Podium Missed at the Last Moment at the Nürburgring

Contesting the opening race of the season in the VLN (Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring) series at the Nürburgring on Saturday 24 March, Emir Aşarı finished fifth in a race in which the crew had risen as high as third… Aşarı and the team, out for the first time with their new team Sorg Rennsport under Dorock XL sponsorship, could only set slow laps in Saturday morning's qualifying because of an ECU problem with their car, and were forced to start the race from 16th place.Aşarı's team-mate Oliver Frisse climbed from 16th to fifth on the first lap of the four-hour race and was running fourth after the opening stint. After taking over at the wheel, Aşarı matched the pace of the leading group and moved up to third, putting the crew into the fight for the podium. However, bad luck struck again at the pit stop where the team's third driver, Sindre Setsaas, was due to take over the car, and a driveshaft problem cost the crew 38 seconds. Even so, Setsaas brought the BMW 325i home to the chequered flag in fifth place.Aşarı said the crew had been lapping at the pace of the leading teams throughout practice and the race, commenting: "Because of the qualifying problems with the car, we started the race last in our class. But our team quickly closed the gap to the leading group. Despite the problem we had changing tyres in the pits in the final stint, we missed the podium by just 18 seconds. Our car is new and we will fix these small problems. Apart from those issues, our lap times were encouraging, and I think we will be in the fight for victory throughout the season. Racing against names such as my childhood heroes Gabriele Tarquini, Nicola Larini and Tim Schrick was also a great thrill for me."