What could be a better way to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours, than competing on another 24-hour race? But although four of Aston Martin’s drivers for Le Mans competed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours last weekend, the challenge they faced was somewhat different to what they will have to deal with at La Sarthe in just three weeks’ time.
For a start, the cars competing were not quite the same. Tomas Enge and Stefan Mücke will drive an LMP1 prototype powered by Aston Martin at Le Mans, but at the Nürburgring they were at the wheel of a DBRS9 – eligible for the FIA GT3 class – backed by Aston Martin Austria.
Joining them in the car was Karl Wendlinger – who will drive one of the Gulf sponsored factory DBR9s at Le Mans. Finally Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who will share the 007 car with Wendlinger and Andrea Piccini, was also driving at the Nürburgring: but this time in a hybrid petrol-electric sportscar built by another manufacturer.
At Le Mans, only four classes of cars are eligible to race: LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2. At the Nürburgring 24 Hours however, more or less anything is allowed within one of the many classes. Aston Martin was represented by the DBRS9 and three V8 Vantage N24s (eligible for the FIA GT4 rules). Sharing the track with them were more than 200 other cars (crewed by around 840 drivers), ranging from a Lamborghini to an original Mini to an Opel Astra estate. At Le Mans, every team has its own garage. At the Nürburgring, up to eight cars have to share a garage.
“The variety of the cars is pretty amazing,” commented Enge. “Of course this adds a bigger challenge as well, because you have to be really careful when you are overtaking things. Sometimes you can be overtaking about 20 cars or more on every lap.”
Along with the variety of cars, there is a corresponding variety of drivers. “Every time you overtake a car, it’s an opportunity to have an accident,” is the way that Enge puts it succinctly. “Most of the drivers are pretty good but of course the standard of driving at Le Mans is generally higher.”
Then there is the circuit. The Nürburgring is well-known as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, thanks to a number of blind corners and changing weather conditions, with very little run-off by the side of the circuit. “The green hell” – as it was christened by Sir Jackie Stewart – is almost twice the length of the Le Mans circuit, which is very different in character. There are some things in common though: the surfaces on both tracks are quite bumpy, and in the middle of the night it gets extremely dark. Both events are also extremely popular: more than 200,000 spectators show up at the Nürburgring, and even more come to Le Mans.
So with so many varying factors, does a quick blast round the Nürburgring for a day and a night help the drivers prepare for what is to come? The answer is somewhat surprising. “Actually it does help a bit, because you get used to the discipline of a 24-hour race and how it feels to drive through the night,” says Wendlinger. “OK, the circumstances are quite different, but the basic principles are the same, so it is useful.”
There is little rest for the Aston Martin Racing crews now as they prepare for the biggest challenge of the season. This weekend they head off to Le Mans for the test weekend: the first opportunity that they will have to drive their cars on the La Sarthe circuit this year.