Mercedes 190’s at the Nurburgring 24 Hour

February 4, 2009 by Matt Zollo
Filed under Features

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The Nurburgring 24-Hour. Undoubtedly one of the toughest endurance races in the world: 24 tireless hours on a bumpy bastard of an unforgiving track that offers a margin for error that is often slightly less than zilch, under a blanket of weather that can go from actually-quite-nice to get-the-ark-out-Noah in a matter of minutes, at a pace that would have all but the fastest track-day-goers wetting their pants.

If there’s one event where the world’s hardest car could fall to pieces then this is it, so on a recent Nurburgring 24-hour pilgrimage German Car Magazine followed the progress of a team running a pair of the world’s hardest cars. And what is the world’s hardest? Well, obviously that’s no doubting Mercedes used to be pretty well stuck together. And the zenith of this philosophy for making bomb-proof, bunker-spec cars was – along with the W124 E-Class – the W201 190. These things used to break FIA world endurance speed records for breakfast, so surely a little endurance race would be a walk in the park. Albeit a rather brisk walk.

This is presumably why our weekend hosts-with-the-most, Der Stern von Willich Motorsport, have chosen 190s. That and the fact the boss runs a Mercedes dealership. 190 number one, a 2.3 16-valve, is contesting in the classic support race called the Egons 500 (it’s a 500km race), part of the Youngtimer Trophy. It’s obviously pretty robust, as they’ve raced it here seven times (five times in the 24-hour), but it’s also pretty mild in spec: the Cossie-developed 2.3-litre 16-valve lump is all but standard (there’s no way of getting round it as all entrants are rolling-roaded before the race), the brake setup is improved with just Pagid Yellow pads, Racing Blue fluid and ATE discs, the suspension only gets H&R dampers and 250lb springs, road tyres are regulatory and, apart from safety and sponsor requirements, it’s all but factory inside and out.

It’s not shy though. “You can see from the lap times that the BMW’s (E30 M3s) aren’t that much quicker,” says mechanic Freddy. “Although they have 260bhp to our 220bhp, the extra power doesn’t make much difference at a track like this.” Reasonably good fuel consumption plays a part, too. “We must run the standard 60-litre tank, so using about seven litres per lap [15.7-miles with the Nordschleife and GP circuit combined] we can go for eight laps before needing a refill.” About ten to the gallon, so for a racer it’s a thrifty little… thing.

The race is a fest of faultlessly-prepared retro racers, best of a very good bunch (plenty of 911 RSRs, E30 M3s, pumped-up Audi 50s and VW Polos) an obscenely loud, perfectly replicated M1 Procar, complementing the old-school Nordschleife backdrop perfectly. If it wasn’t for the campsite pumping out some pretty hideous Euro trance, you could quite happily get away with wearing flares and Brute.

But it’s the 24-hour that we and most others are here for – including our boys Der Stern von Willich. It’s gonna be tough – sleep is something they’ll do without. “We get no sleep for perhaps almost two days, but you forget about it when you’re racing. I say you sleep when you’re old!” says Freddy, before the start of the race. “For 24 hours I’m not allowed outside the box [the area surrounding a pit garage]. There may be problems so you have to be there to deal with them, and always the biggest priority for us is to finish. So you can drive fast, but if you crash it makes everyone unhappy.” Wise words, Obi Von.

You wouldn’t believe the drivers think the same. The start is a mêlée of 220-odd cars trying not to get carried away whilst trying not to give places away, and if you’ve ever watched the public scoot around the Ring then watching race cars negotiate the same tarmac is something of an eye-opener: the large majority are on sub-8-minute supercar-beater laps, every lap. Mercedes 190 number two, a 2.5 Evo I, is a lesson in composed forward motion: no drama, no slides, nor even much noise – but plenty of speed.

