- 23
It was a warm, clear day when we arrived at the track. The crew and I had traveled a long way from Japan. We were tired and weary from the trip, but you could tell everyone was eager to get on with the race. The crew began unpacking the trailer and setting up shop for the weekend. I went along with the chief to register for the race. The marshals scoffed and muttered to each other in German when they found out what we intended to enter. Something about a knife and a gunfight, but we paid their comments no attention.
The red and silver bodywork gleamed as we returned to the pits. The car was tastefully outfitted with the decals of several sponsors, generous enough to support our efforts in the Grand Touring Championship. I had lost count of how many times I had thanked Motul, Nissan and the Pitwork team in the winner's circle during the past season. This was an invitation only event. We had been selected to participate as a result of our overwhelming victory in the series which had only recently come to an end. I was not aware of the challenge which lay ahead.
After a full season in the JGTC, the car had become an extension of my physical being. I was more confident behind the wheel of this race prepared 350Z than I had been with any other ride in my entire career. With a race weight of 1080 Kg and 721 horsepower at the wheels, courtesy of the Stage 3 Turbo and little else, we would be competitive, but not overpowered. The Racing Hard tires would survive the race length, without giving out early. The transmission and suspension were set to default and the downforce was maximized. We were as well prepared for this race as we had been all season long, but our competition here would be much, much stronger.
At first glance, it seemed like we were thoroughly outclassed when we were introduced to the competition in the paddock. All but one of our opponents had been homeland favorites when they challenged for the 24 hours at Le Mans. I felt honored to be among such legends. Power to weight ratios aside, we had several years of technical development on our side and a few decades on the eldest. Racing technology advances in leaps and bounds, we surely wouldn't be the 200 to one underdog they had calculated. We had drawn lots for position on the grid since there was no time to qualify. As so many times before, we were to start P6. Our strongest competition, to no surprise, would lead us to the green flag.
The '92 group C Nissan took the line as the official clocks marked the start of the race. The sole local entry, a V12 BMW Le Mans racecar, followed closely behind. Third and fourth were a Toyota GT One and a Nissan R390, respectively. The classic Toyota 7 started in fifth place, with only slightly less of a handicap than we had. As the race began, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Not only would we have to catch and pass five very fast cars, but we only had two laps to do it.
The Toyota was quickly passed leaving Hatzenbach.
We slipped past the 390 shortly thereafter as we sped through Quiddelbacher Hohe.
Flugplatz and Aremberg curve were a blur as we cut smoothly through the course. The Toyota and Nissan followed closely behind, a menacing reminder of our tenuous hold on fourth place.
The GT One fell back to fourth position when he was passed on the way to Adenauer Forst.
We were only 3.380 seconds behind the leader when we continued the chase on the way to Metzgesfeld. The BMW was passed on the outside under braking into Wehrseifen as the gap to the '92 Nissan had been slashed to 2.501 seconds.
Leaving Klostertal, we were now less than a half second behind the '92.
The lead was taken forcibly at the exit of Brunnchen. The battle between the Nissans had reached a climax, but there remained more than a lap to hold the lead.
As we touched the redline in sixth gear on the long back straight, the '92 could still be heard. It was clear that the slightest mistake would risk losing the lead. The first lap came to an end at 6'07.584, with a 4.642 second lead over the Nissan R92CP. At the approach to Flugplatz on the second lap, the sound of the '92 was now barely audible. The gap between first and second was over five seconds.
With the tires at full working temperature, the Pitwork Z charged swiftly through the course. Each successive checkpoint showed an increasing gap back to the '92 Nissan.
At the exit of Dottinger Hohe on the second lap, the gap had grown to 9.777 seconds. The end of the race came quickly as the clocks were stopped at 5'58.708. The final margin of victory was unavailable at the finish as the '92 Nissan had some difficulty maneuvering past the pit entrance.
Obviously, his attempts to catch the “lesser” JGTC had been too much for his rear tires to manage. The other opponents were nowhere in sight. Even I was surprised at how well the Z had handled this monster of a course and how efficiently the field had been dispatched. This was one of those races that was so enjoyable you just want to run it again, like racing back to the end of the line of an awesome roller coaster ride. Unfortunately, crushed pride kept my formerly overconfident opponents from being interested in another two laps. Perhaps another field will offer a greater challenge.
