The Ford Falcon is a car model that’s often used in racing. The podcast is saying it’s been running for several seasons with a team called Black Falcon. That’s why it’s mentioned—because it’s a recurring race car.
“Open tyre formula” means teams have more freedom to choose tires (within the rules). Since tires affect grip, teams can pick what they think will work best for the weather and track.
GC3 is a racing category that groups cars together. The team has to manage a couple of the top cars in that category, plus other cars in different categories.
The Porsche Cayman is a sports car made by Porsche. Some versions are built for racing, and the podcast is talking about how those race cars are set up and run in competitions. It’s mentioned because the Cayman has a strong presence in track events.
Term
Cup 2 GT4
“GT4” refers to a class of race cars based on production models, typically with regulations that keep costs and performance closer than higher classes. “Cup 2” in this context sounds like a specific sub-category or cup structure within GT4, affecting which cars are eligible and how they’re prepared for the event.
The Porsche 911 is Porsche’s most famous sports car. The podcast is talking about it as part of the event lineup, with multiple Porsche cars in the mix. It comes up because the 911 is a major name in racing.
Bio fuel is a type of fuel made from renewable materials. The speaker is saying they can smell it, implying the garage includes cars running on that kind of fuel.
Concept
race car engineering classes
In racing, “classes” are categories that sort cars into groups that are meant to be comparable. That way, cars with similar setup and rules compete against each other.
The Porsche 944 is an older Porsche sports car. The podcast mentions it in the context of race cars, meaning it’s being used for competition. It’s included because it’s a well-known model in racing circles.
The Lamborghini Huracán is a high-performance supercar made by Lamborghini. The podcast is mentioning a specific Huracán that’s entered in the event. It’s included because it’s a well-known, fast car used in competition.
“Stay out of the wet” means avoiding driving when the track is wet and slippery. Wet conditions make cars harder to control, so the race setup can separate or limit what runs when it’s raining.
In racing, a “class” is like a category of cars that race together under the same rules. Here, the hosts are saying this category was created just for this particular event.
The Audi TT RS is a sportier, higher-performance version of the Audi TT. The podcast is talking about a race-prepared TT RS entry in a competition. It comes up because it’s used as a serious racing car.
The Volkswagen Golf is a common compact car. The Golf GTI is the sportier version, and the podcast mentions a 50th anniversary model. It’s brought up because it’s a well-known performance car that shows up in events.
The Audi S3 is a sporty version of the Audi A3. The podcast is describing a specific team’s red S3 that’s competing alongside other cars. It’s mentioned because it’s a performance car used in events.
The Audi RS 3 is a fast, performance version of the Audi A3. The podcast is talking about an RS3 that’s been prepared for racing in a touring-car format. It comes up because it’s part of the event’s competitive entries.
A “TCR car” means the race car is built to the TCR rules. It’s a touring-car class that tries to make racing competitive without everyone spending unlimited money.
A sequential gearbox is a race-style transmission where you shift step-by-step through the gears. It’s designed to make shifting quicker and easier during hard driving.
Brand
HWA EVO
HWA EVO is the name of a specific race-car setup from HWA. They’re saying there are three cars of that EVO type in the garage.
Gazoo Racing is Toyota’s racing brand. If you see it on a race car, it generally means Toyota is involved in the program.
Car
Mercedes-AMG GT3
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a Mercedes race car made for a popular class called GT3. It’s built so different teams and brands can race each other fairly, with rules that limit big performance gaps.
A “set-up tyre” is a tire used to help the team fine-tune the car. It’s more about getting the car working right than squeezing out the absolute best lap time.
An “open-tire formula” means teams can choose tires rather than being forced to use one brand. Different tires can feel different, so teams may pick what works best for the track and weather.
RCN (runstrecken-challenge Nürburgring) is a Nürburgring event format built around setting a time and then repeating that performance across laps. The hosts describe a structure where you establish a reference lap, then other laps function more like sprints, with the overall competition against the clock.
Driving the Nürburgring Nordschleife isn’t just “show up and go.” You usually have to earn a permit by proving you can handle the track safely, often by doing required events first.
In a regularity test, you’re not racing to be the absolute fastest. Instead, you try to drive at a steady, repeatable pace so your lap times stay consistent.
The BMW M Coupe (E36) is an older BMW performance coupe. The podcast mentions it as part of the event’s lineup in the paddock. It’s included because it’s a distinctive, track-capable classic BMW.
The Ford Mustang is a famous American sports car. Here, it’s being raced by Haupt Racing, with multiple Mustangs competing under different car numbers.
The Nürburgring 24 hours is a long endurance race at a tough German track. Since it runs for a full day, teams have to plan for reliability and keep drivers performing for hours.
ABS (anti-lock braking system) prevents the wheels from locking up during hard braking. A “package” here implies the car is configured with ABS as part of its race setup for longer events, where braking stability and driver confidence matter over many laps.
Downforce is the air pressure effect that presses the car down onto the road. Less downforce usually means less grip, so the car can feel harder to control in turns.
“High commitment corners” are corners where you have to go in with confidence and accuracy. If you’re too cautious or too late, you lose time—or you can get unsettled.
The Porsche 918 Spyder is a very high-end supercar made by Porsche. It uses a hybrid system and is designed to be extremely fast. The podcast mentions it because it’s a special, notable car in the event.
The Toyota Supra is a sports car made by Toyota. The podcast is talking about Supras being used in a race team, along with other support items like tires. It comes up because it’s a recognizable performance car in racing.
The pit lane is the area next to the track where race teams pull in during the race. That’s where they do things like tire changes and other service work.
In endurance racing, “hourly updates” are periodic reports that summarize how each class is doing as the race progresses. They typically cover positions, gaps, and any incidents that affect the running order.
Cupra Leon is a sporty version of the Leon hatchback. The fact they have a couple of them means the team is running multiple similar cars to race as a group.
The Dacia Logan is a budget-friendly compact sedan/hatchback platform that sometimes appears in lower-cost racing classes or endurance grids. Its presence alongside higher-profile brands is a reminder that many series include cars built for affordability and durability.
Topic
Nurburgring Special Editions
This is a special racing event/edition connected to the Nürburgring. They’re saying the car they’re looking at belongs to that Nürburgring special edition group.
The McLaren Artura is a McLaren sports car. “Artura Trophy” here means a competition version, and they’re saying the Artura Trophy is the car with number 59.
This is a McLaren race car version of the 720S, made to compete in GT3 racing. GT3 is a common racing category that tries to keep cars from different brands fairly matched.
Camouflage colors are a disguise used during development or testing to hide the final bodywork and aerodynamic details. Teams do this so competitors and photographers can’t easily identify the car’s exact shape and design direction.
Term
underneath the bonnet
“Bonnet” means the hood. “Underneath the bonnet” is the engine area where the car’s main mechanical parts live.
Concept
testing ground
They’re using the Nürburgring like a proving ground. The idea is to stress the car in real track conditions so problems show up early.
They’re talking about how the GT3 feels on the Nürburgring after just a couple of laps. It’s a track where even early driving helps you figure out how to drive it well.
The Nordschleife is a very twisty Nürburgring track. When it’s wet, tires don’t grip as well, so the car can slide more and you have to drive more carefully.
A “roll out” in motorsport is an initial on-track shakedown or first driving session where the car is taken out to verify basic setup and systems. It’s often used to confirm the car is ready for further testing or race preparation.
A driver development program is a structured pathway where a motorsport brand or team trains and evaluates drivers over time. It typically includes coaching, simulator work, testing, and race opportunities so the driver can build skills and earn higher-level seats.
LMGT3 is a type of race class for GT3-style cars. It’s basically a category of competition used in endurance racing where cars follow specific rules so they can race fairly.
Homologation is the “official approval” step for a race car. Before the car can be used in competition, the team has to prove it meets the rules and specs.
A wind tunnel is a lab where they blow air past a car shape to measure how it affects speed and grip. It’s a way to test aerodynamics without waiting for track results.
Term
aeroside
“Aeroside” sounds like another kind of aerodynamic test setup. The idea is that engineers use more than one method to make sure their aero predictions are correct.
In engineering, “correlates” means the results from simulations and controlled tests match what the car does on track. Good correlation builds confidence that the aero/engineering models are accurate, reducing the risk of surprises later in development.
A highside is a motorcycle crash where the bike slides and then suddenly flips back upright. The rider can be thrown off hard, which is why it can be so dangerous.
The World Rally Championship is the biggest rally racing series in the world. Cars race against the clock on special stages in different countries, and drivers earn points across the whole season.
Rally Portugal is a rally race held in Portugal that’s part of the World Rally Championship. People remember it for famous stages, especially around Fafe.
Group B was a rally class from the 1980s known for being incredibly fast and dramatic. The cars were powerful and light, and they became famous for the kind of footage rally fans still talk about.
Concept
Group A days
Group A was another rally era after Group B. It focused more on cars that were closer to what manufacturers sold, so the racing felt different even though it was still very intense.
“World Rally Car” is the name for the rally car rules used in the WRC era that came after the older Group categories. It helped shape how rally cars were built and raced in later years.
Crowd control means keeping spectators safely positioned during the race. Rally stages can be dangerous, so modern events use better barriers and rules than older times.
Sealed surface means the road is paved. Paved sections usually grip more consistently than loose gravel or dirt, so the car and tires behave differently.
Loose surface means the road is not paved and the surface can move around, like gravel. That makes it easier to lose traction, so tires and driving have to be adjusted.
Tire choice means picking the right tires for the road conditions. If the tires don’t match the grip level or surface, the car won’t handle as well and you can lose time.
The Daewoo Statesman is a sedan model made by Daewoo. The podcast mentions it in a list of cars, using it as part of a naming reference. It’s included because it’s one of the models being talked about.
A “stage winner” is the driver who’s fastest on one timed section. If there are lots of different stage winners, it usually means the rally is close and unpredictable.
Term
7.7 seconds
That “7.7 seconds” is how much faster one car is than another in the overall rally standings. In rallying, seconds can matter a lot.
“Tire regulations” are the race rules about what tires teams are allowed to use. Here, the rules force teams to choose between two tire types, which affects strategy when rain is expected.
WRC means World Rally Championship. It’s the biggest rally series in the world, where cars race on timed road sections, and tires matter a lot because weather and road grip can change quickly.
A “soft” tire is made to grip better, especially in wet conditions. The downside is it can wear out faster, so drivers and teams have to be careful with how hard they push.
This is about planning tire choice based on whether rain might come. If you pick the “wet” tire but the track stays dry, you can wear it out faster and lose grip when you need it most.
In rally, “service” is a planned break where the team can adjust or repair the car and often change tires. What happens here can be a big part of the plan for the next part of the rally.
A “puncture” means the tire got damaged and went flat or lost pressure. “Stage 8” is the specific timed part of the rally where it happened, so it can quickly ruin your pace and plan.
The Ford Puma is a small crossover-type car from Ford. The podcast mentions an M Sport version, which is a trim level with sportier features. It’s included because that specific Puma is part of the event entry.
A time gap is simply how much faster (or slower) one driver is compared to another. Rally drivers watch these gaps because they affect how aggressively they need to drive next.
The penultimate stage is the second-to-last stage of the event. If something goes wrong here, there’s usually not enough time left to make up the lost seconds.
This is Hyundai’s official rally team. They’re the group that prepares the rally cars and supports the drivers so they can compete for wins and championships.
On gravel, the road surface isn’t fixed like pavement—it shifts as tires drive over it. That makes the car harder to control and can change grip from one moment to the next.
In rally races, the order you start can change the track conditions. Going earlier can mean you get better grip—or sometimes worse—depending on how the road surface evolves as more cars pass.
“Super Sunday” usually means the rally’s big final-day push. It’s when the most important stages happen, and results can strongly affect the overall points.
Electrical power is the power the car gets from its battery and electric motor. The idea here is to decide how much the car relies on electricity versus the gas engine.
Kilowatts (kW) measure power—how much “push” the car can produce. Here it’s used to talk about how power is split between the gas engine and the electric system.
Test reliability means the engine keeps working properly during testing. If you try to make more power, it can be easier to break things, so reliability matters.
Fuel flow just means how much fuel the engine gets. If you add more fuel, the engine can make more power, but it can also force other changes to the car.
The fuel tank stores the fuel the engine needs for a race distance. If teams increase power by raising fuel consumption, they may need a larger fuel tank, which affects packaging and can influence how the rest of the car is designed.
