Rainer’s Motorsports Project: Mission Impossible?

Originally, Rainer wanted to drive in a more powerful, faster category, Division 2, using a state-of-the-art CN race car, incorporating completely new technology. Unfortunately, the project was delayed and so, for the first races from May 1 to 2 on the Nürburgring, the Crosslé 9s with mouth-operated gear controls was used.

As usual, the Eifel region welcomed the approx. 400 race drivers with the cold, windy and rainy weather for which it is well known. Only the engines enjoyed this as they feel best at cool temperatures; pity the poor drivers however who had a 7°C wind blowing through their visors!

There were also two qualifiers for both races, which went well for Rainer and both times put him in the 3rd starting position. The first race was pure excitement, with 32 race cars getting off to a flying start and accelerating into the first bend, a switchback.

The well-prepared race cars, freshly overhauled for 2010, were spectacularly audible for the first race of the season and the adrenaline of the drivers was no less spectacularly tangible. In the meantime, Rainer had eliminated his own weakness with the flying start and was directly in the slipstream of his competition. Utilising extremely late braking, he succeeded in block passing four of his competitors on the first bend, but then slowly started to lose ground and position after three laps. From the fifth lap it became clear why: he had a slow air loss on the left front wheel. Nonetheless he did just enough to take 4th place in the end.

The second race also got off to an exciting start. Again he manoeuvred himself into second place with the block pass and over four laps he had long and alternating position battles. After that he lost 150 metres instantly by twice switching into the wrong gear and thus lost his connection with the driver lying in third. In the subsequent catch-up attempt he did reach the third place holder again but was too fast going into an S combination and turned. Reversing quickly he was able to proceed without losing too much time but was no longer able to attack third and was back in 4th as he crossed the line.

A podium place was absolutely within the realms of possibility, if only …

Nonetheless it was a very good racing weekend, with a good performance and the mouth-operated switching worked well (except for the two errors).

Despite being another year older, Rainer was in excellent physical shape. Just what a quadriplegic is capable of with the aid of modern technology, cleverly used, never fails to astonish.

Rainer will unfortunately have to sit out the races in Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, but at the next races in Most in the Czech Republic, he will hopefully be able to take to the start line with the new car – we will of course report on that and look forward to further exciting races.