“We know quite well that we are probably too old to be considered as rookies or juniors but we do definitely not want to fight for a booby prize”, says Ralf Kraus from Cologne. The 53 years old race driver forms a driver duo with two years younger Peter Bonk from Münster/ Germany to compete in this year’s season of the endurance racing championship at the Nürburgring. They will share the steering wheel in a brand-new Opel Astra OPC entered in the Cup class organised for the first time in 2013.
The car will be prepared and serviced by the new team PB-Per4mance based in Münster/ Germany. The results in all ten races of European’s most popular grass roots racing series and in the ADAC 24 Hour Race taking place mid-May will be eligible for the Opel Astra OPC-Cup.
“We are very sure that Opel and their partner Kissling have prepared a fantastic car. We were immediately fully convinced of the cost-performance ratio and did not hesitate at all to purchase such an Astra OPC”, says Peter Bonk. “In the last years, I have competed together with Ralf Kraus in a few races in the RCN and in the VLN. We will now have a complete season together and I am really very much looking forward to it!”
Kraus is pretty well aware that the competition in the classes of a Cup is always very tough. “The level of competition will be very high in the races, we know that. But the routine which we have will be very helpful as we all know that you don’t win a race in the first corner. Our target is to finish somewhere amongst the top three teams at the end of the year.” It remains to be decided whether a third driver shall still join and support the team.
The car for the team PB-Per4mance will be delivered on Friday, 8th March, at the Nürburgring Boulevard. Depending on the weather, Bonk and Kraus will participate in the RCN test and set-up session with the Astra taking place on the following Saturday. The official VLN test session is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 16th March before the true kick-off of the season with the first race of the Nürburgring endurance racing championship on 23rd March.
