We sat down with Professional racecar driver Shane Lewis to talk about his experiences at the famous 24 hours of Nurburgring. He won the 6 hour race in 2009 and the 24 hour race in 2010. He has returned from Germany with a third place podium finish at this years around the clock endurance event.
Coming off last years win, was your third place finish a triumph or a disappointment?
(Laughing) Man you get right to heart of things don’t you. Anytime you stand on the Podium at the Nurburgring it is special. But yes, I went back with the mindset of winning again. We all know that even finishing this race is an accomplishment. It really is, I am not just saying that. This track can eat cars and teams alive. But once you have tasted victory here, you want it more than anything you can imagine.
What is like to win at the Nurburgring?
I won the 6 hour race in 2009 and that was a lot of fun. But the 24 hour win was a whole different thing. I was so exhausted when it was over that the win really didn’t set in until I saw several of my crew members in tears. They were even happier than I was. That made it even more special to be a part of something that every member on the team was so very proud of. Thousands and thousands of fans cheering at the checkered flag and then the awards ceremony at the end of the weekend rivals anything I have ever attended. But what really set it home was when I had to open my bag at the airport. I wrapped up my trophy in a towel and put it in a bag to carry on the airplane. They wanted to see what was in it after it went through the x-ray machine. The TSA agent must have been a car enthusiast because he yelled out to everyone in the security area, hey this guy won the Nurburgring! I was embarrassed but proud and he probably got in trouble, but it was a moment I will never forget.
How many times have you raced there and how many wins?
My very first time was in 2004 driving a Porsche for Steam Racing. We finished 3rd in class and 19th overall out of 248 cars that started. Then in 2005 for the same team, unfortunately a serious crash in the rain by one of my co drivers ended our chances there. Then back to the Ring in 2009 driving an Audi for the 6 hour and my first win at the ring. 2010 was my 24 hour victory there.
How many cars did you say started! ?
They start between 200 and a max of 250 cars every year. Each team runs 4 drivers. So even the drivers meetings are of epic proportions! You will pass or be passed by more cars in this one race than in an entire season in any other professional series.
How do they start that many cars at one time?
Oh, great question. It is a rolling start and the pace lap before the race starts can take up to 40 minutes! If you know the GP circuit, you know that the first corner is very tight as well as the slowest corner on the circuit. It also is coming off the very fast front straight. This type of corner can be a problem even in the best of circumstances. It’s very important that you qualify as far to the front as possible. I know that sounds obvious but there it can make a big difference. Then you better qualify in the top 75 cars no matter what class you are in. They start the first 75 cars at one time then separate the next 75 cars by about 2 minutes and so on. It’s an amazing thing to see! I have raced four 24 hour races there and somehow each group of 75 cars has made it through without an incident. That should tell you how good these drivers really are and how much each one of them wants to finish this race. Now after the first few corners everyone seems to go right back to flat out racing but they get through the start somehow without ever an issue.
Describe the circuit?
Wow, that question would take a complete book for me to answer! Lets just say that you get the modern Formula1 facility with the GP pits, garages and amenities. There is a bathroom in every garage stall, hey priorities. You first leave the pits onto the GP circuit, that is really a fun track all on its own. Most current F1 and FIA tracks are quite boring but this one has a great flow to it. Then you lead onto the Nordschleife, (the “North Course” 14.2 mile , 170 plus corner original track) this place has been known to make grown men cry or… happily addict drivers like me. Your mind set completely changes as you turn onto the North course. You actually feel it. You immediately know that no other track anywhere in the world has these kinds of challenges. The flow and the elevation changes of the first few miles are more than anything you will ever see at any other track worldwide. And we haven’t even gotten to the really big sections yet! You race through over 1500 feet of elevation changes. Can you really grasp that? There is every corner that you could ever imagine. Every camber change, every elevation change, increasing, decreasing, every speed, its really unbelievable.
Is the track dangerous?
