Having finished a fine second in the pre-event warmup, Nicky Catsburg is now all set of the Nurburgring 24 Hours with Rowe Racing in the #98 BMW M6 GT3 alongside teammates Richard Westbrook, John Edwards and Tom Blomqvist.
Nicky won at the circuit last year in the World Touring Car Championship and was second in 2017 with Rowe Racing, so it is a circuit he is especially looking forward to returning to this week (10 – 13 May) for one of the biggest and most challenging races of the season.
Q: Nicky, last weekend you were competing in the FIA WEC with the M8, this weekend coming in the M6, what are the principal driving differences between the two?
“The M8 is a GTE car and the M6 is a GT3 car, which brings some small differences. I would say the M6 is specifically strong in high speed cornering, there are plenty of these corners at the Nordschleife which is good for us in this case. The M8 is obviously a step forward in overall performance and driveability.”
Q: You’re being reunited with your Daytona teammate in John Edwards, your 2017 Spa 24H teammate Tom Blomqvist plus Richard Westbrook who you raced with last year at this race. It’s a good line-up, you must be looking forward to racing alongside these three again?
“It’s a great group of guys and like you say, I have worked with all of them before. We all know each other well and we all know the track well; I think we have a great overall package to fight for the win!”
Q: What are your expectations for this event, and where will your main competition come from do you think?
“This event is definitely one of my favourites of the year, such a unique and challenging event. Our preparation races have been very good and I really think we can fight for the win this year. The competition is strong and I feel that of course Audi, Mercedes and Porsche will be very strong as well.”
Q: You’re clearly competitive at this track, what is it about this venue and your driving style that blend so well together?
“I just really like the place, I love the high-speed flowing nature of the track and so far the track has brought me some very good results…”