Flying flowers
A new addition to the skyline viewed from the main grandstand and Radio Le Mans commentary box is a full size floral sculpture of an Emirates Airbus A380 (pictured above) located just beyond the circuit boundary on the other side of the adjacent motorway. It makes quite a sight and is equipped with navigation lights too!
BMW GT4 debut
A bizarre moment occurred on Tuesday evening as the Schubert entered #401 BMW M4 GT4 arrived at the circuit, this the new factory-built GT4 car in its first race, a world debut, part of the development programme ahead of customer deliveries next season.
The car was delivered on a flatbed, still in ‘camo’ livery, as seen both in the publicity shots released by BMW, and on the picture of the car above its pit box.
Despite that a BMW representative seemed very keen indeed for ‘no pictures’ of the car in the garage – approaching DSC Deputy Editor with hands raised (just after this shot was taken) whilst instructing team members to lower the shutters.
That seems very strange bearing in mind the previous release by BMW of pictures of the same car in the same livery (including the picture over the door!), the fact that it is, essentially, a mildly modified road car, the fact that this is a televised and public event, and the fact that there are no dividing walls between the garages and the teams either side were in no hurry to lower their shutters.
The car reappeared the following day with the camo only on the rear window (above), and in plain white.
TCR Audi sold out
Another very new car comes as part of the rise and rise of the TCR Touring Car formula with Audi’s RS3 LMS here, a single example due to contest both the TCR Series Middle East and the 24 H Dubai. A second car is on display in the paddock.
The Audi has raced before, a pair of cars running in the VLN late last season (though not in the TCR class) as part of the final development programme.
Audi Customer Sport boss Chris Reinke is in Dubai for the week and confirmed to DSC last night that its initial production run of 19 cars “sold out in 18 days.”
A further batch is inevitable it seems with Audi Sport keen then to “get approval for a product that sits between the RS3 LMS and the R8 LMS GT3”, this an answer to the question as to whether and when we might hear details of the potential GT4 version of the Audi R8.
TCR meanwhile is rapidly approaching double figures for the marques so far in play with two others imminent (Kia and Lada) and others to follow it seems. Some 150 TCR-spec cars are currently in circulation worldwide.
Dubai barn finds
It’s always worth a little poke around the garages and other buildings at a race circuit to find something noteworthy. The NAS Race team HQ behind the paddock next to the circuit offices which houses a ‘Yellow Corn’ liveried McLaren MP 4/12C – apparently an ‘homage’ to the ex-JGTC long tail McLaren F1 GTR, and a 2014 Audi R18 etron quattro show car.
Another very rare car is also a few doors down, an example of the SSC Ultimate Aero (above), the US-produced car the holder of the speed record for a production car between 2007 and 2010 at 256.18 mph (412.28 km/h), that finally eclipsed by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