Term
core chassis
The core chassis is the main frame that everything mounts to. If you change big things like the fuel tank, it can be hard because the frame is the foundation of the whole car.
A safety car is a special car that comes out to slow everyone down on the track. It’s used when there’s a problem so drivers don’t have to race at full speed through a risky area.
Speed differential is how big the speed gap is between the cars affected by an incident and the cars coming up behind them. A bigger gap can mean a higher risk, so officials may call a stronger caution.
Race control is the officials’ command center during the race. They decide things like when to slow down the field for safety and when the race can continue.
A local yellow is a caution that applies to a specific section of the track rather than the entire circuit. The transcript contrasts it with full course yellow, implying a procedural change in when officials escalate from one to the other.
An “Alex Rossi rule” is a rules change in IndyCar that’s associated with Alex Rossi, typically named after a driver incident, feedback, or advocacy that prompted the adjustment. In this segment, it’s described as a change to how IndyCar’s rules will work going forward.
“Single lap pace” means how quick the car is for one lap when everything is at its best. It’s a way to talk about raw speed, not how the car will feel after many laps.
Dover Downs Delaware is a famous oval race track. Because it’s a one-mile oval and has a concrete surface, it changes how tires and handling behave during the race.
This is a classic Ford Cortina, but in the 1600 GT performance trim. People like it because it was a popular “driver’s car” in the UK and has a strong motorsport and car-club history.
Company
Stefan Winckelman of Lamborghini
The segment quotes Stefan Winckelman from Lamborghini. That matters because it’s the brand’s leadership explaining what’s new and why it’s important.
A turbocharger is a device that helps the engine make more power by pushing extra air into it. Here, they’re saying the Superfaio is moving to a turbo-based engine system.
“In-house” means the company made the parts itself instead of buying them from another supplier. That can matter because it may help the car’s systems work together better.
Twin-turbo means there are two turbochargers working to make the engine stronger. The idea is better power and response, and they connect it to the car’s claimed horsepower.
NCAP stands for “New Car Assessment Program,” which is a system for testing cars and assigning safety ratings. In this segment, NCAP’s star rating is tied to crash-test findings like stability of the footwell/body structure and protection for the head, chest, and abdomen in a side-impact test.
The body shell is the car’s main protective structure around the cabin. If it’s found unstable in a crash test, it means the car’s structure may not hold up well enough to protect people.
A side impact test checks what happens if another vehicle hits you from the side. It looks at whether the car’s structure stays strong enough to protect your body during that kind of crash.
The footwell area is the lower part of the cabin where your feet go. If it’s judged unstable in a crash test, it suggests the lower structure may crumple more than it should, which can be dangerous.
Head and chest protection is about how well the car helps protect your head and upper body in a crash. A “poor” rating means the car didn’t do well at limiting injury risk there.
Abdomen protection is about how well the car protects your mid-to-lower torso in a crash. “Adequate” means it wasn’t the worst, but it still wasn’t great.
A frontal impact assessment is a crash test for a head-on collision. It checks how dangerous the crash is for different parts of the body using a crash dummy.
The Toyota Starlet is a small Toyota car. In this segment, they’re talking about its crash-test result, where it reportedly earned no NCAP stars for safety.
In many races, weather changes grip and tire behavior, which can force teams to adjust strategy mid-event. That can affect when to pit, what tires to use, and how aggressively drivers can push—especially in endurance formats.
The Porsche Carrera RS is a famous Porsche sports car tied to racing history. The podcast is saying it’s showing up in very large numbers in a specific Porsche racing series. It’s mentioned because it’s a big deal for that competition.
It means that near the front of the race, cars can get taken out or lose time more often. When everyone is fighting for position, mistakes and problems tend to show up more.
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The World's Longest Running Motorsport Magazine Show
Midweek Motorsport
News, Features, Special Guests and Analysis from the Experts
Formula One, Sports Car and Endurance Racing, Rallying, Touring Cars and Bikes
If it has wheels and an engine and they keep score, it's on Midweek Motorsport.
The World's Longest Running Motorsport
Well hello everybody and welcome to a very special Midweek Motorsport.
I'm John Handoff, just after eight o'clock in the UK and just after nine o'clock here in the Eiffel, where it's cold and it's rainy.
And I'm at the start of the pit lane and in the next few minutes I'll be wandering down see if there's anybody I can talk to.
I haven't got Peter McKay with me this time so this is literally the pit walk of all pit walks
where we're just going to have to hope that there are still people arranged this evening.
I'm here of course for the IDSE Ravenole 24 hours which are live coverage in sound and vision.
That starts tomorrow Thursday. More details on that in a moment but up in London as ever is our executive producer Tim Grey.
And apart from me in the cold and wet Tim, we have what on a patch here tonight?
Good evening John, it's a patch show tonight.
We have all the usual features including a rally report from Peter McKay.
The second round of our game show pointless and all the bike and F1 news with Nick Damon.
Right then we'll save the top story till later so a bit of an upside down show at then today.
I've just jumped off the pit wall. One of the BMW 325i's has just gone past me.
It is a mix actually.
While the Nurburgring Track Operations car is an EV Kia and we've got all of the cupras that we had here last year
as the intervention and medical cars and splendid their look as well in the black and orange.
Well black and yellow really. Cupra VZ's.
Right let's get down under a little bit of cover here.
This is where it will all be happening on Sunday afternoon.
Sometime around about quarter past 3c in the European summertime because I'm standing right in front of the podium.
Let's get down to see who's in which garage.
I'm starting a pit in end which might not be the smartest thing to do.
As usual stacked garages and actually even more so this year because there's 161 entries.
It's been limited to 140 for the past couple of three seasons.
Black Falcon 123 for actually five cars in the first occupied garage which is box number four
and a variety of Porsches and BMWs for Black Falcon.
They are packed in there like sardines at the moment.
There is just enough room I would say to get around them with all five cars in there.
We know that Black Falcon are always going to be pretty impressive.
What's changed from last time is there's no driver names on those.
I suppose the Lusher Motorsport by Black Falcon 48 that's the one that we're going to be looking at at the sharp end of the field.
Now is that one there? That is. It's the black and bright orange.
The red and green one. Dylan Pereira, Timo Muller among the drivers there.
So that will be. Hello.
Tobi Muller. How are you? I'm fine.
That was handy because normally I'll have someone walking down the pit lane with me.
So you're going to be my first victim here on this year's special.
Typical Nürburgring weather with a bit of rain and a bit of cold.
It looks something similar for the weekend.
Your car runs on Goodyear tyres, open tyre formula here.
What do you reckon for the weekend?
Let's see. I mean the weather will be special.
Last week I was here standing in a t-shirt and a paddock.
So I think for this year we need the winter jackets.
And yeah, but I think we are already for the big one.
Waiting for the first track actions tomorrow.
And yeah, let's see.
What is the key to a good race week?
Even before we get to the race itself, because there's no script for the race, there never is.
But you can control a little bit what goes on in the week.
What's the key to getting a good build-up to the ADAC Ravenole 24 hours?
I mean, first you need a good team.
You need a good team, you need a good car in the preparations before the race.
Of course you need good teammates, which are consistent, which are with a good mind.
I mean, it's a race where you don't have to take any risks.
We don't have to take any issues, any mistakes.
And yeah, I think at the end of course you need a bit of luck.
You need a good car, you need a fast car.
And yeah, I mean, it's a long race, it's 24 hours.
Does anything that's gone before, either in the NLS, the qualifying weekend as it's called,
obviously we only had one of those due to the tragic circumstances,
does anything that's gone before actually mean anything as we're standing here right now?
I mean, of course we are going with the Goodyear tyres.
We do especially some developments for the manufacturer, especially Goodyear.
Of course we are still searching our good setup, struggling a bit in the past,
but I think at the end we have a good car, we have a competitive car,
and you cannot say anything for the race. There's no forecast.
No indeed, as I said, no script. It's completely jazz, man.
We're just going with it. We're just going with it.
The same for us as well. That's the joy of it as well, of course.
How important then is it to get a good starting position,
a good road position at the beginning of the race?
Top qualifying has changed a little bit this year.
Have you got a car that you think can compete and get yourself into that final part of top qualifying?
It's really difficult to say, because at the end, I think in top quali,
we definitely see the main performance of the other cars.
You don't know which car is the fastest one in the past,
because everyone is struggling, I don't say the special word for this.
Saving themselves, they're saving their performance.
Of course, of course. I think we showed a good performance in the first Q1,
so for the Saturday qualifying race with P4,
and especially with the top qualifying on Sunday with the P8,
I think that was a good performance from our side.
Let's see what it's coming up for the new top qualifying at the race.
Does that take a slightly different mindset, Tobi,
when you're going into that three-stage TQ?
No, let's say at the end, you have to give everything.
It doesn't matter in which way, and we are looking forward to it.
It would be great, and we all have fun, good guys.
The team was good, and all professionals, my teammates are very good.
We know Black Falkland from years here.
They don't do anything by halves, hence the five cars in this garage.
More cars here this year than we've seen for a little while.
Does that 21 extra cars over the 140 limit that we've had,
is that going to make a difference?
For me, I have no words for this,
because especially as a team, you have to do two top GC3 cars,
and then eight other cars in smaller classes.
For me, for the team, it's a big job, and they're doing so very well.
It's really my biggest respect for them,
that they, also from the organisers and so on,
from the team head, that they can handle every car in a good way,
that everything is competitive.
It doesn't matter if Cup 2 GT4, the Cayman GT4,
everything is well organised and well prepared,
so it's a big job from the team.
Thanks for talking to us.
Enjoy, go well, be safe.
That's great, thank you very much.
Tobi Muller, then, from the 48 Lursch team,
Acton Vsig, I suppose we should say,
for that one alongside them,
more Black Falkland, another three Black Falkland cars,
Caymans and Porsche GT3 Cup,
and a couple of, ah, it's the bio concept cars in here as well.
Oh yeah, I can smell the bio fuel as well in there,
so that's another one of the different classes that we've got here.
A fantastic guide, the classes by race car engineering,
that we tweeted out, we'll tweet that out again.
Click the Sichering.de team here with another Cup car,
the Opel Corsa from Beta Falken, 44 Porsche,
and the Dunlop car as well.
Now, Falken and Dunlop, that's the same team,
so they have, oh, they've got the Conrad car in here as well,
the Lamborghini Huracan as well, the number seven,
so this is an interesting group of four cars,
12345 cars, sorry, in box six.
The good news is we still have the Falken colours,
but they are supplemented this year
by the bright yellow and black of the Dunlop number 17 car,
which I have to say, it's the first time I've seen this up close,
and it looks absolutely stunning.
The guy's just finishing up some work on this car.
This is the Alessio Picari Yellow,
Nico Menzel, and Julian Handlaus in this car as well, isn't he?
Yeah, and Dan Boccalacci as well.
Number 17 is the one to keep an eye out.
You'll not miss it in the daylight,
and it's got its illuminated number 17 on the side as well.
They will be in the mix with its teammates,
which is in the traditional Falken colours,
which is a little bit further behind actually in there.
I'm not going to bother the guys,
because they're busy doing their final prep.
Let's move down to box number seven,
and this is a bit of a lucky dip, really,
White Angel for flying help, WNS Motorsport with 1234 cars.
So this is Porsche and BMW again,
a single BMW M2 CS Racing Cup.
The M2 Club Sport Racing Cup car, which is in bright red,
which is sitting in the very back, I'm just going to wander,
wandering here for the moment.
That was a class, basically, just to stay out of the wet.
That was a class that was conceived specifically for this race,
and the M2 is effectively BMW M's entry level.
What a car that is, if that's going to be your entry level.
And just underlying the international nature of this car,
the 961 Cayman that I'm standing next to now,
with two Hong Kong Chinese drivers,
Manuel Raya in that car as well from Germany,
and now what's that?
I should know Macky's flag on there.
I thought it was going to be South Africa, but it's not.
So that's absolutely fantastic to see those guys in here as well.
Is this your car?
This is your car.
What's your name, sir?
Carl.
Hello.
Your?
Hello.
What's your name?
My name is Carl.
Chong, how are you?
Hello.
OK, OK.
You ready for this?
Yeah.
This is one of the hardest races in the world.
You ready for it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm excited.
How much driving have you done the 24 before?
No, it's my first time.
Right, and what is going to be,
do you think the most difficult part of this week?
Obviously you've had to get your permit,
you've done some laps, racing.
What's going to be the most difficult challenge
for you and your teammates this week?
I don't understand so many English.
