„Last-Minute-BoP": Frikadelli Racing takes the consequences and will leave VLN
12.03.2019
• Frikadelli Racing slashes the latest ‘BoP’-changes and demands prompt actions by the DMSB & the VLN
• Crew chief Klaus Abbelen:
- “The FIA didn’t require this new ‘Bop’”
- "The track conditions get improved steadily, but GT3-cars aren’t allowed to become quicker”
- “Production vehicles are going to be faster then the top-class on the straights now"
The new season is just around the corner and the cars of Frikadelli Racing are well prepared and ready to race. But due to the ‘last-minute-bop’ the dedication at the Nordschleife ,of the team from Barweiler, will end after this years 24 hour race.
“If the ‘BoP’ doesn’t change, the Frikadelli Racing Team will definitely leave the VLN and the whole Nordschleife after the 24 hour race. Today we feel forced to take this step after the last changes. We are not the only team who made this decision and many other teams are thinking about making the same step that we did right now,” explains crew chief Klaus Abbelen.
The source of annoyance is the last change of the ‘BoP’ for the Sp-9 cars. This implies, that all GT3-cars lose 5% of their engine power. This adjustments are made to react on the lap-times which get faster and faster year by year.
“The new BoP, which again came out way too late, only focusses on the GT3-cars and leaves out all the other cars in the VLN. This leads to smaller cars, which just cost a tenth of the annual budget of a GT3-car, overtaking the Sp-9 cars on the straights and staying in front of them in the next corner. Unless more corners are next to each other. Then the GT3-cars will finally be able to overtake. This makes no sense to us anymore,” says Abbelen, who sees just one solution. “If this recess should be executed properly, they had to reduce the power of all cars in the VLN by 5%. Only then you could keep the competition and warrant the costs of GT3-cars.”
The Frikadelli Team also sees a contradiction in the point that on the one hand GT3-cars are slow downed and on the other hand the track conditions get improved steadily. “The nature of the Nordschleife gets falsified every year by making it shorter, easier and faster, so that every new driver, who trained with a PlayStation, can negotiate it. But we aren’t allowed to become faster. That makes no sense as well,” says Abbelen.
First of all the biggest problem for Frikadelli Racing is the date the new ‘BoP’ was published. “If you told me, that we again get 5% less power, in November , I would have decided not to participate in the VLN and the 24 Hour Race directly. Of course we want to decide in which race and at which date we race by ourselves. My thanks go out to all the fans who supported us over all the years. But I hope, that you understand our decision.”
