[VIDEO] MAOAM GT3 Callaway Corvette Z06R Captures 3rd Place at Nurburgring

Written By: Walt Thurn / CorvetteMotorsport.com

Nurburgring, Germany – Around the world the and especially in Germany the name Nurburgring has deep meaning in the hearts of motorsport enthusiasts. The track originally opened in 1927 and was revised into it’s current layout in 1984. The course is divided into two components. The first is the sixteen turn 5.148 km (3.199 mile) Formula One course. The second is the one hundred and fifty four turn 20.81 km (12.93 mile) Nordschleife (North Course) circuit.

The Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring/VLN (Association of Nürburgring Endurance Cup Organisers), the VLN holds numerous four-hour endurance races each year and one twenty four hour race each summer. The organizers combine the FI course and Nordschleife for each race. This means each lap is 25.96km (16.13 miles) with one hundred and seventy turns! The eighth round of the VLN saw two new competitors, Corvette and the SLS gullwing Mercedes.

The media and fans showed great interest in how well the two new competitors would perform against the reliable Porsches at this famous circuit. Both cars comply with the stringent FIA GT3 rules, with some minor safety adjustments allowed. This included side windows for the Corvette, which is not allowed in GT3 competition. Callaway Competition prepared their #100 Z06.R GT3 racer for Saturdays race. The car sported a new white color scheme with name and logos of the title sponsor MAOAM. MAOAM is a major European candy brand. The company is owned by the HARIBO Corporation who sponsors the VLN HARIBO Porsche team.

The newly named 2010 FIA Driving Champion Christian Hohenadel joined HARIBO Porsche driver Lance David Arnold for Saturdays race. This was the first time Lance has driven any other car than a Porsche. Christian put on a blinding qualifying performance and captured the pole position with a 9:34.266. This was 8.038 seconds faster than the second fastest Porsche. The green flag fell for the four-hour race under sunny skies for over 170 competitors. In turn three the SLS Mercedes had a serious bout of red mist and hit the back of Hohenadel’s Corvette. This spun both cars off course and by the time Christian got sorted out he was in 19th position.

Excellent driving by both Hohenadel and Arnold and quick pit stops by the Callaway crew saw the Corvette climb up to third place overall at the checkered flag! The Mercedes finished well down in the order. Porsche took the top two spots but when Hohenadel and Arnold took the podium they received the loudest applause for finally breaking the Porsche stranglehold in this famous race. CorvetteMotorsport would like to salute the Callaway Competition team and drivers for this outstanding VLN performance. This result would not have taken place without the support of MAOAM candies and GMAXX tuners.

The final rounds of the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place at Zolder on Sunday, October 31st. Check out Corvette Motorsport for more details.

Source:
CorvetteMotorsport.com

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