Ford No.2 driver Jari-Matti Latvala has enjoyed his circuit racing debut at the Nurbergring 24h. Latvala ran as high as 42nd o/a (2nd in the SP4T class) during the gruelling event, but engine damage dropped the team well down the order.
Latvala was racing a Ford Focus RS which was developed, prepared & entered by Team FH Koln Motorsport, which is made up entirely of sutdents from the University of Colonge who are studying applied science.
The team was challenging for the class win, but engine damage sustained after running over debris left by an accident forced the team to swap the engine in the Focus. The team completed this task in 3.5 hrs.
"It was a great experience to race in front of 220,000 fans. The atmosphere around the track was fantastic, the car worked extremely well and the whole team did an outstanding job. I drove at dusk on Saturday and at dawn on Sunday, but not during the night. That's why I cannot consider myself a true 24-hour race driver yet. There is still a task to be fulfilled …
"After four hours, before we changed the engine, we were in 72nd position and set the fastest lap in our class so it was a shame we had a problem. I drove the final leg and slowed on my last lap so that I reached the finish just after 15.00 and didn't have to drive an extra lap. I was the first car to take the chequered flag – I thought maybe I had won the race!" joked Latvala.
"I will drive four asphalt rallies in the second half of the World Rally Championship season in Bulgaria, Germany, France and Spain. Rally Deutschland, in August, is based quite close to the Nürburgring," Latvala said.
Cheif Engineer Dirk Densing praised the students efforts. The student turned the Focus RS from road car state into a fully fledged racing car in only six weeks.
"You have to remind yourself constantly that the team FH Köln Motorsport powered by Ford consists of students. I cannot rate highly enough the quality of these young people's work, which was truly professional. It became obvious once more that a 24-hour race is a completely different ball game compared to the regular season events," said Densing.
Encouraged by his team's performance, Team Manager Jan Derenbach said: "After the engine's belt drive was damaged by some debris picked up on the track, we had to change the engine during the night. Our mechanics did an outstanding job, completing the task in just three-and-a- half hours. But obviously this forced break sent us a long way down the overall standings. Before and after that our Ford Focus RS ran like clockwork. Looking at our lap times we could have finished at the very front of our class."
The team went on to finish 117th out of 196 other competitors.
Team FH Koln Motorsport has won its class twice this year already & finished 3rd o/a in the first three rounds of the Nurburgring Endurance Championship.
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