The team of BMW Motorsport finished third at the opening race of the 2010 VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Augusto Farfus, Uwe Alzen and Pedro Lamy had a perfect race in their BMW M3 GT2 with start number 742 and were rewarded with a place on the podium. Their team mates Dirk Werner, Dirk Müller and Dirk Adorf in contrast had to finish the race with their BMW M3 GT2 with start number 743 after two laps already due to a damage of the power steering which could not be repaired.
The new BMW Z4 GT3 had a good start at the Nordschleife: Start number 91 entered by Schubert Motorsport – amongst others driven by BMW works driver Jörn Müller – finished the race into ninth overall position. The second BMW Z4 GT3 became eleventh.
Charly Lamm (team manager): „It is great to be back at the Nordschleife. Today, we could see again how exciting the races are here at this unique track. I consider our results of course with mixed feelings. The BMW M3 GT2 with start number 743 had to retire early due to a damage in the hydraulic steering system. The car with number 742, however, has shown that we get on very well here also with the BMW M3 GT2. After the adverse weather conditions of yesterday, the race was dry and our Dunlop tyres have worked very well under these conditions.”
Augusto Farfus (start number 742): ”It is a great feeling to be on the podium here at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Our target for this weekend was to drive as many kilometres as possible and to learn a lot and we succeeded in doing so with our car. Our competitors, though, have also shown their potential. We must carry on with our work to be well prepared for the 24 Hour Race.”
Uwe Alzen (start number 742): “It was great fun today. My start was ok although I had to let a few cars pass. My tyres then got the right temperature and I could fully attack – almost like in a sprint race. I managed to close up to the top and to be in second position when I changed the steering wheel to Pedro Lamy. There is nevertheless still a lot of work to do until the 24 Hour Race. The kick-off today was however promising. It is great to be on the podium right at the first participation.”
Pedro Lamy (start number 742): “My stint was all right. There are always a lot of yellow flags and incidents on this track. As a driver, you then think that you loose much time. But the others are as well affected. For me, the race weekend was perfect to get used again to the Nordschleife and to the car. I was driving in the dry and in the rain as well and I learned a lot. I found my pace again very quickly.”
Dirk Werner (start number 743): “The car was running perfectly in the timed practice. We had a relatively relaxing start as the start position is not really that decisive in such a race. My start then was however not really very lucky. A car in front of me slowed down so that I lost some places. I managed nevertheless to move up back into tenth place before unfortunately we had to stop the race. It is really a pity that we could complete two laps only. Each and every kilometre is important regarding the preparation to the 24 Hour Race. Felicitations to Augusto, Uwe and Pedro, they have shown the potential of our cars.”
