The ‘Ring can be an unforgiving place. The last open track day I was there for saw three people airlifted to the hospital. And as much as safety has improved in race cars, sometimes it ‘s simply not enough. Today we saw that with a fatal accident at the Nurburgring during the 3rd round of the 2010 VLN racing series.

Team BMW Motorsport managed to finish second and third in preparation for May ‘s 24 hours of the Nurburgring.

Official Release: BMW Motorsport sadly received the news of the tragic consequences of the accident on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE) , which happened on lap 22. Our thoughts are now with the family and all the friends of the driver.

From third on the grid, the no. 742 BMW M3 GT2, driven by Jörg Müller (DE), Augusto Farfus (BR) and Pedro Lamy (PT), was only beaten by Mamerow Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R 997, and finished 10.089 seconds behind the winners. Dirk Werner (DE), Dirk Müller (DE), Andy Priaulx (GB) and Dirk Adorf (DE) were third with the no. 743 BMW M3 GT2 car.

Charly Lamm (Team Manager):

“It’s difficult to analyse our race after such a tragic accident. From a sporting point of view this was a positive final test prior to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Both cars were in the lead at various times during the race, so the performance of the BMW M3 GT2 was good. Again we were able to notch up many valuable kilometres on the Nordschleife. We are now heading into the final part of our preparations highly motivated.”

Jörg Müller (Car Number 742):

“We can be satisfied with our sporting performance today. The BMW M3 GT2 was set-up exceptionally well and displayed the necessary reliability. At the start my Dunlop tyres were at the ideal temperature, so I was able to take the lead. Then I completed two clear laps on the Nordschleife, which doesn’t happen too often. This was good fun. Now I’m looking forward to the 24-hour race. It will arguably be one of my toughest races ever, as the fight among the front-runners promises to be extremely close.”

Dirk Werner (Car Number 743):

“The performance and the reliability of our car was excellent today. So we can summarise this as a positive dress rehearsal for the 24-hour race. From sixth on the grid I was able to gain some ground at the beginning and handed the BMW M3 GT2 over in third. The overall package worked excellently today. We can now with full confidence focus on the race in mid-May.”