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."