Aqui tengo uno de las 24 en el infierno verde.
Alfa Romeo couldn't make quite it four wins in a row in the 'Alternative Fuels' Class S1 at the
gruelling Nürburgring 24 Hours last weekend, although four of the six turbodiesel-powered Alfa
147s taking part in the marathon race survived the 'green hell' to reach the chequered flag on
Sunday afternoon.
The Italian manufacturer has an enviable record in this toughest of endurance races, which
was first run in 1970 and attracts a 220 car grid, in recent years. Last year Herbert Schürg and
Stefan Neuberger, were joined for the race by FIA GT Championship Maserati driver's, Michael
Bartels Michael and Timo Scheider, in an Alfa Romeo Deutschland-entered and they claimed
victory in Class S1 by four clear laps driving a specially-developed 2.4-litre JTD-powered Alfa
147. Backing them up was a second Alfa Romeo Deutschland-entry, a 1.9 JTD 16v turbodiesel
powered Alfa GT Coupe, which was piloted by a crew that included the then Alfa Romeo brand
CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell and popular German TV 'soap opera' actress Eve Scheer, although
they dropped out before nightfall while shadowing their team mates.
With burgeoning interest in developing diesel-powered racing cars from major manufacturers,
this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours saw the 'Alternative Fuels' category being split into two
capacity-sized classes, S1 and S2, with Alfa Romeo's 1.9-litre JTD engine featuring in the
smaller S1 category, while the single 2.4-litre JDM-powered entry was bumped up into S2. The
#272 Alfa 147 2.4 JTD, the single representative of the Milanese brand in Class S2, featured
former leading German lady racer Ellen Lohr (best remembered for her exploits at the wheel of
a factory-entered Mercedes-Benz in the DTM series during the 1990s) joined by Dietrich
Hueck, Werner Habermehl and Tom Schwister. However the car's chance of repeating its 2005
win evaporated during Sunday morning, and having completed 95 laps of the 23.5 kilometre
circuit, it retired from the action after 18 hours and 16 minutes of racing.
Twenty cars were entered in Class S2 with five Alfa 147 JTD racers mixing it up with factory-
supported entries from BMW, VW, Renault and SEAT. The two semi-official BMW 120d racers
posted their intent to wrest away Alfa Romeo's crown, lining up a clear 1-2 on the grid. Pole
time was set by the #263 entry which racked up a best lap of 9 minutes 43.956 seconds.
Alfa Romeo couldn't make quite it four wins in a row in the 'Alternative Fuels' Class S1 at the
gruelling Nürburgring 24 Hours last weekend, although four of the six turbodiesel-powered Alfa
147s taking part in the marathon race survived the 'green hell' to reach the chequered flag on
Sunday afternoon.
The Italian manufacturer has an enviable record in this toughest of endurance races, which
was first run in 1970 and attracts a 220 car grid, in recent years. Last year Herbert Schürg and
Stefan Neuberger, were joined for the race by FIA GT Championship Maserati driver's, Michael
Bartels Michael and Timo Scheider, in an Alfa Romeo Deutschland-entered and they claimed
victory in Class S1 by four clear laps driving a specially-developed 2.4-litre JTD-powered Alfa
147. Backing them up was a second Alfa Romeo Deutschland-entry, a 1.9 JTD 16v turbodiesel
powered Alfa GT Coupe, which was piloted by a crew that included the then Alfa Romeo brand
CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell and popular German TV 'soap opera' actress Eve Scheer, although
they dropped out before nightfall while shadowing their team mates.
With burgeoning interest in developing diesel-powered racing cars from major manufacturers,
this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours saw the 'Alternative Fuels' category being split into two
capacity-sized classes, S1 and S2, with Alfa Romeo's 1.9-litre JTD engine featuring in the
smaller S1 category, while the single 2.4-litre JDM-powered entry was bumped up into S2. The
#272 Alfa 147 2.4 JTD, the single representative of the Milanese brand in Class S2, featured
former leading German lady racer Ellen Lohr (best remembered for her exploits at the wheel of
a factory-entered Mercedes-Benz in the DTM series during the 1990s) joined by Dietrich
Hueck, Werner Habermehl and Tom Schwister. However the car's chance of repeating its 2005
win evaporated during Sunday morning, and having completed 95 laps of the 23.5 kilometre
circuit, it retired from the action after 18 hours and 16 minutes of racing.
Twenty cars were entered in Class S2 with five Alfa 147 JTD racers mixing it up with factory-
supported entries from BMW, VW, Renault and SEAT. The two semi-official BMW 120d racers
posted their intent to wrest away Alfa Romeo's crown, lining up a clear 1-2 on the grid. Pole
time was set by the #263 entry which racked up a best lap of 9 minutes 43.956 seconds.