Sorry, I'm very sure.
Have you driven in the dark before?
Have you raced at night before?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
OK, so that's not so bad.
OK, good luck.
Go well.
Go well.
Thanks, guys.
So that's Zijong Zhang Dong in that 961 car.
My Mandarin Chinese, not great, obviously.
In Box 8, Audi TT, Max Croiser Racing,
with the other four cars in there,
with VW, Audi, VW, Golf GTI, 50th anniversary of GTI,
next year, then it's another...
See, this is...
I love this.
Dupre Motorsports Engineering, family team.
Their little red Audi S3 is in with a BMW 330i,
a Mercedes-AMG and a couple of Mercedes-AMGs.
That's the Max Verstappen Racing,
AMG team Verstappen Racing and Mercedes-AMG team Ravinal.
They are both run, of course, by Winwood Racing,
NFR Motorsports and Dupre Engineering.
Two little teams in, with arguably the people
who are going to be looking most, being looked at most.
The Dupre car, they've shut the garage door on this one,
for obvious.
So the 80 Ravinal car is Maro Engel, Fabian Schiller,
Lucas Stoltz and Maxine Martin.
And of course, along with Daniel Honketea,
Jules Gounon, Lucas Sauer,
is Max Verstappen in the number three.
But clearly, we're not going to be allowed in there.
I hope that isn't a portent of the week to come.
Max has got his own special area for his two huge motorhomes
to the far side of the track.
Audi, down here, is the 776,
which is the Sharky racing car.
And again, literally next door,
I'm so pleased Dupre are in with the two Winwood run cars.
That is brilliant, isn't it?
And that's really what all, it's all about here
at the Nürburgring.
So in garage 10 Sharky racing in that RS3 LMS,
this is a TCR car, of course, from Wheel Drive,
sequential gearbox.
They've also got a VW Golf 7.
The three HWA EVOs are in here,
along with a Porsche from Hancock as well.
They've got their doors closed as well.
Probably to keep their calls out.
Well, we've seen the black one
and they were doing some pictures around the circuit earlier on.
I saw on the circuit TV with those HWA EVOs.
Moving further down to the Gazoo Racing and KCMG
and more Sharky racing cars, BMWs,
and some of the top-class cars,
the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is the number 47,
which is that KCMG car.
I'll just get out the way while the 967 Brickle racing car comes out.
Gentlemen, ladies, how are we all?
What's your name?
Lucas.
Hello, Lucas.
John.
Hello, John.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
How's the car looking?
How's the car going?
Obviously, we're waiting for tomorrow.
Blue, white, and black.
We have a little bit of chrome on the roof.
I like that.
I'm looking at the glorious Morte of Power unit,
which is pushed so far back in this car.
AMG, Mercedes have been doing better this season.
It's 10 years since their last one.
Can you guys win this year?
You've had some good outings in the NLS so far.
I think everyone can win.
It's a matter of luck.
Is it luck that makes the biggest difference?
Is that true?
It's a traffic, definitely.
How much more is there to do in preparation?
I see you've got some breaks out here.
Just doing the last little bits and pieces before tomorrow.
Just some break, change practice, and that's it.
I wish you good luck.
The rest is done.
Well, it has to be now.
There's no time left.
Let's hope you have a very quiet week,
and there's nothing to fix before the race.
Well done, guys.
KCMG talking to us there here on Midweek Morte Sport.
Brilliant stuff.
Gentlemen, thank you.
Next garage down.
Jutta racing with their two Audi's.
Hoffa by Bonk with three cars,
including a couple of Cup cars.
Actually, not a couple of BMW EVOs.
The M4 EVOs, the G82s,
and a couple of top-class cars as well.
Again, as you might imagine, with the cold and the damp,
there's quite a lot of garage doors down.
More GD3 SP9 cars than ever before,
but there'll be some great stories
in the other part of the grid.
There's a Cupra Leon competition TCR
and the Cupra TCR DSG.
The 577 is what you can probably hear just ticking over.
These cars all in the other classes,
and the battles here will be as furious and fast
and hard fought than any of the other ones as well.
Here's another car, actually,
on a set-up tyre at the moment,
on a wet weather Goodyear Eagle.
And again, a reminder,
we'll go through this at the weekend
when we've had the full list.
This is an open-tire formula,
one of the few big races in the world
that is that.
Here's Crown Racing.
Good to see them back with the 777.
RPM running that one for Tracy
and the rest of the team.
Eiffelkind Racing,
Pistorius by Eiffelkind,
Red Bull Team apt with the Lamborghini,
and Asbest Racing,
we know Asbest as well.
Let me see if I can see anybody I know
down the back of this garage.
Nick Jonson, Tracy Crone,
Philip Hanprecht and Patrick Heisman
in that number 777.
And again, a real mix of cars in here.
Ladies, gentlemen, good afternoon, good evening,
whatever time it is around the world, people are listening.
Do you speak English?
A little bit.
What's your name, sir?
I'm Freddie.
Hello, Freddie, which car are you with?
No one, no car.
All right, so you've just come to watch
and speak to some friends.
Yeah, tomorrow we have RCN.
Yes.
And I'm the car chief of the car.
Explain about RCN,
because this is another thing I think
that people don't realise about the Nürburgring,
but it's another way.
Is it not that you can qualify for your permit?
Yes, I think you have to raise
three or four races
to take a permit for the Nürburgring Nordschleife
to drive the three-hour RCN race
and after you can get your permit for 24 hours.
And RCN effectively is what we would say in English,
a regularity test.
You've got to be consistent.
No, no, consistency is in the GLP.
The RCN is for its runstrecken-challenge Nürburgring.
You have to set a time
and have to repeat this in one lap
and the other laps are sprint for sprinting.
You have to push, push.
So the competition is against the clock,
not necessarily your other competitors who are out there.
Yes.
So it's a time trial, effectively.
Yeah.
Okay, brilliant.
And how many cars will be out this weekend?
Lots?
I don't know a lot, yeah.
And what's the key then?
What do you tell your driver
when you're getting ready to put them into the car
and send them out?
What is the advice that you give them
when they're going out to do this?
Push and let the car in good shape.
Yeah, bring it back in the same way it took it out.
Okay, good luck.
Go well tomorrow.
See, loads of things going on here.
And that is the key to this race.
It's not just the top class.
It's not even the 24 hours, the ADAC,
Ravinal, 24 hours itself.
I'm not even halfway down here,
but I pick up the pace again.
Right to engineering with a Porsche next up.
This is Box 15.
The BMW M2 ring is in here from BMW M Motorsport
resplendent in its new colorways.
And they're riding the Crest of a Wave, of course,
at the moment after their WAC victory with the 1-2.
In fact, last weekend, Andreas Rusch will be here.
Rusch will be here.
We'll grab him for a chat.
Showbath Motorsport has got a BMW GT3 A4, the M4.
And the Crossport is in here from Reitner Engineering as well.
So again, a bit of a mixed bag of cars.
Massive, massive fan favorite.
That BMW with the touring body, the estate car.
Everybody loves it.
Everybody loves a fast wagon.
Rover Racing next up with the 1 and 99.
More BMWs.
Huber Motorsport's Porsche.
Rent-a-drive.
I've got a couple of Kim and GTS and a CM12.
And again, these will all be in different categories
when we get down.
And I'm just seeing if there's anybody else
we can grab a word with.
HRT Ford in the next one.
This is Haupt Racing with two Mustangs.
Three Mustangs, excuse me.
64, 65, and 67.
Where's 66?
Somebody has stolen it.
Resplendent in their colors.
There's a black one.
There's a camouflage one as well.
Excuse me.
Do you speak English?
Yeah, I do.
And your name is?
Marty.
Hello, Marty.
And what are you?
You're with Haupt, obviously, HRT.
What are you doing here this weekend?
I'm running car 65.
Right.
OK.
So this is perfect.
This is what I want to know.
Can you ever prepare enough and totally for the Nurburgring
24 hours?
It's difficult, but you always try to manage.
And you always manage to prepare the car at the best.
Or if not, you just put more hours in and that's it.
But eventually it's got to stop because on Saturday morning
you'll take it out for warm-up and then you've only got an hour or so
before you're back on the grid.
Engineers always tell me there's never enough time.
I would think, hey, that's especially true.
You could say so, yeah.
From Friday evening to Saturday, there's not really enough time
to prepare.
In the end, we managed to put the car on our best.
Yeah.
So we have a good and running car for the weekend and for the race.
I've been watching and covering this race for a long time.
I've been watching all of this season so far.
You guys are showing a lot more pace.
The EVO car, you've got the EVO car this year.
So what, and all three cars are EVO.
I know it didn't say that on one of the first entry lists,
but all three cars are the EVO cars.
I think that's right, anyway.
What are the big differences from your point of view
in setup and working with the cars for the EVO that you've got this year?
I think it's not related to the EVO.
It's that we have more experience on the car.
Yeah.
Simple as that.
More miles, more date and more time.
Yeah.
More understanding.
Exactly, yeah.
Now here, you have so many different potential conditions.
How the heck do you set up a car for here?
I mean, there must be so many compromises.
I'm not really involved in that, so I cannot really give you an answer to that.
Okay.
That's an engineer question to me.
So when you say you're running the car, you're effectively the tactics and...
I'm the mechanical car chief.
Okay, got you.
Mechanical responsible for the car.
Okay, got you.
All right.
Well, we wish you well.
I hope you have a very quiet weekend from now to the start of the race,
so there's nothing to fix.
Those drivers, you give them a lovely car.
They bring it back all scraped and dented.
All in one piece for the weekend.
All in one piece for the weekend.
Work well, be safe.
Thanks, guys.
It's very interesting.
As you can probably hear, we've got a few cars ticking over, actually,
as they return to the pit lane.
Next one down, Muller Motorsports.
12345
There's six cars in here.
Yes, there are.
So this is the distinctive white, black and blue H&R livery of Muller Motorsports.
And there's a face I recognize.
Hello.
Hi.
Hello, Missy.
How are you?
Very good.
How are you?
Very good.
I'm desolate that I haven't seen you so much this year.
If you haven't recognized the voice of Michelle Gagging, how are you?
And you had such a good start to the season and I haven't seen you for a little while.
Yeah, it's like I announced on my Instagram profile.
I don't have a full program this year, unfortunately, which is quite a shame.
But I managed to find this possibility in the very last minute.
So I'm going to do my first 24 hours of numering.
I mean, I've done Le Mans six times.
I've done Spa three times.
I've done Daytona two times.
You know, I've done all of them, but I've not done this one.
So it's not in the usual car for me.
It's in a cop car.
So it's a little bit different than the big brother here, the GT3R, but it's better than sitting at home.
Yeah, drivers need to drive.
When people say, I want to be a commentator, I say go commentate.
You can't pretend to do it.
You actually have to do it.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
I will be commentating at the 24 hours of Le Mans, actually.
Really?
Yes, exactly.
For whom?
For work.
All right.
So you're going to be part of the WECT, right?
Yeah, exactly.
We'll see you again then.
Yeah, exactly.
So what's the preparation being like for this?
Did you already have your permit or did you have to go through that at the early part of this season?
No, I got the permit last year, actually.
So Porsche gave me the permit, which was very nice.
But then I was like, well, I have the permit now, so I need to use it.
The preparation has been extremely limited.
I've not done any racing here this year.
I've done some development work together with Porsche, but more on a road car.
So I have tried to prepare.
I knew this five days ago.
Wow.
So when you said it came together late, you weren't kidding me.
I was not joking.
So no time to prepare.
You've basically got down here.
Did you know the team, the guys from Moulinat already?
I mean, I knew the team, obviously.
I mean, those blue cars, they're quite iconic.
So I knew them and it came together very late.
But in the end, it came together and I'm here and I tried to prepare as much as possible with Sim and watching on-boards and so on.
But you know, I'm here now.
It's rain and I've not done one single lap in the rain at the Nordschleife or so.
And these cars, okay, it has the ABS package on because it's a longer race.
But still, these are quite difficult cars to drive because there's not that much downforce.
In a straight line, they'll be as quick, if not quicker than the GD3.
Yeah, we will be quicker.
The cup car is on the straight.
That's what the guys that I've been racing a lot against, they're like, yeah, you're going to be passing us on the straight.
And I'm like, yeah, okay, but you know, there's quite a lot of corners around this track.
And for sure, the cup car, it is more difficult, it's more demanding.
I'm used to the GD3R, which I believe in the end could be, let's say, easier.
