The running of the third race in the VLN endurance racing championship was full of dramas for the team T+N Motorsport. The team should thereby have had a relaxed race as they had entered only two cars, the Renault Clio which had its race debut at the last round and ‘flagship Erna’, the Opel Astra OPC. The equipment was set up in the paddocks and in the pit on Thursday evening already and both cars were well prepared for the first 6 hour race of the season. Whilst the set-up of the rear axle on the new car called ‘Erna’ had not been perfect in the last race, this problem was now solved and the whole team was totally unstressed when they arrived at the Nürburgring.
The Friday tests were then running as expected and without any incidents. The four drivers Michael Auert, Thomas Lennackers, Christoph Brune and Hendrik Kebben had enough time during the session to get used to the Astra. The crew in the Clio with double starter Thomas Lennackers was for the first time joined by Micke Larsen and Niels Borum who used the opportunity to complete a few fast laps in the Clio. So everything was running according to schedule until the practice on Saturday morning. All of the four drivers had set their qualifying times but as there was some time left in the session, Michael Auert went back onto the track again towards the end of practice in order to test the new rear axle again. This turn unfortunately was stopped by a heavy off at Breitscheid, the fatal section for ‘Erna’.
But anyone who knows the team T+N Motorsport also knows that this was the actual start signal for the team. The quick intervention team comprising Diddi, René and Björn, equipped with the most necessary tools, proceeded to the place of the accident in order to make the best of the situation. The Astra was secured to a guardrail with some straps in order to provisionally repair the damaged front end as far as possible so that it was possible to tow the Opel back to the pits. “A big thank you to Mazda dealer Bodmer who permitted us to use his mobile repair bench.” The complete damage became then apparent upon the arrival of the car back in the paddocks. Everybody just started to work on the car and used the remaining time until the race start for repair work. But as the pit lights went green for the race cars to join the grid, the team realised that cooling water dropped out of the brand new radiator which had quickly been taken from the stock and driver Christoph confirmed that the track of ‘Erna’ was misaligned by at least 5.5 centimetres. In the good old tradition of T+N, the team made every possible effort: “If we can rejoin the race from the pit lane before the end of the fourth lap, we’ll still be able to make it!” informed Nadine Lennackers.
Whilst each helping hand was now busy with the third radiator, adjusting the track and changing the wheels, Christoph took a seat in the Astra and prepared himself to a bumpy start. ‘Erna’ then joined the race from the pit lane in the third lap. As there was no radio connection yet to the car, all the staff in the pits was curiously and impatiently waiting for Christoph to come back after his first lap for an addition check. But the car arrived at the pits as scheduled and after everything seemed to be all right, ‘Erna’ rejoined the race. The crew was relieved and informed “We are back in the race”.
Even though all of the drivers confirmed that the steering behaviour in right hand corners was a little curious, ‘Erna’ continued bravely. Michael Auert, too, completed his stint without any further problems. Until the very last race lap, the team kept the fingers crossed as they were afraid that a secondary damage could stop the car. When the chequered flag finally came out after 6 hours, Thomas Lennackers with ‘Wasa’ and Hendrik Kebben with ‘Erna’ crossed the finish line almost simultaneously.
Whilst this was a nerve-racking race for the Astra, the Clio was running without any incidents. The small French race car is constantly increasing its pace and scored quite respectable lap times at this second participation. The car has still some potential so that the small Clio will well provide a lot of fun for the spectators at the next rounds.
