ADAC Zurich 24-hour race 
Вся галерея мероприятия
Hit or miss. Apparently, this principle guided by Maro Engel, when making his last predfinishny jerk. The author of the fastest lap in qualifying Top 30, the author of the fastest lap in the race, the pilot team was in the lead for almost half of the 24-hour marathon, he certainly could not accept the fact that the finish will be only the second. Вся галерея мероприятия
Before the last turn, when it was almost seen the checkered flag, his Mercedes AMG GT3 team Black Falcon enters the overtaking fellow opponent and still finish first. And everything would be fine, and the winners are not judged if this overtaking was clean and beautiful. But Engel pushes the right side on the grass, the other crew on the same car under the number №29 team HTP motorsport, did not expect this turn of events.
All the last 10 minutes of the race were crazy coincidence: the finish of the race on the clock was given in the truest sense of the «backs» of the two leading «Mercedes». If they went through the 24-hour race at 15 seconds slower, they finished to a circle before, and things would be different.
So, both cars went to the new circle: №29 — first, №4 — second. And this last lap of the race turned the whole history and brought a victory and another defeat.
Remember the ill-fated Malaysian Grand Prix 2013, when Weber and Vettel was ordered teams to translate car in fuel economy mode and easy to get to the finish line?Mark Weber then did so, and Vettel had ignored the order and attacked Australians actually stealing his victory. They say, and there was a similar situation.
Rumor has it that at a time when the «Mercedes» at numbers 29 and 4 left on his last lap of the «mission control center» the Mercedes (as was and is) in the headphones each pilot sounded the phrase «finishiruem in the same manner.» Engel then swore he had not heard of this order. It is understandable then why the pilot HTP Motorsport Christian Hohenadel not expect this maneuver.
At the finish they split just 5.697 seconds and a huge gap between the two steps of the podium. It was the shortest gap between the finishing crews in the history of the famous German marathon.
German pilot Marco Zifrida I've known for several years. We met back in 2013 on a 24-hour Blancpain Series race at the Belgian Spa, where he played (and still serves) for the team, «Rinaldi Racing» Vadim Kogay and Rinat Salikhov. Marco — a professional racing driver, very fast, very low-key in all the manifestations of emotions and very correct in all his actions. Among the professional pilots, daily associated with the risk and struggle, such encountered quite a lot. In addition, he won me over so that it is always available to answer questions, even if they are foolish, and listen to your opinion, that sometimes you want to make, though it to anyone and do not need.
Watching him this time, I imbued him with sympathy and respect, so the fact that «24 Hours Nürburgring» after the finish of the race, he even went out on rewarding for me meant a lot. Well, the only Christian Vietoris also acting in the German touring car championship DTM came to the press conference by the whole team. And the words that he spoke were the words of disappointment.
But the 52-year-old Bernd Schneider, member of the winning team Black Falcon # 4, just luchilsya joy. Still would! In the second time in the race history of the brand Mercedes won the victory in this difficult marathon, and that the crew of Schneider's second consecutive brought this car in the first place.
Strange but true: «Mercedes» always categorically no luck in the race «24 Hours Nürburgring.» For almost half a century of existence of this marathon the most victories belongs to BMW — 19. 11 times won the Porsche cars. Even Ford won in his time here with five wins. But this year, Mercedes played for all its defeats. Their cars are not just occupied all the podium, they also chalked up 4 and 6 line in the top ten results, pushing into the background the rest of the brand.
All weekend on the 25-kilometer track «Nürburgring» walk the clouds, the gathering and shedding rain, suddenly scattered, letting the sun. Rain Race is not unusual — quite the contrary, the tradition, but the collapse, which happened a few laps after the start of the May 28, 2016, is unlikely to ever forget.
The rain that had forecast, on the distant slopes of GP stations «Nordschleife» went almost immediately. But as long as I wore wisely brought with rubber boots to go on a shooting light drops turned first into a stream of water, and then the heavens poured into the «Nürburgring» tons of large hail. Mixed with water and melting of the relatively high temperature, degree of ice covered with asphalt «Nordschleife», turning the track into a real ice rink.
Someone lucky enough to be in a different place, but of the 158 starters in the race cars, many have tried on their own experience, that this ice the «loop.»
The press center for a few minutes it became quite quiet, as all with bated breath, watching on monitors incredible somersaults, who started doing unmanaged machines (and many on slicks!) On a winding downhill rings. Right bump, bump left, in one another — and those who managed to slip through, stuck on the climbs, for adhesion to the road surface was zero.
Martin Tomczyk, DTM driver championship, speaking at the Nürburgring in the BMW M6 GT3, radioed his team: «My car is skidding in one place and can not drive up the hill!»
«We all stopped and stand as the front cars can not enter into the mountain,» — wrote later in his Twitter Marco Zifrid.
The head of the race was made the only right decision: to stop the race, on the track to bring the safety car, and cleaning equipment. Under red flags cleared ice track to stay on track machines could return to the pitlane, and broken and damaged cars in the pits teams evacuated.
