24-Hour-Race Nürburgring 2005 - Preview

One of the world's most traditional endurance races is fast approaching
again. This coming weekend, 230 entrants will be pitting their skills
against one another in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race. For the last
time BMW will be dispatching two BMW M3 GTRs into the "Green
Hell". These GT sports cars with an output of 500 bhp helped Team
BMW Motorsport to secure a one-two win on the legendary Nordschleife
last year. It was BMW's 17th overall victory in the marathon event. In
2005 BMW is once more placing its trust in the seasoned racing team of
Schnitzer Motorsport, run by team manager Charly Lamm (Freilassing), and
BMW's own engineers. Due to a modified race course and the resulting
increase in lap distance to 25.378 kilometres, strategist Lamm will be
implementing a new battle plan. "In 2004 we drivers along with
the team delivered a fault-free performance," says Hans-Joachim
Stuck (Ellmau), who will be contesting a 24-hour race for the 55th
time. "But we also had that extra bit of luck that you need to be
successful in a race of this kind. Everything just worked out perfectly,
which will make it difficult for us to repeat a one-two win. But we
will certainly be pulling out all the stops." Last year's winners
Stuck, Dirk Müller (Burbach) and Jörg Müller
(Hückelhoven) are also lining up on the grid this year in car
number 1. Alternating at the wheel of car number 2 will be Pedro Lamy
(PRT), Boris Said (USA) and Duncan Huisman (NLD), who finished second
in 2004. Also joining the team is reigning European Touring Car
Champion Andy Priaulx (GBR), who draws on experience with the BMW M3
GTR in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. As an official partner of
Team BMW Motorsport, Germany's leading petrol station chain, ARAL, will
also be present at the Nordschleife in 2005. The seven-man squad of
Team BMW Motorsport will be facing robust competition. Seasoned
Nordschleife aces such as Uwe and Jürgen Alzen, Klaus Ludwig and
Peter Zakowski are itching to dethrone BMW in 2005. Course architect
Hermann Tilke will also be behind the wheel this weekend to contest his
20th 24-hour race. Many of today's state-of-the-art Formula One
circuits hail from the drawing board of the Aachen-based designer. Yet,
as Stuck firmly believes, the Nordschleife still outclasses the new
tracks by far. "Hermann will forgive me, but nowhere in the world
will there ever again be such a beautiful and challenging race track as
the Nordschleife," states the 54-year-old driver. In all, 63 BMW
cars will be entering the 33rd edition of the endurance classic. That
makes BMW the most heavily represented brand at the event once again.
While the two BMW M3 GTRs will be gunning for overall victory, other
entrants are out to fulfil a dream simply by taking part. There's
"Projekt 24h", for example, a group of students from the
College of Technology and Economics of the Saarland and the
Kaiserslautern Technical College, who are competing in a BMW 120d which
they have rendered raceworthy as part of an assignment. Among others,
the television channel DSF will be broadcasting around ten hours of the
24-hour race, which starts on Saturday, 7th May 2005, at 15.00 hrs.
Schedule: Friday, 6th May 2005 10.00 - 12.00 hrs 1st timed practice
19.00 - 23.00 hrs 2nd timed practice Saturday, 7th May 2005 12.30 -
14.30 hrs Grid line-up 15.00 hrs Start of 24 Hour Race
Sunday, 8th May 2005 15.00 hrs Finish of 24 Hour Race
Service: - The BMW press kit, press information and up-to-date photos
from the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race are available for download at
www.press.bmw.com. The picture archive will be continuously updated in
the course of the race. - Press contact trackside: Heike Bartsch, BMW
Corporate Affairs, Motorsport, Mobile: 0172-84 85 998, Tel: 089-382
33115, heike.bartsch@bmw.de - The BMW Motorsport press team will be at
the Press Centre to assist journalists and will be regularly issuing
the latest press releases. - There will be opportunities to interview
drivers in the BMW Lounge in the Tower. - The website
www.bmw-motorsport.com contains up-to-date information. Live timing and
live webcams will provide the latest information around the clock.
There will also be regular race updates as well as interviews and
background reports.