It even looks quick parked up. Group N regulations mean squat when a road car is as crazy-ass as this from the factory – homologation rules really are a gift from the gods. Mechanically speaking the Mercedes is more conventional, the engine standard but for Group N exhaust, revised intake and tweaked management (231bhp, 27bhp up on factory) and the rest similar in spec to their other 190; ATE, Pagid and Racing Blue products improve braking, whilst KYB two-speed adjustable shocks and H&R springs sort the suspension.

Night time is when a 24-hour race comes into its own. The pit-lane is crazy at any time, but during the night it steps up a level: dazzling floodlights make day out of night; GT3s scribe a course with scant regard to human life that may lay between them and their waiting mechanics; screaming sirens signal another possessed GT3 entering the pits; bodies run and arms flail, frantically working on stricken and battle-scarred cars until you sense stress levels boil onto garage floors.

We get away from this intense energy and enjoy the other side to night racing. Pick out the focussed, precise induction roar of an as-yet-unsighted race car on full-attack as it pierces the night silence, watch as it bursts into view, skimming the crest at Flugplatz, bucking and blurring xenon’s accompanied by vicious, whip-crack, un-burnt fuel explosions as downshifts are hit home, catch the glowing blur of burnt-orange brake discs and then see it skip its way around the following disturbingly-fast right-hander, chased by a V8 soundtrack that always manages to stick to its tail. It’s a quite surreal vision the first time you experience it, and pretty much just as surreal for the next few more times afterwards.

For the team and drivers it’s all part of the job, however, and right now they’re concentrating on the job in hand: maintaining a class lead. There’s been contact from one of the drivers, to warn the tyres seem to be wearing abnormally quickly, but fingers are simply crossed and it’s hoped that they last until the next scheduled stop. They do, and the problem is traced to the suspension geometry shifting due to high operating temperatures; ever so slightly but enough to increase negative camber and therefore increase wear to the inside edge of the front tyres.

It’s not bad enough to disturb pit-stop strategy and therefore slow progress, though; the front tyres are just being replaced every two stops (18 laps) instead of three. The positions are incredibly close, however, particularly considering the context of the overall race duration, with the second-placed car just 1min 30secs behind them, so this situation may have to be reappraised later on. For now we appraise our own situation and decide on a kip.

Returning to the pits in the morning, super bright and early of course, it’s a big relief to find that car 200 is still running. They’ve even managed to make adjustments to the suspension, so it’s running well. So much so that, combined with a clearly eventful night for other teams, the 190 is now up to 34^th overall. But it’s still a close-call for class honours, with the 2^nd place E30 M3 trailing by less than a lap.

By the time the flag drops mid-afternoon everyone is shattered: physically-beaten drivers, brain-frazzled mechanics, jaded marshals and hung-over spectators. Yet there’s a near-on 20-year-old 190, in close to road-going spec, which has survived. Survived where high-tech, million-Euro cars have fallen. Set a pace good enough to fend of everything else in its class; good enough to allow only 31 other cars to finish sooner. Far from its reputation damaged by the Nürburgring, the Baby Mercedes has left with it firmly intact. Enhance, in fact. Total respect due.

Go There

The Nurburgring 24-hour is Le Mans on the most spectacular B-road you know, packed full with beer-fuelled German enthusiasm and barbeque smoke, with tricked-up road and race machinery everywhere and a grid so varied it makes the Britcar 24-hour look like a round from a one-make race series. Do it this year…

http://adac.24h-rennen.de/en.html (News and info on the ’09 Nürburgring 24-hour, including entry list)
www.koelnticket.de or 00 49 221-2801 (To book Nürburgring 24-hour tickets)
www.eurostar.com or 08705 186186 (Chunnel is your best bet for a quick crossing)
www.poferries.com or 08716 645 645 (But ferry is generally cheaper)
www.wohlsein365.de or 00 49 02641/97730 (Camping is the only way to go if you want the full 24-hour experience, but should you want more comfort then you want the accommodation bureau for the area)
www.youngtimer.de (the support race is just as good as the main event for someone with a penchant for fast German machinery)