Sunday 22nd June 2014

Nurburgring 24-Hour 2014: PH Blog

So where is the best place to watch the 24 Hours?

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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 #PHN2414 and the blog updates here.

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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.

 

 

[Pics: N24H Media]

Previous updates:
Harris fires up the FF for the trip to the 'ring
Harris qualifies for N24, no thanks to weather or electrical gremlins
BPM not RPM tracked as Harris gets a heart monitor
V8 N430 drive with thoughts coming soon!
Stunning cars aplenty both on and off the Nordschleife

[scubadude]

http://www.pistonheads.com/inc/popup3.asp?pictureU...

Is this Mr Harris "happy" face?


Epic European hoonage sir, respect.

[Itsallicanafford]

That FF has a grin on it like a cheshire cat...

178mph, try abit harder on the way home hey.

[Evo]

And stop apologising for having an awesome fleet of cars

[scubadude]

Evo said:

And stop apologising for having an awesome fleet of cars

Should we start a list- "Cars Chris Harris doesn't have but should"

I'd like to see him live with a 7 for a while.

[Quickmoose]

proof if proof were needed, you can't look cool when fuelling up the car

Bloody love the FF.
Good luck in the N24
charmed life you have from where I'm sat...

[0llie]

Without a doubt my favourite modern Ferrari.

I'm not a huge fan of their mid-engined V8 stuff (355 & 430 Scud excluded), but I love their front-engined V12 GTs.

With 4 seats, all-weather capability, vague practicality and chronic depreciation whether you use it or not, makes you far more likely to use it, and that's just how it should be.

Enjoy!

[UltimaCH]

Lets hope the w-e finishes better than Chris's Porsche Carrera race last Saturday...

[sprouting]

Best bit of writing for a while. Living the dream.

[_Batty_]

Leaving for the N24 tonight in my less glamorous 330ci. Really can't wait. Do PH'ers get special access to the garage Chris?
I've forgotten the PH handshake.

[Crusoe]

Seems fair, if you want to sit on the cream leather you need to be in a sleepingbag with a sheet over the seats

[turbobungle]

Good luck in the N24, Chris. Does anyone know if there's any live TV coverage? Can'y wait to get back to 'Ring myself next weekend, just need to diagnose and fix a rattling noise between 3000 & 5000rpm now!!

[smilo996]

What a really terrible job. Le Mans 24 in a Porsche last weekend, Ferrari FF to zee Ring this and wating at the end an Aston racing drive and fun around the ring all weekend and not a Porsche within arms distance. The Porsche force is getting weak in this one Luke.

Hope it goes well and certainly better than las weekend. How about out running the French Plod on the way back?

[Truckosaurus]

turbobungle said:

Does anyone know if there's any live TV coverage?

Live streaming via the official website ( http://www.24h-rennen.de/en/ ) and probably on 'real' tv in Germany.

Edit to add: English Commentary at http://www.radiolemans.com

[Justaredbadge]

Can't say when I'll be around, but if I am would be more than happy to show people around the car before the start on Sat 4pm.

[_Batty_]

Justaredbadge said:

Can't say when I'll be around, but if I am would be more than happy to show people around the car before the start on Sat 4pm.

[Evo]

scubadude said:

Evo said:

And stop apologising for having an awesome fleet of cars

Should we start a list- "Cars Chris Harris doesn't have but should"

I'd like to see him live with a 7 for a while.

I agree, I think November is a perfect time for Mr Harris to step into that car.

[RacerMike]

Looking forward to following the progress. Hoping to be in an Aston next season....had a cheeky test at Silverstone, and it's surprisingly forgiving, and a lot of fun Took a video as well if anyone wants to know what it's like from the drivers eye! It's fair to say, I'm pretty jealous of you Chris! My favourite circuit in a great race car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c79SJFMFWE&li...

[canucklehead]

Jeez. I'd just got over my jealousy at the Le Mans trip, and now this. I'm gonna need therapy. That or my own FF.

[jp7152]

I love the way the car has close to half a tank of fuel but the range is 60 miles!

[anonymous-user]

fk me.

1/3 of a tank and 60 mile range. How big is the tank?