With eight class wins and two second places, Michael Bohrer, Stéphane Caillet and Jürgen Nett have this year been the most successful team in the endurance racing championship at the Nürburgring. The driver trio also dominated the season finale throughout the whole race. The team in the white Peugeot RCZ 2.0 HDi FAP which was for the first time completed by Paul Englert crossed the finish line with an advance of 5.19 minutes ahead of their team mates Cyrus Ayari, Olivier Perez, Guillauere Roman and Julien Rueflin in the black sister car. The Team Peugeot RCZ Nokia thus celebrated their sixth one-two-win in 2011 in the category of Diesel-driven race cars.
Eight class wins, twice second
“It was a fantastic season and my most successful since the title win in 1987”, said Jürgen Nett, “Today’s race was perfect. Our Peugeot had a fantastic balance, the Kumho tyres were perfect and there were not that many yellow sectors as usual, for a change! It must be years ago when I was for the last time able to constantly complete so many fast laps in a row.” Michael Bohrer, too, was full of praise: “A big thank you to the whole team. Eight victories and two second places, in addition the triumph at the 24 Hour Race, speak for itself. It’s a pity that we were not able to finish in a better overall place but this is due to the point system which depends on the numbers of starters in each class. Anyhow, a 13th place amongst more than 500 cars – that is really not too bad!”
The two Nordschleife experienced drivers shared the cockpit in the dynamic sports coupé with Stéphane Caillet throughout the complete season. Lap times of less than ten minutes had become normal for the Frenchman, too: “I have learned a lot from Michael and Jürgen. We were a harmonious team with homogenous lap times and did not make any mistakes. This was the key to our success.”
A moment of shock in practice
Cyrus Ayari, Olivier Perez, Guillauere Roman and Julien Rueflin in the sister car complete the brilliant performance of the Team Peugeot RCZ Nokia with another result on the podium, even though the driver quartet had to overcome a moment of shock in the practice session when a drive shaft broke. The mechanics were however able to solve the problem until the race start and team manager Olivier Perez as start driver created the basis for this additional success. With six second and one third place, the crew in the black RCZ HDi FAP, too, exceeded all expectations. Like at the 24 Hour Race already in June, the Peugeot RCZ HDi FAP was over the season the fastest car in the complete field of the endurance racing championship Nürburgring.
