30.04.15 Group H victory for Wolfgang Kaufmann on the Nürburgring

A perfect score with pole position and class win at the DMV 4-Stunden-Rennen in the VLN German Endurance Championship.

It was a special assignment for Wolfgang Kaufmann this past weekend at the second VLN round of the year; at home both in the cockpit of modern Porsches and in historic racecars, this time around he got two for the price of one. Together with Ralf Weiner, Kaufmann drove the overall winning car of the 2001 Nürburgring 24 Hours, a Porsche 996 GT3-R built in 2000. This type of car is closely linked with the German motor racing professional's career; he drove such a Porsche 996 for a number of years in series such as FIA GT or the French GT and Spanish championships.

The car is now old enough to be eligible for Group H approval which frees it of a number of severe technical restrictions. For instance, the engine is now unrestricted, and a big 120 liter tank can be used. “On the other hand, you don't have any modern driver aids such as traction control, speed limiter, sequential gearbox, and so on”, says Kaufmann. This was to be an issue later on.

Qualifying went without a hitch, with Kaufmann turning the fastest lap of Group H and securing the class pole position. The weather was dubious until right before the start: “Even as we got to the grid, it was wet; so we had wet weather tyres on the car”, Kaufmann explains, “but on the warm-up lap it was obvious that it would dry up.”, Unlike many others who came in for the tyre change right away, Kaufmann stayed on rain tyres for two laps to buy the team valuable time. Ralf Weiner's crew replenished the fuel and sent Kaufmann out for a 12 lap stint around the Nürburgring.

In these roughly two hours, he defended the lead in Group H and worked his way into the top 20 overall positions, right among the modern GT3 cars. As Weiner took over behind the wheel, the team bolted on the “wets” which were much needed by now – because just as the Porsche came into pit lane, the skies opened. Weiner completed a solid stint and brought home the victory in Group H. As winners in their category, Kaufmann/Weiner were part of the official podium ceremony!

Shortly after the presentation, a 35 second time penalty for the team was the source of controversy. “We appear to have gone over the 60kph speed limit in a double yellow flag zone, for a split second”, Kaufmann comments, “in such a car, that doesn't have a speed limiter, it is difficult to accurately maintain such a speed. It also isn't easy in the new 200kph and 250 kph speed limit zones. The drivers in the factory or works-supported cars have it easier, they usually have a speed limiter fitted which can be programmed for every necessary speed.” While the penalty did not have an effect on the class positions, and the team thus retained its win, three places were lost in the overall result.

“Nevertheless, it was great fun to drive such a car again”, Kaufmann sums up his weekend.

Following a two week break, his next stop will be at the Nürburgring for the 24 Hours with Porsche Kremer Racing. Along with his drive in the marathon twice round the clock, Kaufmann will also be out in the 24h Classic support race where he will share a Porsche 911 RSR with Johan Bonnier.