TCL am 'Ring 2012: Pictures from the April 14 VLN Race

[NoDubJustYet]

Here are a few pics (and videos this weekend) from the April 14 Langstrecken Meisterschaft Nürburgring (VLN) 37. DMV 4-Stunden-Rennen. Check out: http://www.vln.de/rennen.gb.php?id=2012-04-14 for the entry list and race results.

For those of you not familiar with the VLN race series: It's a handful of races (11) that are only held at the Nürburgring. The competitors are everything from purpose-built racecars that you might also see in various events including the Nürburgring 24hr Race and LeMans all the way down to amateur teams fielding race-modified hatchbacks.

We had a really fun time... €15 got us access to the grandstands as well as the paddock area... and the pits! We pretty much had full access and were only feet from the teams during pitstops. It was pretty awesome. We also got to meet some lady named Sabine Schmitz - you might know her from Top Gear appearances and the BMW 'Ring Taxi... Oh yeah, she also has about 20,000 laps under her belt.

Here are pictures from the Tourist Drive and our dinner with atomicalex: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ist-Drive-Pics

Heico Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 going hot into the corner



SLK, Z4, GT3 RSs and Scirocco entering the Castrol-S



Scherer Audi TT-RS



SEAT Cupra



Honda Civic and a new Toyota GT-86



Aston Martin Vantage



Black Falcon Mercedes 190E



BMW Z4 (GT3 Class)



Porsche 911 GT3 (997)



McLaren MP4 (GT3 class)



Opel Astra GTC



Porsche 911 GT3 Cup



Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3



Black Falcon BMW M3



Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS



Falken Porsche 911 GT3 R



Toyota GT-86



Porsche 911 GT3



beautiful BBS centerlock wheel with rain tires



Audi TT-RS



Porsche 911 RSR



H&R's Ford GT



Porsche 911 GT3 Cup



Frikadelli Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (997)



My brother, Sabine Schmitz, and Me - our long lost cousin



BMW M3 GT4



MSC Adenau's Porsche Cayman



VW Scirocco 2.0 TDI



Car Collection Motorsport's 911 GT3 Cup and the Paul Parey 911 GT3



Tin Tag Ferrari F458



Ginetta G50



H&R Ford GT



Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and the Black Falcon MB 190E



Gazoo Racing Lexus LF-A



Audi TT-S and a VW Scirocco

[C4 A6]

Damn nice pics. That's not the same Falken Porsche GT3 RS that runs ALMS, is it?

[NoDubJustYet]

Damn nice pics. That's not the same Falken Porsche GT3 RS that runs ALMS, is it?

Thanks.

According to the entry list ( http://www.vln.de/includes/download....012-04-14s.pdf )the #27 Falken car was driven by:

Dumbreck, Peter
Asch, Sebastian
Ordonez, Lucas

[C4 A6]

Nah, it's not the same, just looked up pictures.

[NoDubJustYet]

Nah, it's not the same, just looked up pictures.

Yeah, looks like the other Falken 911 was at Long Beach this weekend.

[choochoo]

awesome!!! sabine seems like she'd be a lot of fun to hang out with. the GT86 looks tiny

[phryxis]

Looks like a fantastic time. Thanks for sharing the photos!

I want to go to that event sometime in the future.

[ErikGTI]

Jeff I'm so jealous of your pics, mine didn't come out half as nice as yours. I'll be posting mine some time, but the internet in my dorm in Salzburg barely works and some stubborn Austrian won't let the cable company dig in their front yard to fix the cable....



Erik

[NoDubJustYet]

awesome!!! sabine seems like she'd be a lot of fun to hang out with. the GT86 looks tiny

She was awesome. I don't know if sharing the last name helps out, but she seemed like a genuinely nice, down to earth person. We told her that we were eating at her family's restaurant that night and her suggestion was perfect - Argentinian filet on a hot stone. YUMMY The Toyota engineer with Gazoo Racing was making fun of the GT86.

Looks like a fantastic time. Thanks for sharing the photos!

I want to go to that event sometime in the future.

No problem... Now I need to go through the parking lot and track pictures from the tourist drive sessions!

Jeff I'm so jealous of your pics, mine didn't come out half as nice as yours. I'll be posting mine some time, but the internet in my dorm in Salzburg barely works and some stubborn Austrian won't let the cable company dig in their front yard to fix the cable....

Erik

Well, you can get all the pictures from me when you're up here in June. Good luck with the internet!

[NoDubJustYet]

Look for a thread from the Tourist Drive...

I was hoping this thread would generate some more interest - tough crowd I guess.

[phryxis]

Look for a thread from the Tourist Drive...

I was hoping this thread would generate some more interest - tough crowd I guess.

Yeah you would think a nicely composed thread with great pics from an amazing event would garner more than a few replies... yet, it's the threads full of complaining that last for pages and pages.

I make a conscious effort to comment if I like something, especially good photo threads because I know what a PITA it is to post multiple photos I've done 100 photo threads in one sitting, and I always thank my lucky stars that I'm good at doing repetitive motions.

[NoDubJustYet]

Yeah you would think a nicely composed thread with great pics from an amazing event would garner more than a few replies... yet, it's the threads full of complaining that last for pages and pages.

I make a conscious effort to comment if I like something, especially good photo threads because I know what a PITA it is to post multiple photos I've done 100 photo threads in one sitting, and I always thank my lucky stars that I'm good at doing repetitive motions.

Thanks... This only my second big go around with the new camera - first major use was in Rome a few weeks ago. Still learning all gee-wiz-bang features. I was playing around with shutter speed a lot, that's why some of the wheels look damn near stopped.

I would have assumed that a picture thread from an obscure race series at the Nürburgring of all places would have brought more interest.

Oh well.

[SVT2888]

Thanks... This only my second big go around with the new camera - first major use was in Rome a few weeks ago. Still learning all gee-wiz-bang features. I was playing around with shutter speed a lot, that's why some of the wheels look damn near stopped.

I would have assumed that a picture thread from an obscure race series at the Nürburgring of all places would have brought more interest.

Oh well.

I like it!

Can I post some of your pics on the CNCpics Facebook page?

[NoDubJustYet]

I like it!

Can I post some of your pics on the CNCpics Facebook page?

PM sent.

[KrautFed]

My brother, Sabine Schmitz, and Me - our long lost cousin

Let me guess... you are on the faaar left bombing the photo?

[NoDubJustYet]

Let me guess... you are on the faaar left bombing the photo?

LMAO!

I saw that after I uploaded the pics...

[ErikGTI]

LMAO!

I saw that after I uploaded the pics...

Wow, I didn't even notice that . Jeff, my internet is working better now. Mind if I post my pics here too?



Erik

[NoDubJustYet]

Have at it!

[ErikGTI]

Have at it!

Awesome, until then I'll leave this here http://www.vln.de/fotoalbum.de.php?rennen=2012-04-14


Erik

[NoDubJustYet]

I like it!

Can I post some of your pics on the CNCpics Facebook page?

Make sure you check out the Tourist Drive pics... You know, from when people actually drive their cars - unlike those fancy schmancy CNC cars.

[feels_road]

I was hoping this thread would generate some more interest - tough crowd I guess.

Nah - we are just speechless!

[NoDubJustYet]

Nah - we are just speechless!

That's how we felt! I was under the impression that our admission (15€) let us into the grandstands and gave us access to the paddock before the race. We got in a little late, checked-in at the hotel, and headed to the "ringwerk" area. We hit the gift shop and grabbed a quick bit to eat - but we were too late to get in before the race started. We decided to pay admission anyway (even though you can go just about anywhere to watch the race for free). The grandstands were pretty much empty and the tickets were general admission, so you could go anywhere. We were amazed when we walked out the door right to the straightaway. It was pretty much amazing...

