Let’s cut to the chase, H2R made P1 in class!
While consistency seemed set to P10 early in the season, the team has now found the way to reach the highest step of the podium for the second time in a row despite difficult weather conditions at the beginning of the event on Sunday morning.
Fans stormed to the track the previous day to witness the efficiency with which H2R underwent documents and technical checks for the #157 E46 316i, or maybe was it to watch Max Verstappen racing in NLS? Nobody knows.
Regardless, all administrative tasks were completed in a record 18 minutes, coincidentally the same duration as the maximum allowed lap time for this latest RCN-GLP event which was took place on the VLN setup, i.e. including a portion of the Nürburgring Grand Prix track.
Car #157 could now drive past the thousands of admirers and fans displaying its shiny new “Technik 6” sticker
Having all safety features of the vehicle inspected and cleared by technical marshals was comforting when it came to face the wet and foggy track that greeted H2R drivers on Sunday morning.
After a 1h delay the flag was waived and drivers were released onto the track, mainly under yellow flags given the poor visibility and the slippery track surface.
Driver #1 went on to brilliantly and consistently drive the #157 car around the wet track as the fog started to clear out, setting and confirming his laps with the slightest of deviations. Aside from a slight peak in heart rate due to a sudden lack of grip in Adenau (i.e. one of the few places where a concrete wall replaces the usual armco barriers) it was all fast and smooth.
As driver #2 took over the fog had cleared entirely and the sun was shining again above the Eifel.
Once again, aside from a minor tyre squeal in Eschbach and navigating a couple of code 60’s it was a smooth and consistent drive to bring the car home with a focus on maintaining the smallest possible deviations between “set lap” and “confirmation laps” at the finish line.
All these efforts and consistency paid off as the team secured P1 in the Rookie class and P7 of 91 overall !
However it soon appeared that P1 had to be shared with another team that not only scored the same amount of penalty points, but did so in the exact same laps as H2R !
The rules and regulations state that in the event of an equal score, whichever team received its penalty last is awarded P1, unfortunately as stated above, all deviations happened on the exact same laps and with the same order of magnitude.
Congratulations to the co-P1 team!
The team is now getting ready for the last event of the season which will take place on the Nürburgring Grand Prix track.
Many thanks to H2R sponsors and all the friends and family that support this amazing experience, see you on October 24th for more heroic E46 316i racing.