The red and silver bodywork gleamed as we returned to the pits. The car was tastefully outfitted with the decals of several sponsors, generous enough to support our efforts in the Grand Touring Championship. I had lost count of how many times I had thanked Motul, Nissan and the Pitwork team in the winner's circle during the past season. This was an invitation only event. We had been selected to participate as a result of our overwhelming victory in the series which had only recently come to an end. I was not aware of the challenge which lay ahead.
After a full season in the JGTC, the car had become an extension of my physical being. I was more confident behind the wheel of this race prepared 350Z than I had been with any other ride in my entire career. With a race weight of 1080 Kg and 721 horsepower at the wheels, courtesy of the Stage 3 Turbo and little else, we would be competitive, but not overpowered. The Racing Hard tires would survive the race length, without giving out early. The transmission and suspension were set to default and the downforce was maximized. We were as well prepared for this race as we had been all season long, but our competition here would be much, much stronger.
At first glance, it seemed like we were thoroughly outclassed when we were introduced to the competition in the paddock. All but one of our opponents had been homeland favorites when they challenged for the 24 hours at Le Mans. I felt honored to be among such legends. Power to weight ratios aside, we had several years of technical development on our side and a few decades on the eldest. Racing technology advances in leaps and bounds, we surely wouldn't be the 200 to one underdog they had calculated. We had drawn lots for position on the grid since there was no time to qualify. As so many times before, we were to start P6. Our strongest competition, to no surprise, would lead us to the green flag.
The '92 group C Nissan took the line as the official clocks marked the start of the race. The sole local entry, a V12 BMW Le Mans racecar, followed closely behind. Third and fourth were a Toyota GT One and a Nissan R390, respectively. The classic Toyota 7 started in fifth place, with only slightly less of a handicap than we had. As the race began, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Not only would we have to catch and pass five very fast cars, but we only had two laps to do it.
The Toyota was quickly passed leaving Hatzenbach.
We slipped past the 390 shortly thereafter as we sped through Quiddelbacher Hohe.
Flugplatz and Aremberg curve were a blur as we cut smoothly through the course. The Toyota and Nissan followed closely behind, a menacing reminder of our tenuous hold on fourth place.
The GT One fell back to fourth position when he was passed on the way to Adenauer Forst.
We were only 3.380 seconds behind the leader when we continued the chase on the way to Metzgesfeld. The BMW was passed on the outside under braking into Wehrseifen as the gap to the '92 Nissan had been slashed to 2.501 seconds.
Leaving Klostertal, we were now less than a half second behind the '92.
The lead was taken forcibly at the exit of Brunnchen. The battle between the Nissans had reached a climax, but there remained more than a lap to hold the lead.
As we touched the redline in sixth gear on the long back straight, the '92 could still be heard. It was clear that the slightest mistake would risk losing the lead. The first lap came to an end at 6'07.584, with a 4.642 second lead over the Nissan R92CP. At the approach to Flugplatz on the second lap, the sound of the '92 was now barely audible. The gap between first and second was over five seconds.
With the tires at full working temperature, the Pitwork Z charged swiftly through the course. Each successive checkpoint showed an increasing gap back to the '92 Nissan.
At the exit of Dottinger Hohe on the second lap, the gap had grown to 9.777 seconds. The end of the race came quickly as the clocks were stopped at 5'58.708. The final margin of victory was unavailable at the finish as the '92 Nissan had some difficulty maneuvering past the pit entrance.
Obviously, his attempts to catch the “lesser” JGTC had been too much for his rear tires to manage. The other opponents were nowhere in sight. Even I was surprised at how well the Z had handled this monster of a course and how efficiently the field had been dispatched. This was one of those races that was so enjoyable you just want to run it again, like racing back to the end of the line of an awesome roller coaster ride. Unfortunately, crushed pride kept my formerly overconfident opponents from being interested in another two laps. Perhaps another field will offer a greater challenge.
