Ups and Downs für Marco Werner beim Oldtimer Grand Prix Nürburgring

It was up and down for Marco Werner at this year’s AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix. If Werner took pole position on Friday in the Masters Racing Legends series for Formula 1 vehicles built up to 1985 and led the race at the beginning of the first run, he had to settle for fourth place overall and a third despite his initial superiority place in the class. «After a few laps I stepped into the void for the first time on the brake and then had to save the whole thing over the distance. In the end the car also lurched and I drove like someone who has all the fuel gauge lights on red and still has 20 kilometers to go to the gas station… On the last lap, I pushed teammate Michael Lyons from third place, but I had, thank God, so much advantage that I finished fourth. In the end it was wheel bearing damage,” said Marco Werner, shrugging his shoulders after the race.

Things went better on Saturday in the Masters Endurance Lengends of the sports cars. Here, the three-time Le Mans winner in the race was the one who delighted the people in the grandstands. Starting from second place, Werner soon stormed past pole sitter Stuart Wiltshire and pulled away. Werner had to give it his all on the ChromeCars Lotus LMP2 because, as an elite driver, he has 20 seconds more time than the competition during the mandatory pit stop. “I didn’t think I could do it because Wiltshire was faster in training with his 2016 Ligier LMP2.
But then it broke down a bit and I drove my laps like «sliced ​​bread» in the Lotus from the Black & Gold Collection. Britec team boss Mike Gensemeyer kept telling me “push, push” every lap. On top of that, Mike had a good strategy with the first pit stop as he got me in before I could lose time lapping in traffic, perfect!” said Werner, happy about the subsequent victory, which he got from Wiltshire thanks to his driving style on the very last lap. The spectators were enthusiastic about the race to catch up and the excitement.

Britec Motorsports was able to bring the ChromeCars Lotus 87 back to the starting line well prepared for Sunday. Starting from third on the grid, Werner took the lead on the first lap and didn’t let anything burn after that. He held off Steve Hartley on the ex John Watson McLaren MP 4/1 and won by seven seconds.

Bad luck on Sunday in the Masters Endurance Legends series. Still a happy winner on Saturday, things went wrong for Marco Werner on Sunday. He stormed away from the field again to get the necessary lead, but this time luck wasn’t on his side. When it came to lapping, the last placed slammed the door for Werner despite the blue flags and Werner received a “drive trough” penalty for the collision, which dropped him back to fourth place. But that was not all. Werner, who otherwise made no mistakes, spun in turn 1. He lost the car again in almost every right-hand corner and radioed a possible puncture to the pits. On the same lap, the water temperature jumped to 120 degrees and Werner had to park the ChromeCars Lotus LMP2. A stone had pierced the radiator and Werner slipped on his own water in turn 1. “Unfortunately, a lot went wrong today,” said Werner, disappointed after the failure, “the speed was there, but luck wasn’t on our side this time.”

Photos: Masters Serie, Christian Fey, ELFImages Motorsport