Nurburgring 1000 Kms
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JWA made the trip to the track many race people consider to be hallowed ground - Nurburgring high in the Eifel mountains in the most westerly part of Germany. With the legendary 14 mile circuit now only used for some spectacular touring car races, road car testing and for members of the public to drive round, JWA were to be racing on the 3.14 mile Grand prix circuit for 1000 kilometres, some 195 laps.The works Peugeots were totally dominant and were at times 4 seconds a lap quicker than the best of the rest. In the JWA GT2 class things were much tighter. The Ferrari against Porsche battles of the 60’s and 70’s were to be replayed. JWA lined up ninth in the class of nineteen cars after a somewhat fraught qualifying.
Joel gravel trap bound - thanks to Rene Jueptner for the use of the photo
Caused initially by an errant prototype colliding with the back of the JWA Porsche sending Joel Camathias deep into the gravel and then difficulties with a freshly rebuilt gearbox having a bent layshaft.The race started well with Joel Camathias gaining a couple of positions in the first hour and then losing one when he was hit by the Speedy Spyker #85. As the first round of pit stops began the JWA Porsche had climbed to fifth before having to make its stop where Joel handed over to Dave Cox. The pit stop was swift but not swift enough to hold back the very tight knit pursuing pack, which left Dave playing catch up in thirteenth place. Dave consolidated this position and late on caught and passed two troubled cars. Dave handed over to Paul Daniels who put in a solid performance maintaining the eleventh position. However he had to call an earlier pit stop as in the pit stop Paul had been put in the wrong seat position which compromised his driving style causing severe pain in his back. He was also hit in the rear bumper by a prototype causing a trip across the gravel trap at some 160 mph. Joel then climbed back in – no easy job as he is 6’ 4” tall and began a stunning series of laps all within a few tenths of each other – a great job. Joel handed over to Dave with just over an hour left to run and in Ninth place. All at JWA had their fingers crossed that one of the cars ahead would hit trouble allowing us into the points but it was not to be and in the last laps the JWA Porsche was overhauled by a couple of recovering cars to leave us eleventh in class. In conclusion a race that held a lot of promise but failed to deliver. We will need to be quicker and more consistent if we want to earn championship points this year with so many cars in the class we cannot rely on other entrants having problems. |
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Spa 24 Hours Test
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They say a day is a long time in politics but the same can apply to motor sport. After a long night removing the battle scars of the Nurburgring 1000kms the JWA team made a short trip from the Eifel to the Ardennes to take part in the test day for the forthcoming Spa 24 hours.A strikingly successful test saw the JWA Porsche top the time sheets in very changeable conditions. With shower after heavy shower rolling across the circuit JWA was in the right place at the right time as the one and only five minute dry running saw us set a time that no one else could match. Those behind included some great names in GT racing – Ebimotors, BMS, IMSA all with massive support and some with works assist6ance. It was a very very tired band of guys who returned to the UK that night.
La Source - the Spring so it should be wet
With apologies to all on the Easyjet flight who had to suffer the snoring of the team as they caught up on some sleep - the previous four nights totalling 21 hours. |
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History
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The Nurburgring was built in 1925 to 1927 as part of a National socialist scheme to reduce unemployment in the very poor Eifel mountain region.
An officer inspecting the construction work
In its day it comprised a parallel track running in front of and behind the pit garages connected at each end by a hairpin. From each of these hairpins a loop or in German Schleife which translates as ribbon, led off into the depths of the surrounding forest. The north loop (Nordschleife) was 14 miles long and comprises of 73 corners and a change in height of just 300m. The much less used and now non-existent south loop ran over 5 miles in length to the south. The track today is only used by sports and touring cars the highlight of which is the 230 car field that starts the annual 24 hour race.
A map of the original circuit
Poster from the opening event
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Team shirts for sale
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JWA have finalised a deal with sports wear specialist for the provision of team kit. A stunning range of waterproof jackets, sweat tops and casual shirts incorporating the JWA striping first seen at Monza, have been penned by the Kukri designers.
The shirt as designed by Kukri
For the first time ever these high quality, superbly made and beautifully detailed articles will be available to the cognoscenti. The JWA LMS car is number 95, so the team will all have team liveried number 95 shirts. The remaining numbers 00 to 99 will then be sold to interested parties – so those of you who need to have a particular number must be quick on the uptake and make us an offer before they all go. They are manufactured in super hard wearing cotton polyester and will cost a minimum of £35.00 or €50.00 inc VAT. The bidding for shirt 69 remains fierce!The deal will see team kit being supplied and Kukri logos being run on the car for the remainder of the season. With the motor sport team kit market being huge we hope that Kukri will be able to pick up more and more customers over the year once the quality and value become apparent.
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More Information
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Drive
We are still looking for competent and experienced drivers. So if you feel you can match the pace and bring something of a budget get in touch.
Watch the races
Take a look at the calendar and arrange to visit any of the events – book early to take advantage of the cheap European flights available.All 2007 events will be shown on satellite television – info follows as broadcasting schedules are published.
Corporate Hospitality
A full range of facilities can be made available and full, planning and booking facilities can be arranged by the teams logistics experts. Get your business colleagues, friends and family organised.
Promotion
The mobile advertising hoarding that is a race car can be prepared to replicate your company’s corporate identity, combine this with either or both of the above then
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Contact
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For further information or a media pack regarding James Watt Automotive please contact Aidan Watt via any of the following media
- Email: aidanw@jameswattautomotive.com
- Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 851122
- Fax: +44 (0) 1785 859297
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