24 Hour Nürburgring
Not content with conquering the legendry Dakar rally in 2009, Volkswagen has once again teamed up with Castrol to tackle another of international motorsports major endurance challenges; the 24-hour Nürburgring race.
The annual event is held on the infamous 25.3 kilometre Nordschleife and was inspired by the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Initially the event was introduced as a low cost alternative to the 1000km Nurburgring race, which was part of the World Sportscar championship, and held on the Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit.Typically entries to the 24 Hour Nürburgring are race tuned production vehicles such as European touring car championship vehicles and to mount it’s assault on the fearsome event, Volkswagen has developed a special racing version of the new Scirocco hatchback.
In total, Volkswagen is fielding three factory prepped vehicles in this year’s event, which will be driven in shifts by a team of 12 drivers, comprised of an interesting mix of young talent and season veterans. Carlos Sainz, Dieter Depping and 2009 Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers will all be behind the wheel as each of them trades the sands of the Dakar Rally for the unique demands of the Nordschleife’s blackstuff.
“The entry of the new Scirocco in what is arguably the world’s toughest automobile race is an equally demanding and exciting project,” says Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, a member of the Volkswagen board for technical development.
"Our goal should be for one of the three teams to repeat the Golf GTI’s 2007 class victory. That would be an excellent way to support the market launch of the production model.”
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