But in the end of the day, you have more downforce, which means you're also carrying more speed and through some of those, let's say, tricky corners.
The high commitment corners, yeah.
The high commitment corners.
And you know, the high commitment corners, I believe it comes with experience here.
And you know, that's why I'm doing this race really just to get as many laps as possible.
When was the last time you drove a cup car?
It was in 2014.
So not even this version of the cup car?
No, it was the first generation of the 991.
It just came, it swapped from the sequential gearbox to the paddle shift.
And it was the first year and it was a challenge.
It was a huge challenge going into the cup car.
But let's say my experience has become quite a bit bigger since then.
So hopefully it's going to be less of a challenge.
Tell me, you have had some laps in a 992 cup car?
No, I haven't.
My hat is off to you, Miss Gatting.
That is outstanding.
And so the first time your backside is going to be in that seat
is when you roll out on Thursday at your first laps
around the Grand Prix Strecker and then out on the North Slover.
Yeah, exactly.
That's a baptism by fire we would see in the UK.
Exactly, it's going to be a challenge.
I can tell you're looking forward to it though.
Yeah, I am.
You know, I had to think about to make sure I made the right choice,
but I think I did and once again, you know, I have a lot of respect for the North Slover.
I have a lot of respect for the people that are very, very fast here.
And I know that you can put me in Spa,
you can put me in any racetrack around the world.
I will be right on pace when I go out there.
I know it's going to be different here and I respect that.
I'm aware of that and it adds a different pressure on me
and I will build it up my own way.
You haven't forgotten how to drive since the last time you got in a car.
You will put your experience to good use, I'm sure.
We're looking out for you.
Enjoy it, go well, be safe.
Thank you very much, thank you.
Great to speak to you, Michelle.
I wasn't expecting to see you.
That's five years ago.
Fantastic stuff.
918 is the car number for Michelle Gatting.
Pure racing, I've got a few cars in Box 19.
They're sharing with the two Toyota Supras,
Toyota Tires and Ravanault Japan.
And in fact, not three Toyotas in there.
And also the Ring Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, the number 32 car as well.
And then, Zorg Rensport, SRS was Zorg Rensport,
along actually with Ravanault and a BMW and all three,
an E363 on a TI, they're working with their Cherisport Peugex
with their top-class Audi.
And then, oh, hello.
That's interesting.
Very interesting.
Another BMW with a hatchback, but it's not the BMW wagon
that I was talking about earlier on.
Zorg Rensport, again, so that's almost two full garages.
And they actually have one of the side-by-side garages
with north-centre wall in it.
And again, a Supra in there, an M2-class racing car
and a couple of Caymans and Cayman Ss in a 540,
again, just underlining the massive variety
that there is up and down this pit lane.
I'm getting towards that.
I can see the end.
I can see the end.
Pro Sport, four cars.
Aston Martin and three Mercedes, GT3s and GT4s.
The Aston is right here next to me.
And my goodness, don't they look absolutely tremendous?
Again, a black and yellow seems to be the color.
This is the Christian Krohn's Mattiah Drudy, Nitty team
and Fernando Laser in that car.
And they look absolutely incredible.
And there's the 37 Aston as well.
So that 34 Aston, I've just mentioned,
that's the Valkenhorst car.
Up on a Tyjax at the moment,
where there's some final prep going on.
The rain's getting worse.
You can probably hear it on the microphone now.
A Valkenhorst with a couple of Aston Martin, GT3 Evo's.
And they're also running actually three Aston GT3 Evo's
and an M2 Racing, G87 car.
I hope this water's good for me here,
because it's very wet.
I'm getting down towards the end of the pit lane now.
And what you will hear me say is a team
that will be mentioning a lot in the hourly updates
for the classes.
BSL, I've got two here.
Dynamic GT and high class racing.
High class with their dark red and white Porsche,
the number 86 car.
And as Fjord back.
And Harry Kings in the number 86 as well.
Can't see any of the guys around,
pushing our luck, I think, a little bit
with the weather as it is.
I'm going to need to sprint back
to get my blood running again.
Renato Motorsport with the 786
bright yellow Lamborghini.
We'll not miss that one.
We've got a couple of Cupra Leons
from Young Motorsport
and the 145 BMW.
Very few garages with four cars in.
Most are five or six.
Here's a four.
No, that's a five as well.
Mantai with the E-Fuel Grace Man,
the 992 car.
Also the 911.
They had all the Grello cars out
in formation earlier on the week.
And we've got the Dacia Logan back as well.
The Oleskali Garage Racing
is the number 300.
It's in blue and bright green.
Can't miss that.
In there.
There's Grello.
Oh, here's Grello.
Kevin Estra, Ajahn Guining
and Thomas Prining will be campaigning
the 911.
Just the three drivers there
in that one.
And it is very Grello this year.
Very Grello indeed.
Got a Kirtram 7 ticking over here.
This is one of the new Kirtram 7 340
Nurburgring Special Editions
which is in the pit there.
It's not competing, I should say.
Dürer Motorsport, Kugman Racing
and Open Motorsport,
JS Competition as well.
So this is an interesting garage as well
because Dürer, of course,
have got the two McLarens.
The Artura Trophy is the number 59 car.
And then the very lovely blue,
white and Bitburger coloured
McLarens 720S GT3.
That is an absolute piece.
That is going to be a fan favourite
in the models.
And still, I'm not at the end of the pit lane.
Sorry, Tim.
As we get down...
I'm surprised.
You can still hear me all the way down here.
Hyundai Motorsports.
Now, this is interesting
because Hyundai, with the 3 or 2
and the 3 or 3
in the
sort of camouflage colours
these guys are running
in
SP40
I think it is
and they're running
underneath the bonnet.
I can't see that.
Can you hear it?
I don't know.
That's not the one that's ticking over.
Is this one ticking over?
No, he hasn't fired it up yet.
But what they're doing here
is they're using the Nurburgring
as a testing ground
because the engine underneath that bonnet
that camouflage bonnet
with the big shell decal on it as well
and all the Ns.
N for Nurburgring, N for Nanking
which is where the
Hyundai NR&D comes from
and there's a prototype engine
road car engine
underneath the front of that
that they are testing out.
They've got a full TCR car as well.
That's the Nr. 830 Elantra
which is just ahead of it.
That's the Manuel Lauc,
my bassing,
Neato Bastion
and my corner car
as well.
But keep an eye on the 302
and the 303
because as we see
in English
they are putting their money
where their mouth is.
Manuel Lauc's in both of those cars
that I've mentioned
actually as his corner as well.
And as I say
that is a brand new
prototype
road car engine
that they are
testing here
in a better place
I would have thought.
GT tyres
have got three cars in
Box 29
a Supra
a 2PM WM4
it's going to get very loud
here.
The Schnitzelheim Nr. 11
Mercedes is here
as well.
Where's that one?
Is that out on the
pit lane?
Not quite.
And then we're down to
the last couple of three boxes
Keevan Mortesport
our thoughts are with them
after the awful
events of the
first of the two
qualifying weekends.
Of course
they're out in the BMW 240i
Racing Cup
and they've got the 330i
the 505
as well
will be taking part
and will be keeping an eye
on Keevan
having lost one of their
teammates of course
in that
lots of BMWs,
Golfs
etc.
Dare I walk round the front?
Yes I think that can.
I see a Porsche here
the number 18
with Jake Hill's name
and Patrick Colvin
and Kyle Tilly's name
on that car
so which boxes
are they in all the way down here?
The number 18
here we are
next one across
see if I can see any of the guys
from
Lyonspeed who are running that.
Here came a Racing
I've got three cars in there
and then the other two
and the two Lyonspeed cars
and then
and this is what I said
a little bit earlier on
the guys who will be talking about
a lot in the hourly updates
when we do
the
classes further down the field
Adrenaline
Motorsport
Team Manhattan Wheels
they've got the last two garages
almost to themselves
Gigi Motorsport
as an interloper
so these are Porsches
BMWs
in a variety of different classes
I will be
absolutely shocked
if we aren't
talking about them
at the top of two
or three or four
different classes
by the time
that
we get into the race
and I didn't have to find him
he's found me
hello
in the wet
to Gia Kill
how you doing mate?
I'm good, how are you?
damp, cold
but it's the Nurburgring
it's freezing isn't it
for anyone listening
around the world
it is
it might only be
whatever it is
8 to 10 degrees
the field is colder than that
it's so cold
and
yeah it is definitely wet
but hey
we're here
you made it
and it's the 24 hours of the Nurburgring
and you got your laps that you needed
I have
yeah and I'm energy to three car
so that's what we need to do
that didn't look like
it was going to happen at one stage too
no it didn't
just because
obviously the Nurburgring
kept throwing surprises
with weather
and then
obviously
we
unfortunately lost Paul
you are in the accident
yeah
so
you know it's been a bit of
a bit of a trying time
for everyone here
but
you know but yeah
we managed to get through
and yeah here we go
it's my first
Nurburgring 24 hours in a GT3 car
and?
well I'll let you know about it later
have you driven the GT3 around here yet?
two laps
excellent
that's all you need mate
you sorted now then Nord?
yeah no not really
yeah but
good I'm pleased you said that
thank you yeah
it's um
yeah it's a challenge
it's just everything's just so
different
you know
and I know that
you know that
sort of
doesn't make sense
but every time you go up
to a next speed category of car
everything changes around here
you know
things that were flat
aren't anymore
things that weren't flat
are now
and you know
just the whole
whole thing changes
you know
all your turning points are different
it's a challenge
but hey
that's why we love it
that is why we love it
and hopefully
you know
we can have a good run
we've got some great teammates
with me in
in the line speed Porsche
and yeah
just going to have some fun
Patrick Colben the team
know that we're around here
you're in good hands
we've known them
a very long time
um
do you have to
recalibrate the brin here
we have to in the commentary box
because the times
and the lap we saw
much longer and different
I mean even
it's twice as long as the mom
for example
yeah absolutely John
you know
it takes
honestly it does take
a couple of laps
just to get your head
back into it
there's so many rises
compressions
things that
you know
put the body through
you know
feelings that it doesn't
normally go through here
you know
so it's definitely
going to be a bit of a
bit of a challenge
but yeah
I've never driven the
Nordschleife in the rain
so
it's just the same
only slightly slow
yeah
probably a lot more
slippy ever
yeah
you just got a feel
for the grip mate
this is where you bring
out your inner rally driver
because that's much more like
a rally stage
than it is a track
because it's so
different lap to lap
isn't it
at the end of the day
over 50% of my
British touring car winds
have been in the rain
so I'd like to think
I'm pretty good with the rain
when it comes
right well get in out
of the rain
and best to Kyle
and to you
and to Patrick
for the race
you listen to the midweek
more to sports
it is
episode 18 of series
21
while I dash back
to the booth
for the rest
of the programme
going to take you back
a week
or so
to a little interview
that
I recorded
with James Barclay
from McLaren
he's the man
who's heading up
the McLaren
hypercar
programme
and
back in the last year
I think it was
when we first talked
to him
when he was in post
he told us then
that they were
targeting
for May
to get that car
on its wheels
and running
that's exactly what happened
so when I spoke to him
at Spa Franciscan
last weekend
I asked him
how the project was going
it's been an incredible time
a team have worked
so so hard
to get to the point
where we
had our roll out
the first time
we turned wheels on track
was the start of this week
4th of May
as planned
winding the clock back
over a year
ahead of that
we planned the roll out
on the 4th of May
and so
to achieve that
is a huge achievement
in its own right
all the
delivery of the parts
on time
to spec
is a critical one
so
really proud of everyone
to achieve that
it was really
a proud moment for us all
to see the car
turn wheels for the first time
I've got the film
on my phone here
and as it pulled away
on EV power
and then fired up
the internal combustion engine
and left the pit lane
that was a really special time
for all of us
and today we will remember
a really
positive roll out
for the car as well
and that's the precursor
getting ourselves ready
for our first full track test
and then a big
programme ahead
this year in 26
getting ready for 27
so
a long road ahead
John is the truth
but importantly
we've had a successful roll out
and we know those can be difficult
but it went really well
not just with the car
but also how the team
jelling together
for the first time
was bringing the group together
and it was a really
a really
key milestone
I didn't realise
you were also
much big Star Wars fans
but May the 4th
was with you
in that case
yeah it's
we had the laugh
internally on that one
exactly
alright so that was a roll out
you can't be hanging around
you can't
rest on your laurels
there was some lovely footage
that you could together
as well
which the car was going at speed
which you must be delighted about
you can't take too much from that
you've got to get into your testing
and
proving phases
because this car
has to be finalised
and homologated in
next to no time
yeah I mean
it comes at you
thick and fast as you say
but yeah we were
straight up to 100% power
on our roll out
which is good
you know it's
a long road ahead though
we haven't put the car
through its paces properly yet
we haven't done
our endurance tests yet
so there's
the best way to describe it
I described it earlier
is we're at base camp
right it takes a lot
to get to base camp
you have to have
a lot of preparation
you have to bring
a lot of things together
it's quite hard work
getting to base camp
but the hard work
is really ahead
as we try and reach the summit
and that's got to be the goal
over the next
course of 26
into 27
another driver
announced it as well
a driver with pedigree
a driver with championship
behind him
in this category
why was Lorenz Vantor
top of your list
or second top of your list
at least in terms of
the ones that have been announced
I think you said it all there
John right
2024
a well endurance
championship driver's champion
that's a huge amount
of not just one
accolades
had an incredible
career in sports car racing
so far
Lorenz has a wealth of experience
and pace
and watching him at Le Mans
last year
that car
that crew did a great job
and Lorenz is part of that line up
and so we look at
everything he brings to the mix
that experience
that pace
that consistency
his car is normally making progress
when he's in it
and that's important
and also quite frankly
he was really motivated
to join us
he absolutely wants to be racing
in the well endurance championship
he wants to racing at Le Mans
he wants to see a McLaren driver
and that was
I saw that in his eyes
and that meant a lot to us as well
and also fair play to Porsche
and we know them very well
we respect each other a lot
the two organizations
we have a lot of
past racing experience together
myself particularly with
the Porsche guys
in other championships
and they've been very
good to say to their drivers
we know that's a dream of yours
we're not going to stand in your way
and we enable you to come and do that
because it is an odd situation
because he's going to continue
in the Imza championship
Lorenz Fanto is going to continue
in the Imza championship
in the long races
and effectively still work for you
and help develop the car
do you foresee any issues?
