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Premiere in the VLN: Benjamin Mazatis in the premier class of the Nordschleife

Premiere in the VLN: Benjamin Mazatis in the premier class of the Nordschleife
September 27, 2016

Premiere in the VLN: Benjamin Mazatis in the premier class
the Nordschleife

  • Debut in the endurance championship: More than 150 race cars at the start
  • Benjamin Mazatis scores again in the BMW M235i

The speed was there and I was able to get the car well ahead.

Premiere in the VLN: Benjamin Mazatis in the premier class of the Nordschleife
150 racing cars, 450 of the best sports car drivers, over 20 kilometres of legendary race track - and right in the middle of it all: Benjamin Mazatis. The 18-year-old made his racing debut in the VLN Endurance Championship on the famous Nürburgring-Nordschleife last weekend. After his successful Nordschleife premiere the week before last, Mazatis was now competing in the fiercely contested VLN championship for the first time. The driver from Bruckmühl shared the BMW M235i of Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport with his team-mates Luca Sadun and Einar Thorsen.
 
In qualifying, the trio finished 14th on the grid in the Cup 5 class, in which all participating BMW M235i racing cars are classified. Due to a technical problem after Sadun's start, Mazatis took over the car in twelfth position for the second stint. He impressed straight away on his first race laps in the VLN. Within a few laps, Mazatis improved by six positions and took sixth place in the class.
 
After a promising start, the team suffered a setback on the 15th lap. In the Hatzenbach area, Mazatis was unable to avoid a pool of oil on the tarmac and skidded into the barriers. Luckily for him, Mazatis was able to skilfully avoid the contact despite travelling at high speed and bring the car back to the pits with only minor damage.
 

After a short repair phase, the BMW M235i with the starting number #668 returned to the track. Mazatis’ team-mate Thorsen ultimately finished the race, which was characterised by numerous accidents, in 13th place in class.

Premiere in the VLN: Benjamin Mazatis in the premier class of the Nordschleife

Three questions for Benjamin Mazatis

Benjamin, how do you rate your racing debut in the VLN?

Unfortunately, the result wasn't quite right in the end, but I'm still very happy with my first race in the VLN. The speed was there and I was able to get the car a long way forward. Unfortunately, the impact happened, but I couldn't influence that. All in all, I'm happy with my debut in this great series.
 
How did you cope with the traffic of more than 150 racing cars?
The huge starting fields are still unusual for me. It's not comparable to my time in Formula 4, when the field was also relatively large with up to 40 cars. On the Nordschleife, the very powerful GT3 cars in particular are a challenge. In my BMW, I had to attack at the front while constantly looking in the rear-view mirrors. I think I had the traffic well under control. Everything else is a matter of experience.
 

Do you already know how things will continue for you until the end of the season?
We are planning more starts on the Nordschleife this year, for example in the VLN or the RCN. I want to use the races to soak up as much experience as possible. The Nordschleife is a world of its own and can hardly be compared with other circuits due to its unique layout. Every kilometre helps to get to know the more than 70 corners as well as possible. All of this is in preparation for the 2017 season, in which I want to get back into motorsport in full force after graduating from high school.

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