Racing to the 'Ring

27 and counting...

[disclaimer: Wayne's my dear, dear cousin. Many years ago - last century - I met up with him on the Rally of New Zealand. I was in my asthmatic Escort Sport 1600, he was in his lovely RX4 coupe, and his mates were in a P76! We had a cool time in the frigid dark of the central North Island, following our heroes as they jostled for tenths of a second on frozen gravel roads. It seems none of us can leave behind our motorsport obsessions. Just as I'm about to look closely at another motorsport fascination (possibly with a roundel on the bonnet, or even with a roundy engine under the bonnet), I hear he's doing up an RX7 with some provenance behind it!]

Kiwi endurance racer Wayne Moore (69) is heading for Germany to compete in his 27th Nürburgring 24 hour race on New Zealand’s Queen’s Birthday weekend.

It's been a short break away from the legendary circuit, known to many as the Green Hell. Moore last competed in the race in September 2020 after the event was postponed from May due to COVID-19.  This year it returns to its rightful place on the global motorsport calendar.

In Covid-blighted in 2020 the German government allowed 8,500 spectators in the 40,000 seat pitlane grandstands and fans were prohibited from camping in the forests around the infamous 25.3km race track where 230,000 normally do.  Millions settled for watching the 24 hour race live online and there is no official word yet on the status of spectators this year as COVID-19 issues remain unresolved in much of Europe.

Moore says driving the event without fans last year imposed a surreal atmosphere to the race.

“Drivers could really concentrate on racing without the distraction of flares and fireworks, music louder than the cars and the aroma of steaks cooking.”  

Last year's race was stopped for a lengthy period during the long autumn night due to fog and compounded with dangerous flooding across numerous parts of the race track.  Moore hopes the return to the northern spring will herald more settled weather "although it is often a lottery in the Eifel Mountains."

Back to the future

Moore returned to driving a Volkswagen last year with the WS Racing team after six years with BMW and previously 17 with a factory-supported VW team. 

WS Racing are supported by Singapore-based Giti Competition Tires and many European sponsors.  

“The team struck the perfect balance between car preparation and maintenance on the track and the way they supported team members off the track. I’ve never before been asked my dietary requirements by a race team!”

WS Racing also includes a successful Girls Only team which is pretty unique in the world of endurance racing. 

Moore last year drove a modified-turbo Golf VI to second place in class and this year will be driving a Golf VII GTI production car in class V2T. He has won his class twice both times in a VW and has a personal goal to win a third.This will be the twelfth different car he has raced at the Nürburgring ranging from a Suzuki Swift and VW Polo to a very quick BMW335i 3 litre twin-turbo.  He says his focus is always on fast, tidy and consistent laps and being competitive within class. 

At the front of the 24 hour field are numerous factory teams with multiple cars competing for the kudos and advertising space that comes with a race win.  The old adage; ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ fits perfectly in touring car endurance racing and competition is fierce.

A challenge for slower cars is to remain consistent despite the ever passing traffic and ever changing track conditions. 

“We are passing cars too, and I guess the spectacle of the race for fans is the huge variety throughout the field which often numbers 200-plus cars. Some years I’ve had the humbling privilege to achieve three identical lap times back-to-back and that is always a special highlight.”

How it began

Moore’s invitation to drive the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race came before the Internet by letter from Florian Schmidt in 1994.  The two had meet previously in Wellington and rallied lower North Island events in the early 1990’s.   Schmidt was now rallying in Europe and saw the 24 race as an opportunity to improve his driving skills on tarmac. Moore’s first race in 1994 was also stopped, this time by a storm which left trees blocking the race track. 

About the 'Ring

Many safety aspects of the infamous North Loop or Nordschleife have improved over the years although the road is rarely wider than it was when first opened in 1927.

The racetrack fully encloses villages and also crosses the main street of Adenau which is the major village in the area.  Adenau’s population is less than 3,000 with many working in hospitality, six supermarkets and a hospital to support the huge influx of fans to a variety of motorsports events each year sometimes including Formula 1 on a newer Grand Prix course as in 2020.

So who's in the car?

Moore doesn’t yet know his 2021 team mates other than Danish lawyer Niels Borum whose BMW’s he has driven in past years. 

“Niels is taking a break from team ownership and it’s exciting to be racing with him again.”  Most teams have four drivers and by regulation no driver can drive for more than 3 hours without a 2 hour break although many cars require refuelling before that limit.  “I sleep easily between drives despite the reverberating noise of a motor race although I’m not so sure I would sleep if I owned the car or the team” said Moore.

Kiwis, represent!

Aside from a handful of German-nationals no race driver in the world has competed more times in this event than Moore.  The 24-hour race is now in its 49th year and in 2020 there were entries from 26 nationalities in 18 makes of vehicle despite numbers being dramatically own due to COVID-19.  Fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber drove a factory Manthey Racing Porsche in last year’s race and Moore recalls past years where more than twenty Kiwi drivers made the pilgrimage to Germany.

“Over the years I’ve trained many New Zealand and Australian drivers and always find that very satisfying when their initial trepidation of such a formidable race track turns to exhilaration and enjoyment.”  Many drivers learn the direction of the 87 corners each lap through simulated racing online but are still in awe at the 290m undulation and the numerous blind corners, bumps and jumps.

It was easier in the past to enter the 24 hour race without the two-day driving school and successful completion of two shorter races now part of the eligibility criteria.

The complexity of a lap exceeding 25 kilometres also means traditional safety cars are not used as it would be virtually impossible to efficiently manage the widely-spread field in the event of a hazard.  Incidents instead are managed locally with safety flags, lights and a system called Code 60 where 60km/hr is the maximum passing speed to protect track workers and emergency vehicles.  It is not uncommon for race cars to be slowly driving on the grass verge to bypass debris on and cleaning of the track.

Drivers complete a series of online eLearning modules and tests each year to relearn the nuances of the Nordschleife including even pit lane access which varies between qualifying sessions and the actual race.  Moore laughs when he recalls one newer driver mistaking a tar sealed forest track for the pit lane entrance and needing to be guided back to the race track by marshals.  Many incidents are not so humourous and GP warning systems now provide a timely indication within each race car of danger ahead.

Despite uncertain crowds the 2021 ADAC TOTAL  24h-Race programme will again be supplemented with support classes including World Touring Cars, DTM Touring Car Legends, a field of 200 Classic cars competing in a 3 hour race and a further 200 in the RCN [Rundstrecken Challenge Nürburgring] touring car series.  No wonder this festival of motorsport features in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest motorsport event in the world.  The 24 hour race is the culmination of the four day programme and Wayne Moore from New Zealand will be there again.

Wayne Moore leaves New Zealand on 22 May 2021.