Big names at the comeback: When the Volkswagen Golf returns to the legendary 24 Hour Race at the Nürburgring, the well-known Volkswagen drivers such as René Rast and Peter Terting will be joined on the grid by former Formula 1 drivers Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell as well as DTM driver Edoardo Mortara. The spectacular Golf24 with a power output of 440 HP and four-wheel drive will make its racing debut in the \”Green Hell” at the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring this weekend already.
\”We have succeeded in putting together a very strong driver squad for the 24 Hour Race,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. \”With Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell joining our team we have two former Formula 1 drivers competing for us who both have already won the Le Mans 24 Hours. Both competed in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup as Legends in 2010. So it’s fitting well that on occasion of the Golf GTI’s 35th anniversary they compete at the Nordschleife which, just like the GTI itself, is a true legend. Any with our other driver’s crew we are perfectly prepared. They all have plenty of experience on the world’s most demanding race track and they will give everything to show a strong performance at the very much awaited 24 Hour Race.”
Two Volkswagen Scirocco GT24-CNG cars complete the Volkswagen team
In addition to the three Golf24, Volkswagen’s factory commitment includes two Scirocco GT24-CNG cars with which the Wolfsburg-based team celebrated a one-two-three victory in the class of vehicles with alternative power-trains last year. The race cars will be driven by Volkswagen’s Management Board Member Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, who is responsible for the technical development, former DTM driver Vanina Ickx plus journalists Peter Wyss (Automobil Revue) and Bernd Ostmann (auto, motor und sport). The cockpit of the second Scirocco GT24-CNG powered by eco-conscious bio natural gas will be shared by \”Dakar” winners Giniel de Villiers (winner in 2009) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (2011) and the former DTM driver Klaus Niedzwiedz.
Strong mixture: youngster, experienced drivers and legends in the Golf24
Volkswagen will enter three Golf24 race cars at the 24 Hour Race in June. The car with start number 35 will be driven by René Rast, Volkswagen Junior and winner of the 2010 Porsche Supercup, Nicki Thiim, the son of former DTM champion Kurt Thiim, who was successful with Volkswagen at the 24 Hour Race on the Nürburgring, plus the former DTM and World Championship driver Peter Terting, who is a regular member of the Volkswagen 24 Hour team as well. \”I am looking forward to the race because it is an absolute highlight due to its atmosphere and history,” says Rast, who participates in the one-day race in the Eifel region for the second time. \”After I was not able to be at the start in the past two years, it is fantastic to return this year in the Golf24. It is really great fun to drive the car and it was very fast at the first tests.”
The car with start number 135 will be driven by the Swede Fredrik Ekblom and the two Germans Thomas Mutsch and Patrick Simon, who are really familiar with the Nordschleife. \”It is a great honour to be able to compete in the 24 Hour Race with the new Golf24. The handling of the car is as fantastic as is its design,” says Ekblom, who was victorious in last year’s Swedish Touring Car Championship with Volkswagen. \”The race on the Nordschleife is unique. Its importance has even increased in the past few years and the field is sensational. This will be my third participation, so I know that you cannot make any predictions. Anything is possible at the Nordschleife.”
The car with start number 235 Golf24 will be driven by a prominent crew. Formula 1 legends Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell will share the cockpit with two youngsters from Volkswagen’s formula school. Edoardo Mortara won the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2010 and is driving for Audi in the DTM 2011. After a career in Formula 3, Franck Mailleux established himself as a sports car driver, amongst others at the Le Mans 24 Hours. \”The 24 Hour Race on the Nordschleife is a big thing. I am very much looking forward to it,” says Johnny Herbert. \”It was at the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit in 1999 that I scored my last Formula 1 victory, so I always like coming back to the Eifel track. The Nürburgring has a very special meaning for me.”
First tests in the endurance racing championship
The Volkswagen Golf24 will make its racing debut on Saturday (30th April) at the second round of the Nürburgring Endurance Racing Championship (VLN). Fredrik Ekblom, Franck Mailleux and Peter Terting will compete in the 4 Hour Race. Further tests with varying driver crews are also planned for the following two Endurance Racing Championship rounds.
