Shane Lewis Travels Back to N�rburgring to Challenge for Second 6-Hour Victory
Shane Lewis Travels Back to Nürburgring to Challenge for Second 6-Hour Victory
Florida Sports Car Ace Reunites with Rice and German Götz Team at the Nordschleife
NÜRBURG, GERMANY – August 23, 2011 – Shane Lewis travels back to Germany’s Nürburgring this week to challenge for his second-career, six-hour, ADAC Ruhr-Pokal Rennen victory. The August 27 race, part of the VLN Series at the legendary Nordschleife circuit, will reunite the Jupiter, FL-resident, co-driver Vic Rice (San Rafael, CA) and Götz Motorsports. The trio has won both the 2009 six-hour race and the 2010 Nürburgring 24 Hours previously at the Nürburg, Germany facility. Lewis also led the contingent in the team’s Audi RS-4, all-wheel drive, twin-turbo V8 here in June finishing third in-class after nearly repeating his class win in the 24 hour race.
The 15.753-mile (25.359 km) long course at Nürburgring is a favorite of Lewis’ and drivers the world-over. The track is blindingly quick and, with 73-turns, the Nordschleife - translated to English as the “North Swipe“ - takes hundreds of laps to get any sense of confidence. It’s a true driver’s track requiring skill and bravery to extract the most from a car. This Saturday, the winner of 18 major sports car races will be making his sixth career start on the track nicknamed the “Green Hell”. Of those starts, he has raced five times in the Götz Audi with Rice. The formidable combination hopes to continue its record of success when the green flag falls at 12:00 pm (local) time on Saturday. The VLN runs a minimum of 190 cars in its races – all held at Nürburgring - promising a class win will be no easy task against so many experienced entries.
In June, driving the same Götz Motorsports Audi RS-4 he will pilot this weekend, Lewis came within an hour of winning his second consecutive Nürburgring 24. The team had struggled through the early hours of the race but regained momentum in the middle before an accident put Rice on the sidelines. Even without his longtime teammate, Lewis helped pull the team back into the top-two of the SRP-8 class with an hour remaining in the race and the class leader limping at the head of the field. However, the almost certain victory failed to materialize when the Audi broke a half shaft with less than 60 minutes before the checkered flag. Despite repairing the car and crossing the finish line, Lewis had to settle for third-place in class. In addition to this year’s podium, Lewis previously finished third in his first attempt in the 24 Hour in 2004. He then returned in 2005 only to have a teammate crash out the car early. Lewis has always been spectacular at the German facility. He stood on the GT class podium in 1999 when the American Le Mans Series visited the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit – part of which makes-up the longer Nordschleife – giving him his best finish of that season.
Lewis is a multiple-time race winner in the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Series. In 2010, he raced to runner-up in the ALMS GTC Championship. Lewis has driven in 30 24-hour races including three 24 Hours of Le Mans (leading GT class in 2003), 14 Rolex 24 At Daytona and four 24 Hours of Nürburgring. He has raced every major class of sports car in every major international series.
Quotes
Shane Lewis
About the benefits of racing Nürburgring twice in one year: “It always helps to have the track fresh in your mind. This place takes years to learn and even more years to master. Most of our competitors in the VLN series run this course at least once a month, if not more, so you’re already on the back foot against ‘local’ knowledge. Coming back again in the same season will be a big help for sure.”
About his successful relationships with Vic Rice and Götz Motorsports: “For Vic and I, the best way I can describe it is trust. We trust each other explicitly in and out of the race car. There isn’t a part of the program that we don’t work together very well on. From set-up, debrief sessions, sharing ideas and information, to the quick two sentences you tell your co-driver about the car and track conditions between driver changes, we trust each other. That’s something very hard to get in a profession where being the best is usually single-minded. When a team has that in its drivers you will always see them up front. Combine that with a great car the Götz team always gives us as well as a crew that wants to win as badly as we do; that is a combination that’s hard to beat.”
About mental preparation differences between the 24 Hour and Six Hour race: “The Nordschleife course is so intense you have to be focused beyond any other event I do anywhere else. I would like to think that I give 100 percent of everything I have on every lap regardless of how long the race is. The only thing that really changes between 24 and six-hour races here is the knowledge that you have to get it done on track right now! There is no opportunity to make up time in the middle of the night if something goes wrong. Maybe by not needing to conserve your own energy to make it to the end because it’s not a 24-hour makes you push harder in the six? I will let you know after I try and win this event one more time.”
About the differences between winning the Nürburgring 24 and Six Hour Events: “For starters, I am very proud to be able to say I have won both the 24 Hour and the Six Hour races at Nürburgring. It’s the same great crowd; maybe not 300,000 fans like the 24 Hour but pretty darn close. Same unbelievable, more-corners-than-you-can-imagine track. Almost 200 cars wanting to win as bad as you do but with everyone pushing a little harder every lap. The effort you put into both is intense so the satisfaction is great for both.”
About the team’s approach to the Six Hour versus the 24 Hour: “For the Six Hour, we will run a little more aggressive set-up on the car as well as more aggressive brake pads and aero package. The car is a little edgier but you know you can push harder.”
For more on Shane Lewis, visit: www.ShaneLewis.com . Follow Shane Lewis on Twitter @GoShaneGo and “Like” him on Facebook at * *Shane Lewis – Athlete .
To follow the Six Hours of Nürburgring ADAC Ruhr-Pokal Rennen, visit * * www.VLN.de ** .
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