The infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife, built in 1927, twists and turns for 14 miles through the forested Eifel mountains of northwestern Germany. Since 1970, this has been the venue of the world's most challenging endurance circuit race, the Nurburgring 24 hours. Since 2003, Peter has enjoyed much success at this incredible track, and 2007 proved to be no exception.
This year, Peter joined the crack Schumann Motorsport squad, based in Saarbrucken and proven victors at the Nordschleife. Their 2.5litre, 6 cylinder Hyundai Coupe won its class in 2006, finished 18th overall in the hands of Peter and Jurgen (Adi) Schumann and young gun Christian Hohenadel. "I was very impressed with the Hyundai last year and we worked hard to make something happen with Schumann for 2007," Pete commented.
With the deal only settled a week before the race, Pete had no chance to test the car prior to the 24 hours, and so his first taste of the Hyundai's 350bhp came in the first Qualifying session on Friday morning. "I took a few laps of the Grand Prix track (which is used in tandem with the original Nordschleife) to get used to the car, and quickly found it to be to my liking, although there was a slight problem with the brakes which required a quick pit stop to check. After that I took it for a single cautious lap around the Nordschleife. The car has clearly been designed for this track and was very comfortable to drive. I actually felt it was almost too comfortable, the steering was so light!"
Second Qualifying took place on Friday evening, when the cool air would give the opportunity to set some quick laps. Christian went out first on new tyres and established an excellent laptime of 9:45, fastest of all the SP4 class (up to 2.5 litres). However, the organisers combined SP4 and SP5 classes (up to 3 litres) this year, which put the Hyundai 3rd in class behind SP5 cars #72 and #69 (BMW 130i). Peter then went out for three laps and quickly slashed his earlier laps time, getting down to a 10:02 despite being badly blocked at the Grand Prix hairpin by a Porsche and at Pflanzgarten by an Aston Martin). "I was satisfied with the times, because it was clear there was much more within the car". The Hyundai would start in 38th position overall (out of 220 starters), and importantly in the first group of 75 cars.
The race was due to start at 3pm on Saturday, but a huge storm broke a half hour beforehand, leaving the track awash, with floodwater and mud cascading across the track at Fuchsrohr, and leaving the 200,000 strong crowd running for cover! The start was therefore delayed until almost 5pm, with a frustrated Christian taking the first stint with torrential rain still falling. Unfortunately, in the midst of the first lap melee, contact was made with another car, damaging the bumper, right hand headlight and wing, which necessitated a pitstop to ensure no significant problem had been caused. Christian continued, the drying track then demanding a further pit stop for slicks around 6pm. At this point, the Hyundai had fallen to 7th in class and 81st place overall.
Christian pushed on and came in at 7pm for a scheduled driver change, Peter Schumann taking over in 61st position overall. At this point, the class leading #69 BMW was 14th overall and had set a fastest lap of 9:41; this was going to be a tough challenge! Peter Schumann kept up the pressure however, and came in at 9pm to hand over to Pete, having climbed to 41st overall. With dusk approaching, the team fitted the additional Xenon light unit before Pete departed the pit. "It was never the plan that I would drive my first laps of this year's race in the dark but having competed here many times, it was not really a problem. The only slight issue was the misalignment of the right hand headlight from the earlier impact damage, which made right handers a bit of a guessing game!"
Within the first few laps, Peter was called into the pits for a stop-and-go penalty, a punishment for an alleged (but hotly denied) pass under yellow flags during Christian's stint. This only served to increase Pete's determination and, despite many yellow flags around the track caused by various accidents, by the time Peter stepped out of the car at 11pm, the Hyundai was up to 3rd in class and 28th overall. "It was annoying to have to slow to a crawl with yellow flags through Hohe Acht and Dottinger Hohe every lap, but it was the same for everyone and I think we were fast around the rest of the track. There was just one hairy moment, when someone lost it in front of a group of us at the last chicane but we were able to get through without a problem".
Adi Schumann then took over driving duties, followed by Christian and Peter Schumann, whilst Pete retired to grab a few hours of valuable sleep. "I came back to the circuit as scheduled around 4:30am, and it was only when I was walking over the bridge that I realised it was totally quiet! There were no cars on track because of the heavy fog, and the guys in the pitlane were mostly asleep!"
It turned out the officials had quite rightly called a temporary halt to the race, as visibility was dangerously low. Adi, Christian and Peter had put in excellent drives prior to the race being stopped at 4am, the Hyundai now 2nd in class and 14th overall! The race would eventually restart at 10am, with Peter Schumann continuing his stint before Peter jumped back in at 11:30am. Conditions were dry, with bright sunshine, and Pete was able to drive quickly and consistently for the first two laps, turning in times of 9:56 and 9:58 despite the usual traffic. "I was just getting into a nice rhythm when the clouds rolled in and rain spoiled my fun! I was talking to Michael on the radio as I came down the straight and with the track already wet opposite the pits, I had to make a quick decision to stop for wet tyres."
The Hyundai was one of the first cars to stop and this turned out to be a critical aspect of the race. With the first half of the track now awash, slick-shod cars were spinning off left and right, and Pete was able to pick his way through, lapping at a similar pace to the overall race leaders! "I couldn't believe the number of accidents in front of me! It was tough to see through the spray, especially behind the big Porsches, and with half the track dry, I had to look after the wet tyres so they could deal with the other half!"
Ultimately, Pete delivered the car to Christian at 2pm, 2nd in class and now a superb 11th overall. To play it safe, Christian stayed on the wet tyres for two laps, before pitting again for slicks as the track drying. With perfect conditions, the class leading #69 SP5 car set a 9:36, a pace which was simply not matchable with an SP4 car. However, the 3rd in class #94 BMW M3 E46 of Willi Obermann was also lapping fast (9:41) and Christian was forced to push hard, setting a series of quick laps (the fastest being 9:51) to safeguard 2nd place. A problem with the brakes meant an unscheduled pit stop around 3pm, but excellent pit work saw this rectified and the car soon picked up the pace again, albeit with Obermann closing in.
Finally, with 30 minutes to go, Adi Schumann climbed aboard and piloted the car faultlessly to a fantastic 2nd in class (first in SP4) and and incredible 13 overall, crossing the line to the cheering crowds and a rapturous team crew! "I nearly fell off the pit fence, I was cheering so hard," Pete smiled. "This result is pay back for last year, where we were caught up in somebody else's accident and denied a top twenty finish. Given all their years of experience here, to contribute to Schumann Motorsports best ever Nurburgring 24 hour finish is a great feeling and I am so impressed with the Hyundai, the team, the way the have prepared and organised for this event, and the way they managed the difficult conditions throughout. I truly hope I have the chance to drive the Hyundai again. It is an incredible car, very much underestimated, and people should wake up to this very serious motor company!"
Pete would also like to thank the great support of Lars-Fredrik, Bela, Dominik, Caroline and Eskild throughout the event, and in the case of Lars-Fredrik, for many weeks and months beforehand. In addition, we must also thank Tony for all his support and enthusiasm in making this year's 'Ring assault a reality. There are few people who would go to such lengths to help another.
