious and the ensuing smash has made a real mess of the car and the track. Debris and dirt covers the whole of the first part of Wipperman, so MC carefully follows the tracks of a 911 to avoid a puncture. Although the double yellow is cleared after only one more lap, there is only one narrow line through the dirt in Wipperman for the rest of the race.

A nervous Tom comes on the radio with Carsten to ask about fuel: with no fuel gauge, MC is little help; he complains of understeer again, but Tom simply tells him to bring the car home safely. Back in the pits a furious debate kicks off on whether we need a splash and dash to be able to finish. The debate hadn’t really concluded as the chequered flag comes out, just as MC comes on the radio to ask how many more laps left: he’s been concentrating so hard that he’s lost count completely.

The Astra is one of the first into parc fermé; and is left with the engine running and the bonnet up to allow the turbo to cool for a while. Its been very difficult conditions, so the team are all pleased with a finish; and look forward to VLN 6 in August.

Big thanks to all track-side photographers (your watermarks have been preserved), in particular Patrick Funk (vln-pix.de) and Marcel Duck (MD-Freizeitfotos.de). A special thanks goes to Selda Schretzmann (HIGHSPEED-IMAGES.COM) for fantastic pictures for this report!