Team Schwedenkreuz - VLN 6 hour race, Nurburgring - 11th September 2004 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

johann · 15th September 2004, 01:42

Team Schwedenkreuz - VLN 6 hour race, Nurburgring - 11th September 2004

Following on from the 4-hour race in July, the Team Schwedenkreuz BMW M3 racecar was now back together, ready for another assault on the VLN. This time the regular pilots, Johan Nimmersjö and James Whelan, were joined by a third driver, Jonathan Petterson (a Swedish karting expert, new to the VLN).

The morning of the race was misty and overcast, with a wet track following the previous night’s downpours. However, by now it was no longer raining and looked like it would brighten up before long. James opted to go out first in qualifying, and the team decided to put slicks on the car, as the track would dry out over the next hour.

On a wet but drying track, the three drivers set about posting a required lap each in order to make it to the starting grid. They all stayed on the black stuff in the slippery conditions. Last of the three to go out was Jonathan, and on the drying track he posted a very respectable time of 9.51, which was good enough for 52nd on the grid of 182 - that was 7th in class out of 12.

Due to budget constraints, the M3’s fuel tank is only 60 litres - that's good enough for 6 laps, or one hour. The rules allow a 120-litre tank, and that would have been perfect for a 2-hour stint each, meaning only two trips to the pits. But with the smaller tank the team opted to do two 1-hour stints each.

As Johan had unfortunately crashed out of the previous event on lap 2, it was decided that James would drive first this time, followed by Jonathan, and then Johan. How very diplomatic!

With his experience of rolling starts in the British Auto Italia series, James got a great start and made up a place at the first corner. The first lap produced some extremely close combat. Cars such as Porsche GT3s, BMW M3s, and other high-powered machinery were thundering down the hill side-by-side at up to 260kmh towards Schwedenkreuz, all closely packed. It was very fierce, and aggression was required in order to let the others know you were there. The Team Schwedenkreuz M3 was nudged by a Porsche as they both tried to go through the chicane together, but it didn't slow them down. The Porsche kindly backed off, letting James settle into a good rhythm as he fought his way up the field.

When James came in to hand the wheel over to Jonathan, the team had gained 12 places to be 40th at that point.

Jonathan then did a sterling job in his first ever race with this car. He drove quickly and consistently, moving the team even further up to 35th by the time he came in. That was 4th in class.

Johan then went out, but due to the extra required pit stops compared to the other competitors (due to the small fuel tank), and a long stop caused by checking the car for a loud vibration, Team Schwedenkreuz had dropped back down to 52nd. Still, Johan got progressively faster and clawed his way back up to 44th by the time he came in to hand over to James for his second run. Johan added that the tyres were absolutely gone and insisted that they be changed at the next pit stop.

James then shot out of the pit lane and immediately understeered at the first corner hairpin due to the old, overheating rubber. But when he reached the back of the GP track the engine suddenly died. He switched the engine off and on again whilst rolling downhill and it started, but would only rev to 2000rpm. So he crawled back into the pits and the team’s support crew, Ring Racing, "rebooted" the system when the car was stationery - and this time it revved properly. So it was evident that the car must be stopped for the reboot to work again. So, with relief, James tore out onto the circuit once more.

The M3 was now making good progress again, but this was thwarted by the recurring problem of the system going into 2000rpm safe mode. It seemed it only happened when the car was sliding around. Well, of course the car was going to slide – this is racing! But it was sliding more than normal due to the overheating tyres. Anyhow, James stopped by the side of the track, "rebooted" it a final time and set out in search of a race finish.

As James started his final lap before handing over to Jonathan again, things suddenly took a turn for the worse...

Just as he went from the GP track onto the Nordschleife (which constitutes a 100kmh left hand bend), James turned into the corner, but the tyres had now given up – the car decided to slide down the road sideways. Unfortunately the car hit the inside barriers at an acute angle, damaging the throttle pedal, front suspension, and tearing off the passenger door. Fortunately James only suffered some bruising and elected to try to complete the lap. Having ever crashed out of an event before in his 10 years racing experience, he was determined to get the car back to the pits in case Ring Racing could fix the car enough for the team to finish the race.

Seeing a car blast by at warp speed with its door missing was certainly a crowd-pleaser, as advocated on many internet bulletin boards and photographs, but unfortunately the damage was too much to continue further, and the team voted in favour of safety by retiring from the race.

Although it was disappointing for the team not to finish, the car had proven its worth with a fastest lap of 9.37 – fast enough to be challenging for a podium position. With wider tyres (for more speed and better longevity) and a 120-litre fuel tank, the Team Schwedenkreuz BMW M3 will certainly be among the frontrunners in its class at the next event on the 25th September.