Only if you get stupid. No really. (now I am laughing) Yes, the track layout was built in 1927 when safety wasn’t a priority and the cars didn’t go that fast. But the racing surface has good grip and is extremely well kept. They repave sections of it whenever needed. It has been upgraded every year too some really impressive off track safety features. Proper fencing, gradient curbing, excellent corner workers. But noticed I said “off” track improvements. The course itself is a serious challenge and one that must be respected. You will never learn every corner in one race. Really you wont. I know that sounds crazy but when I finished my first race there, a 24 hour in a Porsche, when we finished third in class and 19th over all… which was spectacular… but if you asked me when it was over to visualize every corner and do a lap in my head, I would have lost my place. It wasn’t until the next race there that I felt like I knew where every corner was. If you do your homework, be heads up and respectful, this place will reward you like no other.
Do you remember your first experience at the Ring?
You bet. How can anyone forget that? I was there for an ALMS race back when several European circuits were on the schedule. I was racing a Porsche in GT, and it was on the GP circuit only. A few days before the event the Nordschleife was open for the public to drive. I took the head of Michelin Tire USA with me in a rental car to check it out. Won’t mention his name to embarrass him. He had me promise I wouldn’t do anything crazy and drive easy. For a guy in a serious position in Motorsports, he sure hated to go fast. We drove around the track along with motorcycles, mini vans full of tourist, multi million dollar supercars, you name it and it was out there. I couldn’t believe the track. I dropped my passenger back off at the GP circuit after one lap and rushed back to the North Course. I drove every minute until they shut it down. That rental car was really tired by the time I got done. I knew then that this place was beyond special. A place I just had to race at.
Describe the atmosphere at the track on race day?
I have been on the starting grid of some major sports car races. Le Mans, Sebring 12 hour, Petite, Daytona 24 hour, you name it, but there is no way to describe what its like here. Every seat is sold out on the GP circuit, there are thousands of fans at every spot on the fences, the pre grid is shoulder to shoulder of people try to see the drivers and the cars. The energy is so amazing!
Give us the high and the low points of this years race?
Those two points in the race actually came at almost the very same time. Let me give you some background. We came into this race with the same car as last year. A car that we knew well and it didn’t have a single issue in our win last year. We also came knowing how to win. But we found out quickly that we brought a knife to a gunfight this year as the rules had changed and the competition stepped up way more than any of us had realized. Specifically the factory VW team. They had a three car, thirteen million dollar effort with extensive testing and a driver line up that included several formula one drivers. That didn’t stop us from trying to win it for sure. But we made our own mistakes that were under our control. The first several hours included a mistake in fuel calculation, that’s a polite way of saying they ran me out of fuel, and a flat tire on a compound we shouldn’t have been on. Then some things out of our control, like fluid being down on the track at night that resulted in a crash. But we came back from it all. When the sun came up the next morning we were working our way back to the front! Then the VW squad were having problems with their top running car. We were sitting 2nd and had a real shot at catching the leader for the victory with 2 hours to go. The team asked me to finish the race. They wanted me to run down the leader with everything I had. That was the highlight. You have no idea how much energy and will that comes from a team behind you. I wanted it for them just as bad as I wanted it for me. I got the nod from the race strategist that I needed to be ready, as the car should hit pit lane in less than two minutes. I was pumped! As I put my earpieces in and my helmet on, every crew member gave me that look, the one that says here it is, all on the line, you are the man. I closed my eyes for a second to regroup and focus and then I heard a crew member yell. I opened my eyes and I could just see the entire team in dismay. The car had broken a CV joint out on course. There was no way to get the lead back now. It’s no guess that was the low point. The crew did get the car back and running but out team car passed us for second and we barely held onto third.
(To watch Shane describe this story shows all the emotion of a race car driver with a true passion for the sport)
I can tell by the smile on you face that you like this track. Would this be your favorite track?
(Shane Laughing) It’s that easy to tell is it? (Huge smile) Anyone that has ever raced there knows there is nothing like it in the entire world. This circuit could never be replicated, outdone or anything ever built like it again. If you are a driver, this is the ultimate bucket list item. When people ask me about this place I tell them it is adult Disneyland for racecar drivers. You just have to go there and once you do, you have to go back again and again.
Shane Lewis will be returning to the Nurburgring on August 27th for the 6 hour race. If anyone wants to learn the track, visit it in a street car or race in one of the 4 hour events held there every month, I cant think of a better person to hire than Shane for a once in a lifetime experience. Shane can also be found working with Orbit racing’s clients on driver coaching or test driving one of the many new project cars coming out of the shop.
You can find more information on Shane Lewis at www.ShaneLewis.com.
