Update 08/05/2015 via N24:
Nearly a decade at the Nürburgring and countless laps, several jobs and a lot of my own mistakes means I should be a veritable font of good advice and solid opinions.
If only I would listen to some of this advice, I’d probably be OK…
A week ago, I thought I was out of the N24. I was a bit gutted. Matech was running high from winning the 6-hour N24 Qualifier, but I didn’t have enough money to take the seat. With a queue of more monied drivers ready to join David and Bruce (the winning drivers of the V4 class in that N24Q) I had no choice. I moved aside to reconsider my options.
Interestingly, although the new Nordschleife Permit system hasn’t eliminated novice entries to (what I think is) the world’s toughest race, it has better valued those of us with years of experience on the Nordschleife.
Even as I write this, many teams are still advertising for qualified drivers with budget.
So maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to get an email from a novice team who had somehow found themselves in the odd position of having an entry but no drivers…
… and an idea formed.
Hipercars.de had built this E46 330i 4-door to compete in V5. Nothing wrong with that, but up against big-name teams like Black Falcon with Z4s and Caymans, I could see why the demand was maybe a little bit low.
But I like silver 4-door BMWs, and everybody likes an underdog.
So with a superb deal on the table, it wasn’t long before I had three other BTG drivers ready to join me and attempt the impossible.
Johan Sandberg was first in the line, a previous guest-poster on BTG, he’s both quicker than me and just as stupid. He loved the idea:
“Strike from below!” he exclaimed. I think it’s a Swedish thing, or maybe it’s just his Viking roots. With support from Seabeach.se and BlueDreamResort.br his place on the grid was reserved!
Next was a long-time BTG commenter, ex-Peugeot 2013 works entry, and professional wheelman Bradley Philpott. He had no money (that’s normal for anybody who drives professionally) but the thought of an all-BTG line-up was enough to get him looking. Within minutes, literally, Formula Fast were backing Bradders to make a return to the ‘Ring.
Update 06/05/2015 via Bradley Philpot:
