NEWS: Discounted BMW 325i Racing Opportunity: VLN Nürburgring October 27-28th

How do you fancy racing at the best circuit in the world – Nürburgring Nordschelife? In one of the best race series in the world – VLN? With one of the most experienced teams out there – Jaco's Paddock? In one of the most perfectly balanced, expertly-prepared race cars – a BMW E90 325i (pictured)?
Thought so...! Well, Road Magazine can help you!

We've teamed up with Jaco's Paddock to offer you ONE seat in the superbly set-up, uber-reliable and very rapid BMW E90 325i, racing in class V4 of the VLN on October 27-28th, in less than one month!

You will drive with two other drivers and get two practice lap sessions on October 27th, before you do two laps of qualifying on October 28th – trying to get the best lap time possible – and then it's race time, on the most iconic "Green Hell" circuit, with some of Europe's best race cars, drivers and famous faces, like fellow Road friend, Sabine Schmitz. Tempted? You should be!

This golden drive opportunity is being offered at unreal rates and includes one third of the entire four hour race – so over one hour 20m full-on race time – all the fuel, tyres, event support, hospitality, insurance (600 Euro excess) and everything you need.
All you need to do is arrive, drive and have the time of your life.

NB: Obviously, you also need to be compliant with race licence regulations, which you can read here.

If you are interested, please email proyle@roadmagazine.co.uk ASAP.

Only one slot is available – at a HUGE discount. So, get involved and make yourself some real magic memories...

MAG: Nürburgring Special No.2

Open publication - Free publishing - More autos

Get yourself in the mood for the 2013 Nürburgring season of madness with our second, classic Green Hell issue of Road. And see what's on out at the world's most incredible track here.

MAG: Nürburgring Special No.1

Open publication - Free publishing - More top gear

One of our most popular and talked about early issues of Road Magazine was this first Green Hell special. Check it out... and do share it with your Nürburgring mates – novices, or pros. And find out what's on out there here.

NEWS: Destination Nürburgring April Private Track Event

Destination Nürburgring (DN) has opened bookings for their first Nordschleife private track event of the year on April 2nd and 3rd, priced at £749 for both days. But be quick, as places on the event are set to sell out fast, with a real shortage of quality TDO's offering Green Hell events this year.
And as if you needed much more encouragement, Road and Ring super snapper pal, Jochen from Frozenspeed will be providing free photographs!
Darren Langeveld who runs DN said: "I've noticed a growing trend of third parties offering Nürburgring track days, with one UK based website in particular seemingly 'passing off' other operators events as their own. 'Passing Off' is an offence under UK Trading Standards laws. Destination Nürburgring are currently the only UK based track day operator at the Nürburgring, we're ATDO members, fully insured - and when you book with us you book with confidence. We're also the UK's biggest Nürburgring events organiser, whichever way you care to measure it. Of course - you're free to spend your money with whomever you please, but the risk in using some of these 'third party' sites is you may not know with whom you ultimately end up sharing track space. 'Buyer beware' - take it from my first hand experience, not all track day operators have the same stringent safety requirements we do!"
Find out more or book on their website. Pretty tempting stuff!

VIDEO: Bilstein Audi R8 Ring Racer

Fantastic film by top suspension gurus, Bilstein (a name synonymous with the Nurburgring Nordschleife) and one of the best looking, fastest, coolest race cars in the VLN Championship and ADAC 24-Hour, the Bilstein Audi R8. Love it!

VIDEO: Porsche 918 Spyder on the Nurburgring

Road & Track look at the Porsche 918 Spyder, testing on the Nordschleife. The mid-mounted 4.6 litre V8 produces 580bhp – which is more than the RS Spyder LMP2 race car it's based on – and the lithium-ion battery feeds 200 kW of power to the electric motor driving the front wheels. All of this resulted in a 7m14s lap... which is good, but in the light of the 2013 Nissan GT-R time of 7:18.6, is it quick enough?

VIDEO: Sabine Schmitz & Klaus Abbelen 2012 Frikadelli Racing VLN Highlights

The best of Sabine Schmitz and Klaus Abbelen racing on the Green Hell this year in the VLN in their awesome Frikadelli Racing RSR. Awesome! Want to know how to race the Ring? Watch and learn... and enjoy the sound of this bonkers fast, incredible sounding, amazingly driven hardcore 911 racer in action. Some incredible pasess to relish...  and just look at the telemetry too! Utterly insane, and we love it! Like them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frikadelli-Racing-Official-Fanpage/160145224008529?fref=ts

VIDEO: Best of Sabine & Klaus Nurburgring 24h Rennen 2012

Want a behind the scenes of what life is like for Sabine Schmitz and Klaus Abbelen entering the best endurance race on the planet – das Nurburgring 24h Rennen? Check out this video, watching them travelling around the fans on their music float pre-race, doing the warm-up parade lap waving at the fans, then letting rip over the Nordschleife in the Frikadelli R Porsche 911, day and night, dicing with the best endurance cars and racers on the planet. No wonder they always do so well and are such a popular team with the crowds. And if you think the 24-Hour is all about taking it steady... forget it. Watch the overtakes on this... especially at night. Jeees! R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Find out more about Team Frikadelli by liking their race team Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frikadelli-Racing-Official-Fanpage/160145224008529

NEWS: Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3 Victory @ Nurburgring 24-Hour

Audi have finally nailed their first victory at the awesome Nurburgring 24-Hour – with their epic R8 LMS ultra GT3. And not just a victory, but a 1-2 on the podium and three R8's in the top 10. Congratulations to them! The blue and yellow Bilstein-livery beast of an R8 blitzed to overall victory, lapping the epic GP and Nordschleife circuit some 155 times, driven by Marc Bassend, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock, and run by Audi Sport Team Phoenix. The Team Mamerow Racing R8 LMS ultra GT3 came second, driven by Christian Apt, Michael Ammermuller, Armin Hahne and Christian Mamerow. Weather conditions were typically Eifel and challenging and the standard of cars in the GT3 class higher than ever – making for one of the toughest races in recent years. Many cars fell by the wayside, were struck with mechanical issues or, as is the way in this race, crashed... including one of the top Audi R8's, car No.2, running in front at the time (finishing fifth as a result). Previous Porsche winners (five times in six years) of the event and pole position runners, Manthey Racing could not repeat their usual Green Hell form, ending up in the wall of the GP circuit lapping a back marker, dropping them back from a podium place. In fact, the top placed Porsche was our pal Sabine Schmitz and Klaus Abbelen in the Frikadelli Racing Team 911 GT3, finishing sixth and the only 911 in the top 10! The times, they are a-changing...
The 2012 ADAC Nurburgring 24-Hour final results were:
1. Basseng/Haase/Stippler/Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS ultra), 155 laps
2. Abt/Ammermüller/Hahne/Mamerow (Audi R8 LMS ultra) + 3m 35.303s
3. Frankenhout/Simonsen/Kaffer/Arnold (Mercedes-Benz) + 11m 31.116s
4. Leinders/Palttala/Martin (BMW) – 1 lap
5. Fässler/Mies/Rast/Stippler (Audi R8 LMS ultra) – 4 laps
6. Abbelen/Schmitz/Brück/Huisman (Porsche) – 4 laps
7. Müller/Müller/Alzen/Adorf (BMW) – 5 laps
8. Hürtgen/Schwager/Bastian/Adorf (BMW) – 5 laps
9. Klingmann/Wittmann/Göransson/Lamy (BMW) – 5 laps
10. Zehe/Hartung/Rehfeld/Bullitt (Mercedes-Benz) – 5 laps

NEWS: Amazing New Nürburgring Film: 24 Hours

Car film and Nürburgring film fans, take note... 24 Hours is coming. The feature film by Nick & Tim Hahne, produced by Stereoscreen tells the story of the BMW team facing its big target: winning the 24 Hours on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, one of the biggest racing events in the world, and our favourite race on the planet. The setting of the competition is the longest and most beautiful but nevertheless most dangerous racetrack, aka the "Green Hell." If you have not been, picture more than 200,000 fans putting up their tents/camps/BBQ's/fires deep in the Eifel-woods to celebrate their heroes lapping the hardest circuit in the world, day and night, in more than 200 cars. Lap per lap, hour per hour... it's thrilling, and the movie captures the atmosphere amazingly. It also covers all the preparation and testing, setting-up and nerves in advance of the big race – following a BMW M3 GT. And real Ring race stars also get a good look in – as three-times World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx appears (on his fishing boat in the Channel Islands!), they make some delicious pasta with Dirk Adorf while he chats about the race and you get to jump in the pool of Monaco´s harbour with Jörg Müller. It's an absorbing film with authentic dialogues, great filming and, as it is the nature of a race, an open ending to everyone involved, including Tim & Nick Hahne, the creators of the film.

The film will be screened during the 40th edition of the 24 Hours Nürburgring. May 16th 20:30h and May 18th 22:30h. See more at: http://www.24hours-der-film.de

VIDEO NEWS: Falken Motorsport 2012 Porsche RSR & GT3 R

Video update from Team Falken on their American Le Mans Series, brand new 2012 Porsche GT3 RSR chassis, with Jens Walther, CEO Porsche Motorsport North America. Also, the Falken Motorsports’ Porsche 997 GT3 R race car has received a number of key updates ahead of its 2012 campaign: Factory sanctioned upgrades including a switch to paddle shift gearbox and softer front anti roll bar are being fitted together with an engine upgrade by crack Porsche team Schnabl Engineering as the Falken team mounts a serious attack on both the VLN Championship and flagship N24 race in Europe and AMLS in the States. "The 2012 Porsche engine upgrade offers more power and better driveability," says team principal Sven Schnabl. :Together with the paddle shift to help our drivers avoid miss-shifts, we have a stronger package that should challenge for podiums."In addition to the upgrades, Schnabl Engineering is refreshing and servicing the gearbox, uprights, driveshafts as well as replacing ‘lifed’ components such as fuel filters and pumps. As a car specifically designed for long distance reliability, Schnabl claims that further modifications for the headline 24 hour race in May are surprisingly minimal. "We will simply be fitting additional lights and the illuminated side panels," claims Schnabl, "we don’t even need to lower the rev limit." The team will continue to use its own tyres, developed specifically for use on the Nordschleife, incorporating features to meet the specific requirements of an endurance race with exceptionally long laps. Examples include higher puncture resistance with the inevitable corner cutting and softer compounds for night time running. Drivers for the 2012 campaign have yet to be confirmed but the 2011 line up of Peter Dumbreck, Wolf Henzler, Martin Ragginger and Sebastian Asch is likely to feature during the season. 2011 was the first year that the Japanese tyre maker fielded a Porsche in Europe. After gearbox problems stymied the team’s hopes of a strong finish in last year’s round the clock race, the team returns confident that it will be competitive and reliable. "We have further tyre tests planned to refine the specifications and compounds to the 2012 chassis set up and softer front end," adds Schnabl. "With a good Balance of Performance package and a good tyre from Falken, we are in a strong position." The first test for the VLN Series takes place on 24th March, and we will have news and a video here soon...