BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS take three BMW Z4 GT3 to the Nürburgring this weekend to get crucial mileage ahead of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. The three cars will see eight drivers take part. Dominik Schwager and Andrea Piccini join Yelmer Buurman in #25, regular team drivers Maxime Martin, Markus Palttala and Henri Moser in #26 and a third for Richard Göransson and Bas Leinders – #27. With less than a month before the big race, the team as yet have had no chance to run at the Nordschleife in 2013 after bad weather badly disrupted the circuit's schedule at the start of the season. The decision was therefore taken to run a third car, which the team had as a spare in the garage, in this weekend's VLN race – the second to take place this season. If the decision had not been taken, it would have been unlikely that either Göransson or Leinders would have had a chance to drive. The aim for the team is testing, not triumph – data will be more important for what is one of the world's toughest races. The team have forged a partnership with BMW Motorsport for this season's Nordschleife racing, looking towards success at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. The squad will work closely with the manufacturer's team to hone their knowledge of the car and its performance to the finest details. The track itself is a staggering challenge. There are 20km of fast, narrow and often blind turns, with no run off, which makes for a unique challenge. With over 200 cars on the track, ranging from the GT3 spec SP9 class that Marc VDS compete in down to tiny hatchbacks, the challenge is increased by traffic. An SP9 car will pass literally dozens of slower cars every single lap, whilst racing the other 31 cars in the same class. It is all part of the fun. The four hour event takes place on Saturday 27 April and gets underway at midday local time. Andrea Piccini: "Actually it's my first race this year, so of course I'm very excited. I'm looking forward to working with Marc VDS. I tested with them earlier this season and I saw that the team are prepared, and that the car is competitive. My team mates are very fast. I met Yelmer already and I know Dominik but have never raced with him. We can do well even if it is not a race to win, but to test. These miles will be crucial – I've done two 24 hours and a lot of VLN but still I learn whenever I'm on this track. One thing I don't have is much wet weather experience here – but looking at the forecast it looks like I'll get some this weekend!"
