Experience is one of the most important factors at the ‘Green Hell’. This was this year once again underlined in a very impressive way at the ADAC Zurich 24h Race by a number of teams from the VLN endurance racing championship Nürburgring. 16 out of 20 class wins were scored by drivers and cars which have their home in the most popular grassroots series in Europe. The fight about the overall victory was of course in the main focus of the event and with Phoenix Racing, Black Falcon and ROWE racing all of the top three teams belong to the regular participants in the endurance racing championship since many years. There is the saying that the next race begins right after the end of the previous one. And indeed, the teams will this year not have much time to rest. Only 13 days after the marathon race in the Eifel, the action continues at the Nordschleife. The calendar includes the 54th ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen, the fifth round of the season.
It was not possible to beat the VLN teams in the decisive and highly competitive classes at the 24h Race. VLN teams in the two Cup classes of BMW and Opel thus finished on top of the podium, just as in all classes of VLN production cars (V2T-V6). In the group of 24h Specials, the winning trophies went to endurance racing participants in classes SP3 and SP3T as well as in classes SP5 to SP-Pro. “As VLN, we are very proud of the successful performances of our teams but, on the other hand, this is not a too big surprise”, says VLN Chairman Rolf Krimpmann. “Because who should be able to beat our boys and girls? The VLN teams are really dominating at the ‘Green Hell’ and there is no need for them to fear any of the international competitors.”
With the conclusion of the first half of the season, a maybe calmer, but not less thrilling and exciting phase now starts in the VLN endurance racing championship at the Nürburgring. Some teams used the VLN races as a perfect test possibility in their preparation of the 24h Race. Moreover, the usual car-and-mouse game around the ‘Balance of Performance’ was of course going on. For the remainder of the year, this has now gone down in history. Six more VLN victories can be gained in 2014 and the run on the top positions will now start amongst the regular VLN starters. The quality on the starting grid will definitely not be impaired by the missing 24h starters. “We are well aware that some teams which are for example not able to compete in the complete VLN season for reasons of budget prefer the rounds after the 24h Race”, explains Krimpmann. “Our fans can thus look forward to a lot of entertainment on the track and to first-class motorsport during the second half of the season.”
