Ex-F1 drivers Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell will be among a high profile driver line-up as part of a three car squad bring the Volkswagen Golf back to the Nurburgring 24 Hours this June.
Both the Britons will be part of a driving foursome in the no.235 Golf24 car, sharing the machine with reigning F3 Euroseries champion – now a DTM driver – Edoardo Mortara and French sportscar driver Franck Mailleux, who will bring his own Le Mans 24 Hours experience to the endurance race on the legendary Nordschleife circuit.
“The 24-hour race on the Nordschleife is a big thing. I'm very much looking forward to it,” said Herbert. “I clinched my last Formula 1 victory on the Grand Prix circuit of the Nürburgring in 1999, so I always like coming back to the Eifel track. The Nürburgring has a very special meaning for me.”
Other drivers confirmed by the works backed team for the 23-26 June race include Porsche Supercup champion Rene Rast, FIA GT1 runner-up Thomas Mutsch and former Audi DTM pilot Peter Terting.
“After not being able to run due to conflicting commitments in the past two years, it's great to be returning this year in the Golf24,” said Rast – a member of Porsche's works motorsport stable. “The car is incredibly good fun to drive and was very fast in the initial tests.”
“We've managed to put together a very strong driver line-up for the 24-hour race,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “With Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell joining our ranks, we have two experienced racers competing for us whose track records include victories in Formula 1 and at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and both contested the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup as Legends in 2010. So it's fitting that, on the Golf GTI's 35th anniversary, they compete on the Nordschleife which, like the GTI itself, is truly a legend. With our other driver line-up we're perfectly set. All of our drivers have plenty of experience on the world's toughest race track and will give everything to make a strong showing at the eagerly awaited 24-hour race.”
As part of the testing for the new, four-wheel-drive Golf24 a team of Terting, Mailleux and Swede Fredrik Ekblom will enter a four hour race this weekend (April 30) for the second round of the VLN championship. Further entries are expected for two latter rounds of the Nordschleife-based championship with varying driver squads.
