White Heat White Light John Elwin has invaded the Ardennes for the 2004 Spa 24 Hours, over a beer or three he advanced his theory of who will win the race……..later we made him write it all down……..will he be proved right? Time will tell……………… Substitute me for him There’s no substitute for experience, according to the wise old sage, and I have a sneaking suspicion we are going to see that fact proven when the chequered flag falls at the end of the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. Yes, I am sticking my neck out and predicting a victory for one of the Schnitzer Motorsport-run BMW M3 GTR’s – and that despite the fact they only qualified 11th and 14th overall. The Schnitzer Beemers have not been regulars in the FIA GT series this year. Strictly speaking, the M3 GTR does not conform to the FIA regulations (and indeed it is the self-same machine that frightened the ALMS brigade a year or two ago) but it gets into the race via the ‘National’ class – effectively Class 2. So why do I think they can win overall then? What’s Going On? Well, there are a number of reasons really. How about track record for starters? Schnitzer have won the Spa 24-Hours five times before and you can add to that a win at Le Mans in 1999 together with numerous touring and sportscar successes all over the world. Most recent success was the Nurburgring 24-Hours just over a month ago and only an hour down the road from Spa. Significantly, that came courtesy of the Mullers Jorg and Dirk and veteran star Hans-Joachim Stuck Jnr. at the wheel of an M3 similar in spec to the car they will race at Spa – differing rules allow them to run ABS brakes but not traction control for instance. And therein lies one of the secrets of Schnitzer’s success… Charly Lamm, one of the very best team managers in the business, has long overseen Schnitzer’s activities. He and his team have a wealth of experience, the majority of the crew have been with the team for many years. In other words they work well together as a team. They know to put a car together and they are used to adapting to different rules and regulations. Their teamwork pays in the pit stops too. Whilst certain other outfits may resemble Fred Carno’s circus the Schnitzer will give off an air of ordered calm. It’s the Pits, Man At Spa, for example, Schnitzer have been further aided by their choice of pit garage. Whether by accident or design, they have ended up in the upper Formula One pit lane where their ETCC cars also based (yes, Schnitzer will also compete in the ETCC rounds at Spa earlier on the same day… ). There are several advantages here; for one the pitlane is on the level and considerably less cramped than the downhill facilities enjoyed by most of their rivals. So, just as Ferrari has put itself on a different plain to the competition in Formula 1 through sheer hard work and professionalism, so I think that Schnitzer BMW will win through in Spa for similar reasons. And remember, last years’ winning car did not come from the top class either. Admittedly the weather played a part but at the end of the day the N-GT Freisinger Porsche driven by Ortelli, Lieb, and Dumas scored a magnificent victory largely thanks to expert management by Norbert Singer and slick pitwork whilst others around them fell apart. So, don’t be surprised if a Schnitzer BMW wins in Spa. The question is will it be the car driven by the experienced Muller/Muller/Stuck or will it be the Mollekens/Lamy/Garcia/Priaulx machine? |
John Elwin |