yeah I mean obviously this year
first he joins us
in our test program
where it doesn't clash with him
so he's allowed to
focus on his
his Porsche Penske program
so that's clear
but obviously our test program
can work around quite a bit of that
and then for 27
of course the priority
is the well endurance championship
and his role with us here at McLaren
who did the roll out?
who did the majority of the work
in the roll out?
yeah so we had
Mikkel Jensen of course joined us
for a roll out
it's great to see Mikkel in the car
he's obviously
immediately tuned to get into it
for some time now since we announced
and it was great to him
and he even said in some content
he did his real privilege
to turn wheels for the first time
and take that responsibility
and already he was
providing great feedback
just fantastic to see him
working with the team so well
straight off the bat
and then we had Gregoire Saucy
as well as their roll out
with us
obviously he's been
in our McLaren driver development program
and he was racing with
Unidore Sports last year
in the McLaren in LMGT3
so someone who's been close
to us for some time now
and also great to see
one of our younger generation
joining us for a roll out as well
do we read anything into that
or is that just part of his development
and I suppose the question
that everybody's now screaming
at whatever device
that they're listening to
this on right now
when do we hear about
the rest of the drivers
are you going to drip feed those into us
just to tease us all the way
through 2026?
I mean I think just on the second point there
the reality is
drivers have contracts
no one's sitting around
doing nothing
and the reality is
you have to respect
their current contracts
where they are
so in time when we can
especially we've said
openly for a long time
we are having a first focus on
experienced hypercar drivers
and in many cases
there's a time and a place
to announce them
and it's not just us
that is controlling that
so that's the first point
and then also we have
at a time zone
we don't have to make a decision
on everybody yet
but yeah we have more drivers
already secure and announced
when we can
and then also in the future
we haven't made all the decisions yet
so there's some options
to open to us
and this year is our year
to choose that
and having drivers like
Gregoire, Richard Boucher
Ben Hanley join us
to support our test program
we need drivers
with experience, with pace
and with great feedback
to support our test program
and we have time
to make the decision
but yeah
it's great to have
those drivers supporting us
and I know they very much
appreciate the opportunity
to be with us
and working with us this year
Do I take from that
and no names, no pack trails
so I'm not trying to trip you up at all
I think you know me better than that
but you have clearly identified
some drivers
who will become McLaren drivers
but you talk there
and I'm pleased to hear you say that
about respect
because they may well be
with someone else
either in this paddock
or in another paddock
doing something else
but you have clearly identified
and got some agreement
from other drivers
that they will join you
as you can imagine
contracts are always like
it's like a complicated map
and you have to chart that course
carefully it's not done overnight
so as you can imagine
for my first day in role
one of the most important things
has been identifying
our driver line up
so we have a course charted
and it's just about reaching those points
making those announcements
at the right time
I know you've got a dash to another interview
so thank you for this time
very quickly
the work starts here
some decisions have had to be made
in terms of the technical engineering
are there any big decisions left now
that you've got to make
or is this kind of fine tuning
and proving things in the real world
before homologation
before you set the specification of the car
yeah it's quite a complex kind of
map of activity right now
but fundamentally the hard points
are largely there I would say
we've tooled the car
you've seen the body works
it's been produced to go testing
so we've got it from CFD
to wind tunnel
and the aeroside
now we track test and validate that
if it correlates
I'm in a great place fantastic
if we need to go back to drawing board
in some areas
we have time to do that
when it comes to the engine
we're developing our own engine
so all new engine
not something which has been used before
without a technical maturity
and that's an engine
which is going to be developed
through the course of our test program
we have a plan
again as long as we reach those milestones
from a reliability
and a performance
and efficiency point of view
then we'll be happy
but it is a development process
we're in now
we want to validate parts
and get them locked in
but the truth is if we discover things
or we see
we want to improve performance
or we see an opportunity
for more performance
we'll grab that until we homologate
you've got to be prepared to pivot
if you have to
James, absolute pleasure
thank you
thanks John, much appreciated
Nick Damon is with me
not physically
but virtually
I'm virtually with you
it's almost there
we haven't actually introduced you
probably yet
so good evening Nick Damon
good evening everybody
good evening Tim, good evening John
good evening the team
over in the Nürburgring
I'd like to point out
it's been raining here as well
it's not as cold as it is here
let's talk about bikes
because we've had some at the weekend
we certainly do
we have the Le Mans
the Grand Prix of France
Le Mans
which is the best attended race
of the year
now in the MotoGP calendar
and a packed crowd
saw a pretty impressive weekend
of action
including another massive accident
for Marc Marquez
it's meant he's off to have some operations
he's had some operations already
he's already had two things worked on
one of which is his foot
which is what he injured
in this massive highside
he had in the sprint race
and the other thing is
what he thinks has been
preventing him from performing
for the rest of the whole season so far
from a previous injury
which is an operation
when they decide to stabilise his disc
to hit his shoulder
and I've had that done
but obviously not quite as extreme as he had
they put some screws in
to stabilise the ligament
from the upper arm
and probably one of those screws
worked its way loosed
during one of the other accidents
he's had
and it's been tickling on a nerve
and making it very difficult to do things
whilst he's been riding
and he thinks that's the problem
he's been having and being consistent
and they have taken that screw out
or worked on that screw
at the same time
as cutting him open
and it's foot he did at the weekend
and he's definitely missing one race
and possibly two
It's a very agile nerve
and it must have been agony
apparently it doesn't hurt
when he's on a motorcross bike
only when he's in position
for a motor GP bike
It must be the way he leans
I can't need to bendy
So we have
because of that
Marco Vizecchi
just a point clear
at the top of the table Nick
Well, yeah, I mean it was a
you know, a privilege
we've carried on their good form
without
Marco has been obviously out of form
we think now
because of the shoulder range
there's not been a great big deal
of extra performance
from Bagniai
who's supposed to be the leader
at Ducati
and that's now been left to
Alex Marques had a pretty bad year as well
he keeps falling off
not to be quick either
on the 26th to Ducati
but Fabio D. Gian Antonio
has been the main
stay of the Ducati push
but that's been completely
overwhelmed by the
the comeback of Aprilio
initially there by Marco Vizecchi
and now every single session
every single race
our 2024 world champion
Jorge Martín is showing his class
and he's a double win
despite lowly good positions
over the weekend
and it does now look like
he's coming back into
and he has to be the favourite, John
And the KTM of Pedro Acosta
isn't having a terrible season
No, they haven't managed to win
and that's the thing
the KTM obviously are mired
in all sorts of other problems
and financial to try to get out of
and uncertainty is the only thing
they have at the moment
and certainty at KTM is the uncertainty
and so Pedro hasn't won a race yet
he's still way more competitive
than the rest of the KTM riders
but of course the hot room
in fact the hot factor
they actually have to get round to
signing the agreement with Liberty
so they can actually announce this
is that Acosta of course
has already gone to Cati for next year
so they're looking at what
who they can sign
it's going to be a huge number of changes
massive changes in the ride line-ups next year
it's going to be literally
going to be all changed at crew
for the races
very few people staying with the same team
Two riders are going to make their motor
GP comebacks this weekend
in Catalonia
tell us about those
oh I didn't know that
I know that the thing to Cati decided
not to replace Marcus
so I don't know
I'll guess
Danny Padrosa is coming back for one
we have a fifth Yamaha
and that's going to be in the hands of
Augusto Fernandez
and we have the return of
Mavik Vinyalas
alright if he's coming back
from injury rather than coming back from
somewhere else entirely
it wasn't so much injury
it was a damaged screw
again another damaged screw
it's interesting because obviously
most times when you get metal work
stuck inside you as a normal person
they let it all mend
and then they take the metal work out again
but it seems that motor GP riders
kind of eschew the
removal of the metal at this point
because that obviously would take them
another few months to get over the removal operations
they just leave it in there
and then of course it moves around a bit
I don't know
most of the people we know
normal people just get taken back out again
they go in
the bone builds around the various
knobs and the screws out again
did we have World Supervox as well?
no we got it this weekend
what's going to happen in World Supervox this weekend then?
Nicola Bolega is going to win all three races
yes
that's a really easy one
it's not Mystic Nick by the way
who's not going to be racing?
it's Bruno isn't it this weekend
yeah I think so
who's not going to be racing there?
Miguel Overa is whose injuries have turned out to be much more severe than expected
and who else?
I've only got one injured person
who have you got injured as well?
Jake Dixon
has he run at all this year so far?