We hung out there for a little bit and then decided to take the tunnel over to the paddock area... We noticed people just waltzing in and out of the actual garages into the pits - people that were obviously not affiliated with the race or the teams. So, we played the "act like you know you're doing game" and headed into a garage... right into a pit stop. All of the teams were really cool and gave everyone heads up when a car was going to be coming in for a stop. Otherwise it was a free for all. It's hard to put into words just how awesome the experience was.

Meeting Sabine Schmitz was just icing on the cake.

[ErikGTI]

Being in the pits among the mechanics as they rush out to the car with new tires, fuel etc is unlike any thing I could have imagined. It really puts you in the race, the only thing that could have immersed you more was riding along with the drivers lol. I feel like watching any racing on TV from now on will be extremely boring until they find a way to transmit the smell of burning rubber, hot brakes, and race fuel along with the normal TV broadcast. Anyway, here's me with Sabine Schmitz, as Jeff said meeting her was icing on an already awesome day. It's funny how it happened, I was taking a video of some GT3R in the pits when I noticed a familiar face on the other side of the car that was none other than the Queen of the 'Ring. I don't think I realized until then I was even at the garage of her team.




The #72 S Pole Racing 911 GT3 leaving the pits.

A MP4-12C that we saw in the paddock area. This is the first one I've seen in person and it looks a lot better in person I think. Pictures don't do it justice.

These guys had an LF-A and the GT-86.


Ronal Turbo's on a Miata? TCL approved?


Apparently the driver of this RCZ has a stock RCZ as well and was tearing it around the 'Ring during the Tourist Drive, it was something else. I thought for sure the car had to be modded but it was just impressive driving

Ouch

Memorial for Bernd Rosemayer.


#152 B Toyota Motorsports GmbH LF-A

[NoDubJustYet]

Thanks for posting more, Erik.

I need to start a YouTube account to get all of my videos posted... Maybe this weekend.

[SVT2888]

Make sure you check out the Tourist Drive pics... You know, from when people actually drive their cars - unlike those fancy schmancy CNC cars.

Well it's not like the cars teleport to CNC

[NoDubJustYet]

Well it's not like the cars teleport to CNC

Touché

But it would be cool if they did... Even better, they could teleport to the 'Ring!

[veetarded]

Awesome pics, thank you both for sharing!

[choochoo]

Going to the Nurburgring is definitely on my bucketlist. But, until that day, I'll have to content myself with all you guys posting pictures and videos.

Make sure you check out the Tourist Drive pics... You know, from when people actually drive their cars - unlike those fancy schmancy CNC cars.

ZING!

Laguna Seca is no Nurburgring, but we do have this little thing called the Monterey Historic races and Rennsport Reunion, where a lot of these "CNC" cars do actually drive

[NoDubJustYet]

Laguna Seca is no Nurburgring, but we do have this little thing called the Monterey Historic races and Rennsport Reunion, where a lot of these "CNC" cars do actually drive

Those are quite nice.

[Shomegrown]

Well it's not like the cars teleport to CNC

Might as well for how slow all you guys drive there gramps.

(and the no hooning policy)

[SVT2888]

Might as well for how slow all you guys drive there gramps.

(and the no hooning policy)

Trust me once they are out of sight from CNC they use the throttle liberally

[RS4PD]

Awesome event, here's my favorite of your pics:

[NoDubJustYet]

I guess this team is run by Toyota of Germany... According to the program at least.

[NoDubJustYet]

Awesome event, here's my favorite of your pics:

Thanks! I still can't get over how awsome the event was... Access to damn near everything made it a really fun time.

I can't wait to go back!

I've considered going down there for F1 or DTM, but I think I've been spoiled by the VLN. There's no way it will be that open (or cheap) for either of those events, especially F1!

[atomicalex]

My son and I had a blast. When I get my head above water from work, I'll get the pics I have up. Did anyone get a pic of the MkII going home on the flatbed? Silly dubbers, 16Vs can't survive races!