Wayne Moore (left) with fellow racer Maurice O'Reilly.
Wayne Moore (left) with fellow racer Maurice O'Reilly.
A Kāpiti endurance car racer is headed to Nürburgring to compete in his 30th 24-hour race.
Nürburgring is a motorsport complex in Nürburg, western Germany.
It hosts the Nürburgring 24 Hours, a race that takes place on the infamous Nordschleife track, spanning 25.3 kilometres. It was opened in 1927 but deemed too dangerous for Formula One after the crash that almost killed Niki Lauda in 1976.
This will be the fifth year that veteran New Zealand endurance racer Wayne Moore, 72, from Paekākāriki, will race alongside three German teammates with the WS Racing team, which he joined when Covid hit as his previous team could not compete.
He said the team was amazing and their cars were always “immaculately prepared”.
The team treated its members with the same level of care, Moore said, recalling being at the second-year reunion and feeling as if the team had been together forever.
For the second time, Moore will drive a BMW330i that can reach speeds of up to 250km/h. He first drove the car last year when it was new.
“It is a rear-wheel-drive and has a two-litre turbocharged petrol engine, with a seven-speed paddle shift gearbox, and is a beautiful car to drive.
“My happy space when driving is when I reach a bliss and feel at one with the car speeding safely, in total confidence and not at all fighting the machine – and that’s my relationship with this car.”
Moore said it was very humbling to be racing for the 30th time, as there were only five Germans with more race starts and a couple with the same number.
Wayne Moore driving the BMW330i at Nürburgring last year.
“Ten years was special, and 20 was very special, with 30 being a target I wouldn’t have even known was achievable. I’ve now driven 1309 laps, which is 33,118km, and feel very confident with all the nuances, bumps and jumps, although you never take this racetrack for granted as it bites.”
The race certainly will not be without challenges.
Weather is a big one. Moore said the Nürburgring racetrack could get very foggy around this time of year (spring in Germany), there could sometimes be flooding and one year there was hail.
Another challenge would be smoke from the crowd’s fires and barbecues, which Moore said could be quite evident, especially now the event had grown in popularity.
While Moore did not have to worry about preparing his car, which would be done in Germany, he had to prepare himself.
“My personal preparation is to stay fit – and some of that, particularly in endurance racing, is mindset.”
Moore runs and also walks every day – and he said owning a dog helped with that.
He set a target weight which he focused on every year, especially since he no longer raced regularly in New Zealand.
“Once upon a time ... I was race-fit by virtue of regular competition.”
During his years of racing at Nürburgring, Moore has had several wins.
Wayne Moore in a Suzuki Swift in 1994 - his first time competing at Nürburgring.
He has achieved two class wins and numerous top-three podium finishes in a wide range of cars.
“That’s always very significant as any finish in this gruelling event is satisfying.”
But Moore said one thing that had always been more memorable than winning was overcoming a challenge, such as a crash or a mechanical failing, and then finishing the race.
“There have been occasions where the car will be towed or finish up on the wrong side of the racetrack for a recovery back to the pits, and our crew have to find their way to it through the forest carrying everything they might need.
“Extraordinary, too, are the fans who one year threw a can of fuel and a funnel over the safety fence after I had run out.”
While he continued to enjoy racing and admitted it would be hard to stop attending the Nürburgring race each year, he had planned his retirement.
He owns a Mazda RX7 that is being restored in New Zealand by a friend with whom he shares it. Once that project is completed, he will retire.
Moore will head to Germany on May 17, along with an estimated 600 other drivers of 30 nationalities, and is hoping to come home with another podium finish.
