24-Hour-Race Nürburgring - Preview

BMW at the Nürburgring 24 Hours - PREVIEW. Munich, 7th June 2004.
The countdown is well under way. This coming weekend will see Team BMW
Motorsport embark on one of the toughest long-distance races in
existence - the Nürburgring 24 Hours. On Saturday, 12th June, at 15
hrs local time, the two 500 bhp BMW M3 GTRs will take off from the grid
in the Eifel, driven in turns by Germans Dirk Müller, Jörg
Müller and Hans-Joachim Stuck (car number 42) and by Duncan
Huisman (NLD), Pedro Lamy (PRT) and Boris Said (USA) in car number 43.
"A marathon of this kind is an incredible sporting and technical
challenge," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen.
"It's a matter of speed, teamwork, strategy and reliability. We
have a good driver lineup, and the team of engineers from BMW
Motorsport and Schnitzer Motorsport have meticulously prepared the two
GT coupés. The target now is to achieve the best possible result
in the race. But you can never fully calculate what might happen in the
course of 24 hours on what is arguably the world's toughest race
track." With 16 overall victories and 86 class wins, BMW is by far
the most successful manufacturer in this event, which was inaugurated
in 1970. The winner of that year's debut race was Hans-Joachim Stuck in
a BMW 2002 ti. He was also at the wheel in BMW's latest overall win to
date: in 1998, a BMW 320d entered the history books when it became the
first diesel-powered car to win a marathon of this kind. Like Stuck,
Lamy is also a two-times winner of the 24-hour event in the Eifel. The
Portuguese driver was part of the winning team in 2001 and 2002.
"Experience with long-distance races, GT cars and the
Nordschleife," stresses Theissen, "was a prerequisite when
signing on all six drivers." All three criteria were consolidated
in test outings under racing conditions. On 4th April, Team BMW
Motorsport had taken part in a three-and-a-half-hour long-distance race
on the Nordschleife with two BMW M3 GTRs. Dirk Müller won with
co-driver Stuck. The Huisman/Lamy/Said trio came second. A further
preparatory race on the Nordschleife on 15th May was won from pole by
Stuck/Said/Huisman in a BMW M3 GTR. Stats and facts: - 24.427
kilometres is the distance covered by a single lap of the course, which
comprises the short version of the Grand Prix circuit and the legendary
Nürburgring Nordschleife. 38 left-hand turns and 45 right-handers
have to be negotiated on each lap. - The field of starters is made up
of 220 cars spanning a range of performance categories. It turns the
pit area into a bustling hive of activity. The two BMW M3 GTRs will
share their garage with another six cars - two BMWs and four MINIs. -
Last year 194,000 visitors came to the Eifel for the race weekend. -
On Wednesday, 9th June, the drivers will appear on the track before fans
for the first time and will also be signing autographs. Racing Day is
held at Adenau on Thursday, 10th June, and the timed practice sessions
are on Friday. The race starts at 15 hrs local time on Saturday.
Innovations in advance of the race: - Data viewing all around the
Nordschleife. In 2004, Team BMW Motorsport will be using the GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service) mobile data transmission system for the
first time to ensure a steady stream of data from the two BMW M3 GTRs.
The previous data transmission technology covered only about ten percent
of the extensive and hilly Nordschleife during events, which meant the
race engineers had to grope in the dark, as it were, for minutes on
end. This weekend, an uninterrupted flow of real-time data on operating
conditions and GPS positioning should be available, and not just in the
pits. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, for example, will also be
able to log into the system live from the Canadian Grand Prix. The MITS
solution was developed and implemented by Cologne-based company
infoware GmbH in close collaboration with T-Mobile and BMW. At its
heart is the black box inside the car containing a GPS receiver, GPRS
radio modem and interface for the CAN (Controller Area Network) bus
which provides the readings from the car. Special servers collate all
the information and convert them into user-friendly presentations for
the engineers. - Fans kept in the picture at BMW Motorsport. A wealth
of information and entertainment is on offer at the website
www.bmw-motorsport.com. Live timing and live webcams keep visitors
posted around the clock. There are also background reports on Team BMW
Motorsport, on the BMW M3 GTR and the drivers, as well as the latest
interviews and news at two-hourly intervals. - Nighttime vision for
drivers in the Eifel. The quality of the lighting system is a make or
break factor in the 24 Hour Race. That's why the BMW M3 GTRs have an
extra xenon headlamp on either side. This additional light source is
made and mounted by hand. The housing stems from the 3 Series and is
enhanced by components from the latest 7 Series. The headlights undergo
exactly the same tests as prototype production headlamps - on the
vibration test stand and in the light tunnel at BMW's Research and
Innovation Centre. The close relations between BMW Motorsport and the
serial production engineers made this development possible. The final
adjustment of the lighting system will be made in consultation with the
drivers. Eight sets of these headlights have been produced, with each
individual unit requiring 18 hours of manual work to make. In addition,
smaller xenon lights are mounted in the front air dam to illuminate the
left and right areas immediately in front of the vehicle. - Television
for those at home. DSF will be showing live broadcasts of the timed
practice sessions and the race in a total of eight transmissions.
Service - The BMW press kit, press releases and latest pictures on the
Nürburgring 24 Hour Race are downloadable at www.press.bmw.de. The
photo archive will be regularly updated during the race. - Trackside
press contact: Heike Bartsch, BMW Corporate Communications, Mobile:
0172 - 84 85 998, Tel: 089-382 33115, heike.bartsch@bmw.de -
Journalists can consult the BMW Motorsport press team at the press
centre, where they will be issuing regular press releases. - There
will be an opportunity to interview the drivers in the BMW Lounge in
the Tower.