no he ran in pre-season
he's been crashed at the Phillip Island Test
Phillip Island
and has been variously replaced by
Yuki Kuni, Johnny Ray
and it's going to be Yuki
who serves the substitute again
it's not Bruno
it's Mosch of course in the Czech Republic
oh yes they go somewhere else
it was a very heavy braking to turn one
which used to be the place
where Topprak when he was doing
was able to make up so much time
but of course he's not doing it
so Nicola Blake will easily win all three races
I think that's pretty much all the bike news there is
so
we will
go back to John
who can tell us what's coming up in the second hour of the show
Midweek Motorsport
and don't you dare switch off now
because the next hour is going to be even better
well in the second hour of tonight's show
oh food is arriving
so
it might lose me for a little bit
in the second hour of tonight's show
we will be talking about this race at the weekend
here DAC
maybe grab one or two of the guys
see if they've got some predictions
we can tell you who the starter is
for the Le Mans 24 hours
Tim wants to
torture us with another pointless
game show this time the German edition
but we'll kick off the second hour
of the show tonight
with a brand new father
welcome to Robert
Keith Lennon Mackay
and his dad has rally reports
next
week motorsport
on Radio Le Mans dot com
welcome to another
edition of Rally Report
here on Midweek Motorsport
with me Peter Mackay
at the weekend we saw Rally
Portugal hosting
the 6th round of the World Rally Championship
for 2026
and Rally Portugal is an event
that has been part of the very
fabric of the World Championship
for generations now
and rally fans when we think
of Portugal you think back
to those crazy videos
of the group B cars flying
between seas of people
and Colin McCray in the group A days
and into the early World Rally Car days
doing exactly the same thing
it's a country that's really rally mad
particularly in the area
of Faf where a lot of the iconic
stages are
luckily safety wise we're in a
different era than we were
back then and crowd control
is a lot more advanced than it was in those days
but the passion for rallying
still remains
and why does Portugal hold
such a close place
in the heart of not just local rally
fans but around the world as well
well it's a rally that just
throws up so many
curve balls for the crews
if it's full dry
you've got a lot of loose rocks
to worry about if you're running
quite far up on the road
it's very very difficult to win the rally
because of the cleaning effect the loose
gravel sweeping away
but it's quite
unusual to get a rally Portugal
where there isn't at least a little bit
of at least a threat of rain
and sometimes it turns into a
full on monsoon
and when it gets wet
at rally Portugal
it gets so slimy
and greasy and slippy
that it can throw the whole rally
up into a new dimension
and this was a rally
Portugal that was very much
in that mold
this was another
thriller in the world rally championship
after a couple of
events on tarmac in Croatia
and Gran Canaria
it was a return to gravel
for the world rally championship
and probably the first
pure test in fact definitely the first
pure test of gravel pace
yes
Kenya is a loose surface event
but not traditional in any
sense at all so Portugal was one
where we were really going to get an idea
of what the order of things were
and the good thing is for neutral
fans of the sport
Hyundai were much
much closer to the front running pace of
Toyota and Toyota have had a pretty
dominant start to the season
particularly on sealed surface
but on loose surface we wondered
if Hyundai would strike back
and that is exactly what they did
at rally Portugal
much much closer to the front of the field
and the itinerary this year
for rally Portugal was a proper marathon
starting on Thursday
and going all the way through to
Sunday with 23
stages in total
the overall
kilometers not overly different
but the number of
stages really kept the crews
on that their toes and also the teams as well
trying to get that tire choice
right it kicked off on Thursday
with three stages and it was
super super tight on Thursday
afternoon with Adrienne Formaud
winning stage one, Oliver Solberg
winning stage two and Sebastian
Oje winning stage three
with Oliver Solberg leading
narrowly going into
Thursday evening
on Friday morning the fourth stage
of the rally got its fourth different
stage winner with Sammy Piari taking
the honors who then doubled up those
honors after stage five
but it was not a
Toyota that was leading going into
the fifth stage of the rally no no
it was the Hyundai
of Adrienne Formaud
ever since the Frenchman
signed for the Hyundai World Rally
team after serving his
apprenticeship at Emsport Ford
he has proven time and time
again that he has
absolutely all of the
speed to justify his position
as a works WRC
driver but
he's in a team with a pretty competitive
bunch and the very next stage
the elder statesman
of the Hyundai World Rally team not an old
driver by any stretch but
Terry Neuville has been part of the Hyundai
fold for nearly 15 years and
after an agonizing
loss of a win on the final stage
in Croatia
and a brutally difficult
Rally is less canary
he was determined to strike back
and on the final stage of the loop on Friday morning
that's exactly what he did. Terry Neuville
joined the party with his own stage
wins. You've got five stage winners
in the opening six stages
how good is that? How exciting
is that to follow?
So come Friday service
Adrienne Formaud he's leading by 7.7 seconds
from Sami Pairi
just 8 seconds from Sebastian Ocea
and just 8.2 from Terry
Neuville perfectly poised
for a Friday afternoon
of it being wide open and battling
away well maybe
but the one person
you can never ever underestimate
and do so at your peril
is nine time
world rally champion Sebastian Ocea
and come Friday afternoon
after just betting himself in
classic Sebastian Ocea
three out of four stage wins
to take him into the
lead of the rally going into the Friday
night halt by just 3.7
over Terry Neuville and 15.2
over Sami Pairi
that afternoon performance
from Sebastian Ocea is why
he is
so difficult to beat over a rally distance
he might maybe get off to a more
steady start but he is
so good at that second
pass when the pace notes have been
confirmed and he feels like he can push
and even following on the onboard
if you have a rally TV subscription
you can watch every onboard
of every stage of all the top drivers
pick a stage
that hasn't been run before
watch Sebastian Ocea's onboard
from the first pass
and then watch the second pass
and you will see two very different
performances and that is where
he is able to do to just notch the pace
up to a level that very
very few have been able to match
over the years but going into
Saturday morning pace
was only one part
of the mix because
the weather was starting to come
in on Saturday morning
all the Meteo crews knew
that there was going to be rain
coming in this they matter
was when now with
the new tire regulations
with the handcooked tires in the WRC
you have two choices of tire
a soft or a hard the hard
only really works in warm
dry conditions generally the soft
is what you would need
for the wet
so everyone had to go on soft
tires knowing that the rain
was coming
but as the Saturday morning
progressed
the rain never seemed to appear
and the entire management came into it
because if you go too hard on the dry
on the soft tire you run the risk
of using up its performance too quickly
but
two main things shift the dynamic
in a different direction just before
service on Saturday morning
first of all was poor old Adrian Formo
a puncture on stage 8
that was so so frustrating
because he had been
up in the lead of the rally
at that early point of the day
and really really
frustrating to get that and he faced
a rally of fight back from then on
but on the last stage of the loop
it was where Oliver Solberg
showed his true
genius and why
he is undoubtedly
a driver who
could dominate the sport
over the next decade
because when the rain came down
Solberg absolutely
shone now Oliver Solberg
went into Saturday morning
trailing the lead by 16.4 seconds
by lunchtime he was leading from
OJ by half a second
amazing but then
Saturday afternoon
down comes the rain
and again
Sebastian OJ don't know what it is about afternoons
OJ's afternoon delight
while it was another afternoon
for him because in stage 7
16 on Argonille
over 10 seconds
he took out of the
entire field
and by the end of the day
Sebastian OJ had built a lead
of 21.9 seconds
kind of like you're in a sparring match
with a heavyweight boxer and you think
we're doing quite well we're landing a few hits
and then bang
that's where Sebastian OJ is so good
when things get tricky and the grip goes down
he's just able
again to find another gear
and that's exactly what he did
going into Saturday night
leading by 21.9 seconds
from Neuville and 25.8
from Sammy Pirie who was looking like
he was in position
to score a 5th WRC podium
in a row so come Sunday
they've already had 19
stages by this point just 4 to go
and 2
probably the 2
classic stages
in all of Portugal
Vieiro Domingo and FAF
FAF is the one with the massive jump
and Vieiro Domingo is the one with the boulders
the size of a bus
2 brilliant stages
and a great way to sort out the rally
and on the first stage of the day
Terry Neuville woke up determined
to try and get that win
that he so agonizingly lost
in Croatia and took 7.6 seconds
out of Auger on that first
pass of Vieiro Domingo
but then on the first pass
of the FAF stage the weather
came down again
so much so that Robert
Verves in a rally 2 car
won the stage overall
from George McAleon
in the M Sport Ford Puma
at that point though
in amongst all of that
Sebastian Auger was able to get
7.3 seconds back again
and lead in by
17.3 seconds
going into the second pass of
Vieiro Domingo but then
on the penultimate stage
that is where it all went wrong
for the 9 time world champion
a puncture out of
absolutely nowhere
a lot of I say nowhere
loose rocks on the road it can happen
but Sebastian Auger had it all
under control ready to score
yet another win in Portugal
and yet it just wasn't
to be his day but unfortunately
the despair for Toyota
continued because Sammy
Pirey a puncture for him
as well taking him out
of a podium and not getting
5 in a row which would have been
hugely useful to his championship
campaign so
that then meant
that all of a sudden Terry
Nouvell went into the final
stage with
15 seconds of a lead
which of course he hung on to
but to win the rally
in emphatic fashion
a win that means so much
for his personal momentum after
a difficult season and a half
since he won the world title in 2024
a huge boost of
motivation and
joy and reward
for the Hyundai World Rally Team
who are working so hard to try and turn
their fortunes around
and that silverware
means a lot more
than just
the metal that it's made from
this is huge
for Nouvell, for Hyundai
but also for the competitive
atmosphere of the World Rally Championship
and to prove that
under certain circumstances
the might of Toyota's Armada
of superstars can be beaten
speaking of those superstars
Oliver Solberg
steadied the ship very
very well this weekend coming home in
second place recovering from a couple of
unlucky punctures to get some
good points on the board and vault
himself back into championship
contention after really three
difficult rallies for the young
Swedes and Elvin Evans
I've hardly mentioned him in this
Midweek Motorsport Rally Report
because Elvin did
what Elvin does best
he started at the very front of the road
he's getting way better at that
he's very very strong now
starting at the front of the road
comparatively to where he was last year
that bodes very very well when we go
to Greece and on to the rest
of the season all on gravel
if he's going to be leading the championship
you've got to be good first on the road
so that is exactly what he did
coming home in third place
picking up some good points from Super Sunday
and from the Wolf power stage as well
so where does that leave us then
in the World Rally Championship
heading to Japan in just a couple
of weeks time well it leaves
Elvin Evans leading the championship
by 12 points from Takamoto Katsuta
who had a relatively
relatively quiet start
to the
to Portugal
managed to keep himself out of trouble
though and came home with 12 points
and keeps himself well and truly
in the championship fight
Oliver Solberg with
that score of
24 points he gets himself
up into third position on
92 still quite away behind
Elvin Evans but it seems to have
red hot pace on both
surfaces Adrian Formaud
he's the first of the Hyundai's in fourth
place after a good result for him
could have been a lot better without that
puncture on stage 8 and then running out the
top 5 Sammy Piety
with 78 points
trailing Elvin Evans
the leader on
123 so
an absolute classic of rally
Portugal if you get the chance to
catch up on the stages on rally TV
I urge you to do so particularly
the Sunday afternoon stages where it got
absolutely crazy
if you're in the UK
you can watch all of the World Rally
Championship on TNT Sport
or wherever you are in the world
on rally TV
you can watch all of the World Rally Championship
and European Rally Championship as well
which returns to
Sweden next week on a lot of the same
stages that used to be used
on rally Sweden near Karlstad
but run on pure gravel
it's like a gravel grompry
high speed and a
huge entry list which was
announced today
I'll be there at the stop line and we'll be
reporting back from there
along with rally Japan
I'm heading out east to rally Japan
where we have our final tarmac rally
of the year for
WRC
it's a great time to be a rally fan
make sure you're following along
we're here on Midweek Motorsport Rally Report
see you next time
Let's
now do some
Formula 1 news
Hooray! Oh no!
But instead of going first to Nick Damon
I'm going to go first
to John Hintoff
Oh really?
Yes
What is Silverstone
borrowing from the stadium of light?
That's interesting
Are they borrowing
the black cat that we took down
to put up a black dog
for mental health awareness week?
No cats here
No of course
Very good point
Are they borrowing
the
light stuff
that they run across the grass
to get something greener?
No
Are they borrowing that?
Granite Jacker
I'm not sure
what they would do
What else could they be borrowing?
Have we got some kind of big squeegee
that they need?
Or is it a person?
It's a concept
It's a concept
The classroom
we used to have a couple of teachers
at the stadium of light
Academy of Light
It's not Academy
It is
connectivity
Because Silverstone
is installing its own
permanent 5G network
Are you saying they've got the idea from the stadium of light
because I can never get
any currency
This is obviously
not good then
because
it's being installed by a company called Bolden
Bolden Networks
So it's completely
network-economic
and
it's based on the
company's distributed antenna system
which you see
at the stadium of light
and will provide fans, race teams and broadcasters
with seamless connectivity all year round
So is that Bolden
B-O-L-T-Y-N
Y-N
Not Bolden
which is a place near the Sun though
So is this some kind of
flashy sort of mesh
Wi-Fi mesh type of thing?
Except 5G
So there will be 25
access points around the circuit
with 57 high capacity sectors
and 87 DAS zones
which will ensure
reliable connectivity even during peak attendance
The 5G network
will also combine the latest
multi-beam antenna technology
within the DAS architecture
to support all commercial mobile bands
across all the UK mobile network operators
in a 2x2 MIMO configuration
Oh I love
2x2 MIMO configuration
The only thing I would say is that's all lovely
but at some point
it has to hit the network
and the internet
and so how
who is connecting to that lovely mesh
because that's your pinch point
You may have a thousand people connected
and they all have a connection lovely
but if you've got nothing to go down
to your pipes for a lot of the stuff
I know that Silverstone has a very very thick
pipe from
Indian
Why?
