24h-Race Nürburgring 2004 - Press Kit.

1. One lap, 83 turns. / 3 2. BMW 24-hour victories. / 5 3. Interview
with Mario Theissen. / 7 4. Team and drivers. / 9 5. Technology of the
BMW M3 GTR. / 19 6. Schedule, stats, regulations extracts. / 24 7.
Press contacts. / 26 1. One lap, 83 turns. A single lap takes you
through precisely 38 left-handers and 45 right-handers. That is a
unique feature of the Nürburgring, which fuses tradition with
modernity. The short version of the Grand Prix course and the legendary
Nordschleife make up the world's most challenging race track. A distance
of 24.427 kilometres will be covered in the 24 Hour Race, in which BMW
Motorsport will be fielding two BMW M3 GTRs on 12th/13th June 2004.
German BMW works drivers Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller,
alongside their compatriot and seasoned racer Hans-Joachim Stuck, will
man one of the two 500 bhp GT sports cars. The other cockpit will be
shared between Duncan Huisman (NLD), Pedro Lamy (PRT) and Boris Said
(USA). Partnering BMW in this campaign with the muscular M3 GTR is the
experienced crew of Schnitzer Motorsport from Freilassing. Under the
aegis of team manager Charly Lamm, BMW touring cars have already
secured two overall victories in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, as well
as five wins in the 24-hour events at Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and one,
in 1999, with the open-topped BMW V12 LMR prototype in France's classic
Le Mans 24 Hours. BMW is the most successful marque by far in this
marathon through the Eifel forests, posting 16 overall victories to
date, the most recent in 1998. Motor racing history was made when a
BMW 320d became the first diesel-powered touring car to win such an
event. As in the case of BMW's first victory, taken at the event's
debut in 1970, Hans-Joachim Stuck was also behind the wheel of the
winning car in 1998. 2004 sees the 32nd edition of this classic
endurance race. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: "This
race is one of Germany's major motor sport events - in 2003, the
organizers recorded a total of 194,000 spectators over the whole
weekend. The backdrop of fans was quite unique, and competition
standards have returned to their usual high level." A maximum of
210 vehicles may sign up for the race. From the smallest of cars in
race trim all the way to thoroughbred GT sports cars, they are divided
into 18 classes. Theissen: "We are competing in the highest class
and will be gunning for overall victory. In our driver lineup, we are
focusing on their experience of endurance racing, knowledge of the
course and routine in handling sports cars of the calibre like the BMW
M3 GTR."