Unfortunately the trip to Germany for Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff to race in a VLN endurance round at the Nürburgring turned out to be little more than a tourist visit to the Audi factory in Neckarsulm.
According to a short paragraph in the latest Audi Motorsport newsletter Lowndes binned his R8 LMS in practice. He was not injured, but the Australian driver pairing were forced to sit out the race.
Bugger.
UPDATE: Comments from Lowndes can be read over at Speedcafe.com.
Audi Motorsport Newsletter 11/2011
2011/05/29
Blessing in disguise: the debut of the two Australian racing drivers Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff in the Audi race experience Audi R8 LMS on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife was short: after an accident in practice, in which Lowndes was unhurt, they were forced to sit out the race. Before their outing in the Eifel the two “Aussies†had visited the Audi R8 manufacturing plant in Neckarsulm and the R8 LMS production facility in Heilbronn-Biberach.
4 replies on “Lowndes-Luff pairing failed to start at the Ring”
Oh what a bugger! I would be absolutely devastated if I missed out on that opportunity!
missed opportunity!
Thiings that make you go mmm….
If your participation in a factory R8 in the Nurburgring 24hr depended upon you getting signed off in a previous event, you would think about it pretty hard. They could have finished last in the race, gotten signed off and all would have been good. Certainly qualification should not have been a priority.
Crashing into a slower car in such circumstances is unforgivable. What was to be gained by trying to gain a second in qualifying by going past a slower car that may not have seen you?
Very sad, outcome overall. Probably sadder for the punter in the “slow” car who is probably a privateer and had someone run into him for no real reason.
even sadder for luffy!
always playing second fiddle when he should be at the top.