Realistically the pipe only needs to be
about a centimetre round
because it only needs to have about four fibres down it
to get an unlimited amount of bandwidth
if there's bandwidth at the other end
This is a part gentleman
of a massive infrastructure project
that's going on at the stadium of light
that potentially I think
will allow you to make a phone call there
Well no, phone calls are always fine
I've never had a problem with phone calls
No, but they're going to put
the top level
on all the way around
which will take us to 87 and a half thousand
capacity
There's some plans
for more development around the ground
as well around the vicinity
of the ground
So it's all obviously
predicated on us staying in the
premiership which we already
sorted out
and potentially
Europe is still in our own hands
Europe is still in our own hands
if we win our last two games against
Chelsea and Everton
then we would go
above them
in the premiership
and then it's down to how far
the European place has gone
Chelsea very keen
to win both of their remaining games
though and get the European football
for themselves
I think Chelsea has been very keen to win their last seven games as well
but that hasn't worked
No team
in the premiership this year has taken
six points from Sunderland
and we can say that now
even with those two games to go because we beat
Chelsea and we drew with Everton
so no team
has taken six points from Sunderland this year
in our first
We've gone off track guys
The CEO of Bolden Networks
UK and Ireland, Brendan O'Reilly said
Bolden is very proud to be supporting this iconic venue
with connectivity infrastructure
it's built to match its world famous reputation
Presumably that's a quote
that could apply to both the stadium of light
and Silverstone
Yes indeed
Anywhere
So for a Silverstone specific quote let's go to Stuart Pringle
who said
Perfect
Perfect
The words of someone who probably doesn't understand the technology
Well first of all congratulations to BMW
first and second
Andreas Roos, BMW M Sport
Vincent Vos, WRT
It's been coming for a while
they got it done, great race
Johnny and Bruce did great work
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them
and chipping in here and there
It was a great atmosphere
in the press room where I was with all the Italians again
The other thing is
how poignant
was it that BMW
sorry they're setting up for dinner here
or resetting for dinner
How poignant is it
that
that win
the first in the WEC
for the MW
in the top class
Kermit Spa
which is a scene of so many
BMW victories
and the week after
Alex and Adi died as well
and the cars were carrying Grazie Alex
Grazie Alex decals
on the cars that week
very very emotional
and a huge party on Saturday night
from those guys
and well done to McLaren
who also had their first win
in WEC they won the GT
Le Mans category
as well, great race
and it sets it up nicely for Le Mans
which is the next one
which of course we'll have
coverage for
and speaking of Le Mans
we now know
the identity
of all the drivers
and just a little bit earlier on today
the identity of the celebrity
who will be
weaving the flag
to start the race, the tricolour
on Saturday afternoon
at 3 o'clock
and it is
if it is a legend of French sport
do you know who this is Nick?
No idea, I guess it is
No no, a legend of French sport
who isn't French
Oh, Jackie Itz
No, but it's
the world's greatest endurance race
and the person concerned
has the most
wins in it in stages
there's the giveaway
Oh, it's
by the man guy
It is the man's missile
himself
it is, absolutely right
Mark Cavendish will be
weaving the flag, he's a massive car fan
I did Top Gear Live with him a few years ago
on the indoor
when we did the indoor stuff
with Top Gear Live and he was
one of our stars in reasonably priced car
and he was good so I think
he'll enjoy that, we'll try and get him on
to Radio Le Monde
in the Ford Racing Global Broadcast
Centre
and get him in for a chat
because he talks very confidently about cars
so I saw that
Have you perused Tim
the full entry list
is there anything you want to pull out of that
any surprises
there was only two or three seats
maybe eight or six I think
I don't think there's any surprises whatsoever
I think we had
two car seats
that hadn't previously confirmed
and three in
GT
there was a couple of LMP2s
which have been taken up by
the sort of people you would expect them to be
if you go on to Sports Car 365
it's all there
and
now we have a full entry list
so you can start making your charts
we can get the spotters guide ready
you can start doing
all your prep
I'm looking at you Bradley
and you Snowden down in the Pirtland
you can start doing your Le Monde prep
starting now
because obviously you've memorised the whole 161 car
entry for this weekend already
bit busy
because Bradley
Snowy put two thumbs up
I think that means he's got two cars
that he's now
they went thumbs with
oh dear god
thank goodness there's not many people
left in here at this time of night
you can listen to me for Mortland Sport
in the series 21 episode 18
team wearing the wide world of Mortland Sports
would you like to take us next
well I'll tell you where I'm not going to take you
and that's back into the past
you're not taking me back into the past
no because I'm in full agreement here
with Fran Pablo Montoya
okay
who says
social media traditionalists
who continue to demand the return
of screaming v8s of romanticising the past
which was boring
and like racing in a short test session
but he's not wrong
he's not wrong
people always see the past through rose tint
of glasses
there was some good racing
in the past
there were perhaps one or two good races
in the past
and in the present
you'll get similar things
in all type of motor racing
it's like football you get some good games
you get some not so good games
you get some interesting passages of play
sometimes a nil nil first half
which is
on paper looks like nothing
can be one of the most exciting things you've ever watched
in the second half
you might have two or three goals
and you look there and go
well actually the first half was better
it's very very difficult to quantify
any of these
we're fortunate
in our form of racing
that we are looking at an age where
it seems there are more people
who can go out there and win
now you can say that that's because of
the regulations
which it is and performance balancing
and a well written set of
communication regulations as well
but you know
as people keep reminding me
we're in the entertainment business
and form of one
is no different of course
Montoya said
people come up to me and say
your timing form of one was so good
I say watch one of those races
they're so boring
even for me driving it was like a short test session
older engines may have
sounded more dramatic
but now the cars don't make better racing
that's absolutely true
I think what people would like to see
is less complicated engines
less of an engine for me
if you had
the aerodynamics we have now
combining with the engines and the weights
we had 15 years ago
then you'd have some very good racing
cars would be nimble, they'd be light, noisy
powerful and they wouldn't be
aerodynamic able to follow each other
so you put bits together
to make the best of both worlds don't you
theoretically
of course you do
who has hinted at coming out of
retirement
I'm
Sebastian Vettel
no
it's just a guess
he was
around the same year as Sebastian Vettel
right
Mark Weaver
very close
Mark Weaver is very
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo is correct
to do what?
he said if I was to do something maybe one day
it would be from a fun aspect
rather than chasing a championship aspect
I don't need to hold a trophy in something
I don't need this for myself
I just want
something I can enjoy
sounds like the retired person's dream
he said I want to make sure if I
was to ever do something again it's just joyful
I don't have to prove anything
or try to be the best
I'm wondering
have we lost John again?
no he's still there, excellent
in
that case I think
it is probably time
to play
pointless
hooray
so
round two of pointless
and this week as
John is in Germany
we are going to do a German version
it is
wunderbar
ja
zewendebar
explain to the listener
what the
raison d'etre behind this is
and what the whole
point of pointless is
well we are looking
really for
drivers who scored
no points
in Formula 1
and we are also German I take it
maybe that simple
and in this week
we are not going just with Germany
but also for Austrians
because they speak German in Austria
so we are looking for
German or Austrian
drivers who scored
no points
I can't think of any bad Austrian drivers
who scored points
you can read and hear loudly
who scored lots of points
keep thinking
obviously you can't just pick any
drivers they must have actually
ended a Grand Prix
so
John I think you went first last
week did you?
so Nick you can go first
this time
and go for your
best shot
at a German or Austrian
driver
Marcus Wilkelhock
did lead
that one race in 2007
and
as you say
he did not score a point
in it
so Nick goes for Wilkelhock
and gets 0
who are you going to go for John?
I have no clue I am going to form a friend
Joe Bradley
is sitting next to me
give me a German or Austrian driver
F1 driver
who never scored any points
which one are you going to go for?
Hans Binder
Hans Binder the Austrian
scored no points in his 15
race entries
in 1976-77-78
so Bruce Jones
I am not taking off Bruce in this
I am not playing against Bruce
it sounds like you are now
I am not playing against Bruce
we are playing against Bruce
Nick who is your next guest?
I have another banker on this one
which I know scored no points
from one race and is also well known to all of us
that is Andre Lotera
Andre Lotera is another who scored 0 points
can I point out now at this point
I am stuck
I can't play Bruce
John Bruce and Joe
who is your second pick?
Andre Lotera was a good shot
what was your pick there
that you said?
Helmut Koenig
Helmut Koenig scored no points
very good
I should do this everywhere
get Joe to do it for you
is it race entries
or race starts?
as long as they have started one race
it doesn't have to
what have they sort of started a race illegally?
who are you suggesting?
Kenneth Hire's dad
Hans Hire
Hans Hire
does not get
onto the list I am afraid
but he did start a race
this is what he wasn't supposed to
he did enter a race
not the same race
he was
the Austrian running
right
Hans Hire
actually
I am going to give you a point for Hans Hire
because the reason I couldn't find him
I was looking up at Germany
not West Germany which of course
was
the past
I am running out of people I know now
John
Nick
John, Joe and Bruce
your third guest please
Hans Hire
that was very good
somebody who is here this weekend
Volker Wiedler
Volker Wiedler scored no points
in Formula 1
another point that is answered for you
Nick
final guest
I am slightly aggrieved by this now
by the way
I would be
I don't know for sure
I have no idea if this
scored points or not
but I know he was very unsuccessful
quite a long time and that is Christian Dana
Christian Dana
yes
he started 36
Formula 1 races
and scored no points in any of them
no
so
Nick you can't lose
but this could still
end in a draw
your final guest
John
I am plundering
my sports car knowledge
and I think
a man who
led many races
but never scored a point
was former safety car driver
Byrne Schneider
Byrne Schneider
had only
9 Formula 1 race starts
but he scored no points
so we have a tie
this week
with both of you on 0
no I don't that's fine
morally
I feel a bit like Southampton
Tim
were you spying on the results
were you spying on the results
I was spying
I had spies out
I had spies out
wow
there's a few
notable Germans
that you
did Pascal Verland score any points
did Pascal Verland score any points
Pascal Verland scored no points
he was in Formula 1 for about 3 seasons
do you think it will hook
what about do you think it will hook
it will hook
scored no points
Manfred scored 2 though
plenty of high profile Germans
that you
could have gone for
but didn't
and Austrians as well
Roland Ratsenberger
Helmut Marco
Hans Stuck
Hans Stuck didn't score any points
one of them didn't
the other one scored 14
shall we move on
shall we talk about engines
yes
let's talk about Formula 1 engines
well
there has been a meeting
of the various mines
post Miami and they've come up with
a rather surprising
attempt to immediately change
things for next year
rather than despite the fact
that a lot of the parts
of the cars are already committed
it takes some work on the engines as well
and they want to kind of adjust
the mix between
combustion engine and electrical power
so currently it's normally
normally
350-350 isn't it
kilowatts
and they want to change it to
400 from approximately
from the internal combustion engine
and 300 from the
electric side of things
the idea therefore is you can have less issues
with less issues not no issues
less issues with batteries running out
and that sort of thing
they also talk about having a larger battery as well
but that might have to wait
upping the power
of the IC
is not a much of a problem
because a 1.6 turbocharged engine
racing engine producing
460 horsepower
is massively under stress
getting another 80 horsepower is not an issue
obviously there are issues as far as
test reliability and that sort of stuff
it's not like you're pushing an envelope of any sort
the only slight issue is the way they're going to do that
almost certainly is by
increasing the fuel flow obviously getting more power out
you have to put more power in and the power in comes from
the fuel and
that could be a problem because it will require
a larger fuel tank
and the fuel tank is something that is
defined very early on in the design process
and causes actually
held within the core chassis
and some of the teams to
save money or to allow
might be allocated somewhere else
next year in the very stringent cost cap
we're looking to carry over there
chassis from this year to next year
so that would not be quite so possible
they need to find an extra probably
10 to 15 litres of fuel
I think it will set 75 litres to the amount I think it is
they need to find 10 to 20 litres of fuel
that might not have the actual capacity
within the
chassis itself
much as the concept are going to a 5
megajoule battery
rather than a 4 megajoule battery is all well and good
because you need a bigger space
to put it in is that space available
and it adds to the weight
so as they continue to try
and find a way of pleasing everybody
whilst pleasing nobody in the
regulation that's where they're at the moment
in a much earlier than expected
move to
take away this 50-50 which is hamstrung
everything and now move to 60-40
and I'm sure in future years move to
70-30 and eventually just give all this electricity
entirely
any other Formula 1 news that we need to