The race resumed only after almost three hours. By seven in the evening, when the pre-declared restart again the rain came, and passed three riders forming a circle before they could go into battle mode.
The remaining 20 hours of any particular incident is no longer happening. Of course, the race was hard and exhausting — like all the competition on the «Nürburgring» — and many crews have not been able to finish, but the apocalypse is ended before sunset, the track began to dry out, and the team returned back to slicks.
Unfortunately, about this time to finish the race for the Russian pilot Mark Mark Shulzhitskiy, played for the team in the Schulze Motorsport Nissan GT-R. According to the pilot, six laps after the start of his shift, «there was a loud rattle in the wheel area, the car was thrown into the gravel, and I barely managed to catch her.»
As the car was almost completely normal, then Mark suggests that it was a problem with the drive, which in this configuration, the cars are weakest. Unfortunately, the failure in the suspension were serious, and the team decided to withdraw from the race.
Equally unfortunate circumstances and for the other two pilots are familiar to us — Arthur Goroyana and Oleg Kvitka.
In his shift Oleg was in a serious accident, but he was not injured.
«Porsche 991 the GT3, prepared by Manthey Racing — the best machine on which I have ever ridden. This is perfectly customized cards, which gives the feeling of winning opportunities. But I was subconsciously prepared to outright — because it is a race, and never you can not predict what will happen. In was a small accident, during which bent levers on the right-hand wheels while hail and rain in our other pilot. Details changed, similarity collapse made, but most likely, it was also internal damage that is not noticed in a hurry. Because of him on one of the slopes of the „Northern Loop“ lost control of the car, and I was thrown from the chipper several times a bump. »
Arthur Goroyan, acting under the Armenian flag, also failed to finish. Even closer to the finish, he received a blow from the other side of the car, went off the road and has remained on the sidelines.
Arthur — a very experienced pilot, who has behind him nearly a thousand laps on the «Nürburgring». As Oleg, he is not a novice in the 24-hour marathon, but there are situations in which to do something impossible.
«Winning the 24 Hours Nürburgring — is a dream of any rider who has won at least once VLN VLN, and I am no exception, — said Arthur. — At this time we could not. I hope that in the next I can already tell you about winning. »
As an epilogue
Once, when I was still only dreamed of «Nürburgring», it seemed that Russian is a little story within reach, as far as the border between the states and everything like that. But every year the Russian is becoming more and more Russian it was no longer a rarity, and our pilots in local races ceased to be exotic.
And it is unlikely then, fifteen years ago, when I first went to the legendary «Northern loop», it could be assumed that the «Nürburgring» will belong to Russian.
But! April 25 this year, held the third and final acquisition of the shares of this company Russian businessman Viktor Kharitonin, which now owns a 99% share of the Nürburgring.
And you know what's good? At an airport now has a boss who considers profit and the costs and relates to the management of the track as a business project, as before, when it was state property and managed by different operators, bankruptcy seemed the lesser of two evils.
The new leadership immediately took over landscaping slopes. This applies to both training campuses and spectator parking lots and common security. a lot of work has been done, which has been reduced to three main areas: the establishment of additional fencing on 7 sections of the route, the electrification of certain areas and improve the quality of the roadway.
Now the big GP ring segment near the starting line, finish line Mercedes Arena was night lighting, and the next year, the number and length of these segments will be further increased.
Of course, the question of how to cover all the 25 km of the Nurburgring, not talking."Green Hell" is a unique place, in the sense that the danger he represents. But from the point of view of commerce night lighting on the track Grand Prix will allow to spend the night here and the race, including the "Formula 1", and why not? The more that the existing waiver of the Royal races — a temporary phenomenon associated with unnecessary costs from the budget deficit.
This is the rare case when Russian and in fact can bring order in Germany. Although in a particular place.
Photo: Maria Melnikova
And it is unlikely then, fifteen years ago, when I first went to the legendary «Northern loop», it could be assumed that the «Nürburgring» will belong to Russian.
But! April 25 this year, held the third and final acquisition of the shares of this company Russian businessman Viktor Kharitonin, which now owns a 99% share of the Nürburgring.
And you know what's good? At an airport now has a boss who considers profit and the costs and relates to the management of the track as a business project, as before, when it was state property and managed by different operators, bankruptcy seemed the lesser of two evils.
The new leadership immediately took over landscaping slopes. This applies to both training campuses and spectator parking lots and common security. a lot of work has been done, which has been reduced to three main areas: the establishment of additional fencing on 7 sections of the route, the electrification of certain areas and improve the quality of the roadway.
Now the big GP ring segment near the starting line, finish line Mercedes Arena was night lighting, and the next year, the number and length of these segments will be further increased.
Of course, the question of how to cover all the 25 km of the Nurburgring, not talking."Green Hell" is a unique place, in the sense that the danger he represents. But from the point of view of commerce night lighting on the track Grand Prix will allow to spend the night here and the race, including the "Formula 1", and why not? The more that the existing waiver of the Royal races — a temporary phenomenon associated with unnecessary costs from the budget deficit.
This is the rare case when Russian and in fact can bring order in Germany. Although in a particular place.
Photo: Maria Melnikova
