One-two victory taken by the “bread and roll Clio”: Karl Brinker of the Ring-Racing team finished the third round of the New Renault Clio Cup at the Nürburgring Nordschleife into first place and was also honoured as class winner in SP3 of the BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft. His team mates Jean-Jacques Meyer and Elöd Szarka followed into second position and the trio Michael Trick, Gunther Gühne and Werner Gloyna behind in third place of the Clio-Cup classification.
There was no answer to the performance shown by Ring-Racing driver Karl Brinker at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The master baker from Herne showed had a perfect race finishing first in class SP3 and brought his first victory in the New Renault Clio Cup home. He was shown on position 47 in the overall classification of this endurance race with 200 cars at the start. His team mates Jean-Jacques Meyer and Elöd Szarka completed the team’s success with their second place in the Clio-Cup classification and with third position in class SP3.
The Ring-Racing team celebrated Brinker as the “fastest bread and roll in the Eifel region”. “The race was totally unspectacular, partly it was even a little boring”, said Brinker after the race. “But the result this time was perfect, finally”, added the Clio driver happily. Enthusiastic was also Jean-Jacques Meyer who shared the cockpit with Elöd Szarka from Karlsruhe for the first time. “A brilliant race”, said Meyer gladly.
An excellent third place in the New Renault Clio Cup scored Clio drivers Michael Trick, Gunther Gühne and Werner Gloyna, managed by Reinhard Sesterheim. Elmar Jurek and Jannik Olivio were running second for a long time but then experienced bad luck when their race through the Green Hell was stopped due a technical failure. A suspension screw of the Clio had broken away. „All of a sudden there was a blow and that was it. I saw myself sliding against a wall but the car stopped just before it”, explains Elmar Jurek, the great fan of the Nordschleife who lives in Berlin. So much the worse, as he had already gained an advance of six minutes and was getting closer and closer to Karl Brinker. A big disappointment also for his team mate Jannik Olivio who did not even have a chance to drive in the race due to the early retirement.
Clio drivers Knut Wolf and Arnold Höppe had to drop out already during the morning practice. “That is pretty annoying. The car was running perfectly but I then came onto some oil in a fast lap and crashed into the guardrails. The right wheel broke away and there was not enough time for repair until the start of the race”, said Knut Wolf of the Schlaug team disappointed. For the second Clio of the team managed by motor sport expert Schlaug from the Westerwald region, too, the race finished early. Dutchman Marco von Roon, who on the spur of the moment decided to start as single driver in the Clio RS, rolled his car but made it fortunately without bodily injury. At the beginning of the section of Metzgersfeld, his car went off the track without third part fault. An early retirement experienced also Clio drivers Felix Schmitt and Marc Hurler.
All motor sportsmen are now looking forward to the 24h Race at the Green Hell which will take place from 20th to 24th May at the Nürburgring and for which Renault Motorsport will bring about 100 spectacular touring cars from five decades into the Eifel region. The Renault Race Festival will start before the classical 24 Hour Race for which about 200.000 spectators are expected to come.
The next round of the BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft is then scheduled for 16th of June. Renault MotorSport invites again to the Renault Lounge for a Get-together to take place from 6 p.m. on the evening before the race.
