The team FH Köln Motorsport (Cologne University of Applied Science) was able to score a new record in the overall classification at the sixth round of the VLN endurance racing championship Nürburgring, The Cologne team which is supported by the quattro GmbH finished with their Audi TT RS into 15th overall position and second in class SP4T.
The qualifying on the still a little rainy Saturday morning could hardly have been better for the students. Pole position in class SP4T and position 17 on the grid, a result never achieved before in the TT RS.
Just in time for the start of the race, the weather became better again and the well-tested Dunlop tyres were fitted. Daniela Schmid took the start, she defended the good overall position and was able to keep in the top 20 almost throughout her complete stint. In her class, the 24 years old Austrian was however beaten by her immediate rival who went into the lead in the second race lap. Schmid after her turn: “Our rival was absolutely fast today and he was attacking from the very beginning. I didn’t want to take a too high risk so I opened the door for him at the section Tiergarten. I am nevertheless very happy. This was one of my best races with constant fast times.”
After the first pit stop, Anja Wassertheurer took over the steering wheel of the 377 HP strong front-wheel driven race car and right away followed up the exciting fight about a position in the top 20. “As we had changed the set-up of our car for this race, my first lap was to get used to the car. The rear track was larger. Everything was nevertheless perfect at the end and I could finish my stint into 20th place”, informed Wassertheurer afterwards. There was just one moment of panic in the race car prepared by the students of the Cologne University of Applied Science when a GT3 lost cooling water on the track after a collision and the Audi got into a little trouble as a consequence. “Fortunately, I saw the water still in time so that I could pass the section with care and avoid any bigger trouble”, said Wassertheurer.
The final fight for a class win was then followed up by their last driver Adam Osieka who moved up very closely to the class leader but missed the lead narrowly. After the race Osieka informed with a little bit of disappointment: “Temporarily, the gap was only some 10 seconds. It’s a pity that we didn’t make it finally.” So the students’ team finished in second place in class SP4T. In consideration of their 15th overall position, a new record regarding overall classification, the team was nevertheless more than happy with the result.
The next VLN round will take place with the 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen on 4th August 2012.
