Nürburg/Heiligenroth, 13.10. 2007 

Saturday the Thirteenth – A Black Day

for the Team Racing Event Motorsport

The first small problems occurred on Saturday morning. Prior to the training the front left brake disc was objected. “Due to the fact that it was a security-relevant component, we promptly replaced it”, Andre Ibron said. Only 40 minutes before closing the big BMW 1 could set in the qualifying. The “Degussa-Evonik BMW” went very well, but Andre Ibron made a driving mistake on the track. When an Astra OPC of the Kissling team wanted to overtake, there was a slight contact. “Unfortunately I overlooked the Astra.” The team was quick off the mark and brought two new tires to the track section Quiddelbacher Höhe. However there was not even thinking of driving a fast lap and the BMW had to launch from the last position of starting group two.

Bugs Bunny, alias Guido Wirtz, took the start and immediately pressed forward. Already during the first lap he caught up with the BMW 335D GTR of competitor Günther Beckers. In lap two he was ahead and in the lead of the class. Lap by lap he distanced himself. After the first stint Franz Groß took on the cockpit and extended the lead to 4 minutes. Until his last lap, when the horrible crash happened. An Opel Corsa apparently made way for being lapped. When Groß was already next to the smaller Corsa, it dragged abruptly over, got crossways in front of the BMW and started rolling over right away. The Degussa-Evonik BMW was first pushed against the guard rail and then pitchforked into the air. Fortunately the BMW did not overturn, but the impact from several meters of height was almost as destructive: the BMW was a total loss. “I wanted to overtake the much slower vehicle. But he obviously didn’t want to make way. When he finally drove to the right, I wanted to pass. On quite a level with the Corsa, the other driver got back and the accident happened.” Franz Groß, who luckily got away with severe contusions, stated after the race.

“Unfortunately the Degussa-Evonik BMW was so badly damaged that we are not able to fix it for the last race in two weeks. Therefore the season of 2007 is aborted for us. But the most important thing is that the driver is somewhat okay,” head of the team Andre Ibron said gloomily after the race. In the class rating the team Racing Event Motorsport is still in the lead, but in the high-capacity group SP11 the championship will finally be decided during the last race. The team Dieselspeed with its driver Heribert Steiner is hard on the heels of the team Racing Event Motorsport and could win the championship at the last heat of the season, the 32^nd DMV Münsterlandpokal. “After the efforts and achievements of the 2007^th season this is a bitter pill for us. We hope for better luck next year. During winter we will revise the Evonik BMW and I think the rebuild puts us in a position to improve the car, especially concerning the weight and its arrangement”, despite of the breakdown Andre Ibron looks positively ahead.