Another WTCC driver was present at the Ring this weekend, and for the same purposes: Hugo Valente.
The young Frenchman swopped the Chevrolet RML Cruze he drives in WTCC for a Peugeot CRZ Cup, shared with Clément Delporte and prepared by French team Anome, a regular competitor in the VLN series.
It was Valente’s very first time on the Nordschleife, and there was a bright spark in his eyes when giving his first impressions. “There is no track like this anywhere in the world! Here the pleasure of driving really takes all its meaning.”
Valente spent a couple of days discovering the track in a road car before getting at the wheel of the 250-bhp Peugeot. An engine failure shortened his driving time in practice, but he could perform five laps at racing speed and start learning the track.
“It’s difficult, fast and dangerous, exactly as it was described to me. It was useful to come and get a first feeling, although it will take more time to really come to grip with it and know exactly where to brake and shift gears. And, of course, you can feel a unique atmosphere. I am too young to have any personal recollection of the golden times of the Nordschleife, but you really feel you are in a special place. I can’t wait to drive a TC1 car here. One thing I can tell is that next year’s event is going to be great, ‘kolossal’ as they say here, and I am anxious to be part of it!”