BMW’s return to the Green Hell for the 24 hours race of 2010 turned out to be a wise decision as the team wins the overall victory, bringing home BMW’s 19th Nurburgring title. The victorious car was a M3 GT2 driven by Jörg Müller (DE), Augusto Farfus (BR), Uwe Alzen (DE) and Pedro Lamy (PT). They beat a Ferrari 430 GTC and an Audi R8 LMS.
Of course BMW also owes a large part of this victory to the lady luck, because the results would have been different if Jorg Bergmeister’s leading Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid didn’t have to retire due to a technical difficulty and if Audi could keep more of its R8s on the track till the end!
Other important results worth mentioning include Audi R8’s SP9 class win, class victory for two of the CNG-powered VW Sciroccos, SP8 class win for Gazoo Lexus LF-A in which the new Aston Martin Rapide finished second and its sibling V12 Vantage, third.
Drivers’ reactions.
Jörg Müller (Car Number 25):
“During my last stint we lost fourth gear. The problem gradually got worse. The main priority was to be careful and keep the car in the race. Everything worked out superbly in the end. The entire team has worked extremely hard over the last few months. This victory belongs to them. We drove consistent laps over the entire distance. If you can achieve that at a 24-hour race, you normally find yourself up at the front. For us today, it was even enough to finish first.”
Augusto Farfus (Car Number 25):
“That is my first victory at a 24-hour race. To win on the Nordschleife is a unique experience. I would like to thank BMW and Charly Lamm for putting their trust in me. I have learned a lot here, particularly from the Nordschleife old hands in my team. We knew that first we had to make it through the event before we could start to dream of winning. Our reliability was our greatest advantage today.”
Uwe Alzen (Car Number 25):
“To come away with that kind of result from a race that was anything but easy is sensational. First a puncture, then a damaged radiator and the gearbox problems. I have never seen a pit crew work so quickly and professionally, particularly when replacing the radiator. The whole race was unbelievably exciting. I am back on the top step of the podium for the first time in ten years. That is a great feeling. For me it is a great honour to work with BMW and Schnitzer. I feel on top of the world in this team. Today I am simply over the moon.”Pedro Lamy (Car Number 25):
“That is definitely my best win here on the Nordschleife. Each one of my five victories was special in its own way, but the way we won this one was particularly difficult. Maybe some of the other teams were missing the bit of luck that was needed here. However, as you can make your own luck, this entire team most definitely earned its victory. I am pleased for BMW, everyone in the team and, of course, for myself.”Dirk Werner (Car Number 26):
“Our race started with the worst possible scenario: we fell back almost to last place on the first lap. I felt really bad, as I was the one in the car when we had the crash. However, the team worked incredibly hard to boost my confidence again. My compliments to my fellow drivers, who did not make any mistakes. Seventh place after that start is a great result.”Dirk Müller (Car Number 26):
“That was my fourth 24-hour race at the Nürburgring for BMW – and the third time we have won. We can be very proud. I say ‘we’ deliberately, although it was car number 25 that crossed the line in first, as we are a true team. Of course we are a bit disappointed that we did not finish higher with the no. 26 car. However, we showed an incredible morale. After the crash the car looked really bad, but the team fixed everything perfectly. First and seventh is a great result.”
Andy Priaulx (Car Number 26):
“I am more than happy. Our team claimed victory, which is fantastic for BMW. On the other side, we would have hoped for more with our car. Having said that, we did finish the race – and after a magnificent fight back. I simply cannot rate the performance of my team-mates highly enough. Nobody in our team gave up. We will take this fighting spirit with us from this week at the Nürburgring.”
Dirk Adorf (Car Number 26):
“After qualifying, nobody really expected a result like this from us. I am very impressed that we managed to turn the tide in this way. Charly Lamm and his team were fantastic and always believed we could win. The morale in the team is very impressive. Over the course of the race we made up three laps. I don’t like to think what might have been in it for us if we hadn’t been so unlucky at the start of the race.”