talk about
it's the middle of three weeks
it's not happening so you've had the week
after the Miami Grand Prix
and next week is the week before
the Montreal Grand Prix
and this is the week when things get made up
mainly so if you see things saying that
Lewis Hamilton is going to retire
that's made up so he's not going to retire
but any sort of announcement now is completely made up
Excellent
let's talk about Indy Carr
and a win
from a Clarence Indianapolis
at the weekend, their first in half a century
Good, I'm glad you all watched that
I was
waiting for John that was all
I did watch you at Christian Lundgarburn, didn't you
I mean Alex Palau was unlucky with the time
in the yellow flag
because he was romping away at the start
and the yellow flag came out exactly the wrong time
on his first pit stop
but he never really managed to get
interesting, I thought the ones he actually got mired
in the pack, he never really made the source
if you look at the progress he's making he's in free air
he never made that same progress to the pack
that he even, two thirds
the race left he would have got several positions more
I think it was he 56 in the analytics
it was a bit of a surprising lack of moving forward
we're showing that
much as with most motor racing
track position is key
Yes
the big talking points of the race
involved
Alex Rossi though
and
I remember many years ago
probably 20 years ago
being
a race meeting
where in the
circuit PA box
they had a visit from Nigel Mansell
and the circuit commentator
said to Nigel
looks like the safety cars
coming out, why is that
and Nigel said
for safety reasons
and of course
that is exactly why a safety car
should come out
if a safety car doesn't come out
when it should come out because they don't want
to disrupt people's pit strategy
that's not for safety reasons
that's for commercial reasons
IndyCar
on Tuesday
in fact
has announced a change to its operating
processes and procedures
following
the review of what happened on
Saturdays in Indianapolis
and have decided that
if they need to bring out the safety car
or escalate to full course yellow
they will do that
without
waiting for people to make pit stops
first
it does seem like a
no brainer really
so IndyCar will no longer
take into consideration pit windows
or the running order of cars
on track before deploying a full course yellow
initiation
of a full course yellow will be based
primarily on driver status
vehicle position and condition
the location and readiness of safety personnel
recovery access
and the speed differential between affected cars
and approaching traffic
Raj Nair
who is chairman of the
independent officiating board
said the lap 21 incident
on Saturday made clear there needs to be
a cleaner standard for how race control moves
from local yellow to full course yellow
IndyCar officiating
has made this change of approach
to ensure that the only inputs for the full course yellow
escalation are safety ones
and IndyCar president
J. Douglas Bowles added
the most important job in race control
is to ensure the safety of our drivers
Saturday highlighted that we must not waver
from that central mission and aligning everyone
on that philosophy is crucial
so that
is the change to the rules
in IndyCar what will
presumably now be known as the Alex Rossi
rule
and IndyCar
is testing again
this week ahead of the
Indy500
the 110th running
takes place on Sunday
May 24th
there have been a few announcements
about
this year's Indy500
including
who will be singing
America the Beautiful in the pre-race
ceremony
tell me I can't wait to find out
it's F. Ray Moines
again
he was
a contestant on The Voice
a few years ago
and he is from Indiana
is he a country singer
or a rock singer or
so he's not seeing this
he did pick John Legend as his
coach
an awful chair
apparently that was quite
lucky to get John Legend because Chelsea wanted him as well
and the
testing so far has been led by Alex
Pillow
not surprising really
no
it's a bit the Alex Pillow show at the moment
isn't it really
Marcus Armstrong was second fast
it's kind of Dady Third
that's a single lap pace isn't it
correct yes
so that's our IndyCar news
Nascar was off to Dover
this weekend
obviously not
Dover in Kent
no
this is Dover Downs Delaware
one mile concrete oval
for the All-Star race
really
Charlotte
Dover now
okay
and there's a price fund of $3,093,000
the other
Indianapolis story I forgot to tell you
they've sold out
of grandstand seating
for the Indy 500 this year
and
and
Payton Garage passes have also sold out
so the only tickets left
are a very small number
of
Green Flag Club and Performance Center
hospitality tickets
a big full
Indy 500
this year
a couple of hours ago
no
actually now nearly 12 hours ago
we had
some information
about
next year's McGuire's
Bathurst 12-hour race
yes
first of all we have dates for it
which are the 11th, 12th, 13th
and 14th of February
but hang on you say
that's four days not three
hang on
that's four days not three Tim
that's right because
that's right
in its new mid-February
Valentine slot
they are changing it from a three day event
to a four day event
it has been a four day event in the past
before Covid
I think one year maybe
19 or 18
it went to four days
then obviously it cooked back
we lost John again
he cut it out even
so four days of Bathurst
McGuire's has confirmed that
it's extending its partnership
for another year
until
so 2027
added on
to that partnership
and we're back as well
welcome back
no no I mean we're back at
oh you're back there yeah
I'll tell you I'm still part of it
the tractor town experience
is going to be revamped
to make that bigger as well
come on really
it was mega this year
I've never seen anything like it this year
caught the archive
and have a listen
I went down in the
Ford Cortina
the 1600 GT
500
absolutely mega
mega piece of kit
thank you Brad
from the
I think we've lost him again
getting little snippets on
45 seconds of John
sorry about that
I don't know what to do with their wifi
my apologies
they are trying to close down for the night in fairness
look at the time
look at the time
you really shouldn't
be keeping them up
indeed
they've had a long day of service
and
that's fine
where do you want to go to next Tim?
I think we should do some
sports car news
okay, we'll find out where
because
the Lamborghini Superfaio
is moving to the
Temurario
yes
yes, next year
and the new car
has been
on public display
it was at Imola last weekend
and Marco Mipelli
got to do some laps in it
lovely
the current
Superfaio Evo II
has been in use for five years
Stefan Winckelman of Lamborghini
said the Temurario Superfaio
represents a completely new direction
and marks the beginning of a new era
for sport recourser
the first time our Superfaio cars
will be powered by a turbocharger powertrain
built entirely in-house
from the car
it's a twin-turbo EV8
delivering 650 horsepower
and has
a Hur 6-speed sequential gearbox
and if you want to buy one
it's 295,000 euro
plus EV80
295,000 euro plus EV80
plus local taxes
yes
and in the US that's $399,000
plus taxes
very very fast car
very very nice car
the one that Mipelli drove
at Imola
was in that rather fetching
green
colour
I see green
yes
which Australian
is going to
make his IMS a debut
in Detroit
oh
Chas Moffat
Chas Mostos is correct
Chas Mostos
he's joining Aranteelitz
in a Vasa Sullivan GTD Pro
entry
Lexus RC
FGT3
has he done some of the insurance races before?
he's done endurance racing
but he hasn't done
weather tech sports car championship
didn't he?
are you sure?
has he not done a Daytona?
I think he's done a
a pati
I'm sure he's done a Daytona
I'm sure I remember
he was a Daytona this year
I remember Shea
interviewing him in the past
because she knew him from Bathurst
why is his
his debut in Alexis
not his debut in Imza
that's a very confusing
written press release
first one or the last one
and why is he driving a Lexus
Nick?
because he wants to drive a Toyota
no he does drive a Toyota
he drives the number one Toyota
he's got the GR Super
for Walkinshaw
I was going one ahead
and he wants to drive a Toyota
in WEC
I'll tell you which Toyota
he won't want to drive
the Toyota Starlet
why?
because Global
NCAP
has today announced
that it's received zero stars
is it a new car?
this is the current model
there's a new version coming out
which apparently is
safer
but
NCAP said the footwell area
and body shell were found to be unstable
and not capable of
withstanding further loadings
in the side impact test
head and chest protection were rated
as poor and abdomen protection
as adequate
and in the frontal impact assessment
the head of the three year old dummy
made contact with the vehicle interior
the chest protection was rated as low
and in the
side impact the three year old dummy
was exposed to impact
Richard Woods of Global NCAP said
this is a shocking zero star
result from Toyota
the Starlet has no stars
but I've got a question though
what's a three year old doing driving a car?
no it's in the rear passenger seat
so here's the honest thing
about this, first of all thank you to
Max Mosley
for what we're talking about there
he was the one who kicked all that off
you can see a lot about Max but he did a huge amount
for road safety
something that John Todd has tried
to follow in the footsteps of
to get his Nobel Peace Prize but hasn't managed
that
secondly
I would far rather than talking about things like that
than marking down cars
because it doesn't be that yet every five minutes
when you get close to a white line
or somebody comes up alongside you
or you forget
you look
because the dashboard is so complicated
you look away for half a second
and it tells you you need a rest break
and all that kind of stuff
all that kind of stuff I can do without
I do actually quite like a car around me
that doesn't fold up
when it's not meant to
shall we say
obviously old cars are meant to
fold up a little bit
I actually met someone
some years ago
now but his job
is to secretly
buy cars for
end cap to test
and destroy
and he says
I go into dealerships
because I'm a cash buyer
they're offering me all sorts of extras
and discounts
and I can't
I don't want any of these extras
I don't want all the options
on the car
because I know I'm just going to take it
into a warehouse and crush it
but also the other thing
is that
you want to test
the
you test the basic car
and you've got to be careful
because
the new
testing regimes
you might have
to test them more than once
now there's a certain amount of crash testing
that is done by the manufacturers
but quite clearly
they don't want
the manufacturers to supply
the cars
that might have been shall we say
tampered
that's right Nick yes
yes indeed
shall we move on from that
because I feel like we're digging ourselves
into a potential legal
can I just say the original Toyota Star
the two litre was a cracking little car
you hatched back in the late 80s
unfortunately safety
has moved on since then
except for the
I spent my time in a 21 year old
Landray
we designed 1948
and a 61 year old Triumph
designed in 1950 something so
you know
it's just to make you feel young Nick
Jon
do you still have Joe, Bruce, Johnny
and Snowy with you
they're about to leave so you better be quick
let's just quickly ask them
for one prediction for this weekend
Bruce
Jon's one prediction for this weekend
for the race
come and lean in and speak to the
speak to the listeners
try your head off to your
I think you look at the car
with the highest number in the field
the car with the highest number in the field
which is 993
991
911 sorry
Snowy
okay he goes for the same Joe Bradley
I never make predictions in endurance racing
but I will play that the weather
is going to play a major part
and JP's already sloped off
so we won't get one
from him
JP, hang on
he's just been putting his plate away like a good lad
because he cleared up after himself
JP, quick prediction for the weekend
in terms of performance
from a particular car that's catching your eye
I was just going to say the Cup 2 battle
is going to be a barnstormer
nobody's talking about that yet
have any cars
it's something ridiculous
it's the biggest entry ever in Cup 2
which is the Porsche Carrera Cup
and they're still using the 992.1
but there's
more than 20 isn't there
it's a huge amount
and there's attrition at the sharp end of the field
I think it's quite
possible that they'll get
into
certainly the top 25 before the end
even though there's a big SP9
field I did see something from
Porsche earlier on
that said there was a big field
Michelle Gatting
who we heard from earlier on
and only five days ago
drafted into the Milner
squad
and she's not
raced one of those round here
she's had
zero laps
the first laps she'll have in that car
will work me when she goes out
so you're watching for that 992
Cup 2
which crew
catches your eye there JP?
well Milner looks strong
as they often do
Black Falcon's got a couple of entries I think
Black Falcon yes
who else did I see
Hoffer have got a car
Team Liquid Molly
it looks like a few signings from other teams
where we've seen drivers
that were familiar with other teams
they've maybe had a crafty little deal
to get a few in so
I'm still catching up with the guys
before the leave
as for SP9
I have not got a clue but we've 40 odd cars
it's a ridiculous number
and this is a record breaking field
since 2014 I think
since the start
Johnny Palmer, Bruce Jones
Peter Snowden, Joe Bradley, me
our junior canker party
and new dad Peter Mackay
Daddy Mackay
as we have to call them down
no we don't, he'll hear us doing that
that's the team
that's the team for the weekend
and we start tomorrow
with
practice
yes we do practice
practice then a very long practice
then on Friday
top qualifying
then practice
and then final top qualifying
then there's a warm up on Saturday morning
which is being televised this year
so we'll cover that
and we've also got the
DHLM
DHLM
race
which is Friday afternoon
which is mega, that's going to be awesome
and that's what we've got time for
brilliant, no time to explain
I've been trying to keep
the schnitzel warm
I'm going to eat it now even though it's late
I don't care, it's schnitzel time
we'll see you over the weekend
thanks to all of our guests
and particularly those who let me wander in their garage
to get out the rain earlier on
keep an eye on that forecast
About this episode
Hosts kick off a Nürburgring pit-walk with trackside vehicles and set expectations for cold, wet conditions. The paddock tour turns into a deep dive on tires, open-tyre rules, and how qualifying format and track position shape strategy. Between garage logistics for multi-class entries and a wet-weather class created “just to stay out of the wet,” they also unpack RCN regularity rules and why rain changes everything. The episode then broadens into rally Portugal’s gravel-and-weather chaos and a quick motorsport/tech round-up.
