With the Le Mans excitement having barely subsided, the PH endurance bandwagon is rolling again. This weekend is N24 weekend, with our resident racing driver Chris competing at the Nordschleife in the delightful V8 Vantage above and Matt reporting from trackside across Saturday and Sunday. He's driving the
V8 Vantage N430
too, meaning both should have a few interesting stories to share. Keep in touch via the hashtag
and the blog updates here.
The scariest thing about the Nordschleife is driving it, right? Well it turns out spectating can be a little intimidating too. Having heard many people warning against venturing into the forest solo at night I opted to stay around the GP track as it went dark. Alright, I wussed out a bit. Next year though, for sure. Maybe.
GT3 Aston now running sixth
Given seven days previously I was watching LMP cars at Le Mans, the N24 night time experience would always struggle to match it. Having said that, sat by the first comer watching sparks fly off a few of the cars as the tarmac drops was still pretty spectacular. And I will never, ever tire of the noise made by SLS GT3s and the Aston V8s.
Today I ventured out onto the old track and watched from Pflanzgarten for a while. It's a superb place to spectate from as the cars charge down the hill and brake over the drop before going right. Being so close down there heightens the sense of speed too, particularly when a pair of GT3s cars scream through, ever so slightly unsettled by the compression. Can you imagine having to overtake there?
Rivals Jagermeister for best livery here
The old Astra still appears to be running, as does a Golf Mk 3. A few cars are looking very secondhand now with body parts missing and paint scraped away. It's a real race of attrition and it's a braver person than me who would take a recovery truck on the track!
It was a real shame to hear about Chris's accident in the night. According to one spectator during his most recent stint back in the car he was "absolutely on it". Good lad.
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