V8 star

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V8 star
Vehicle type Silhouette vehicle
Country or region Germany
Current name V8STAR
First season 2001
Last season 2003
chassis Nitec
Engines 5.7 liter V8 Roush
tires Goodyear
V8 Star series vehicle with Lexus shell
Irmscher Omega V8 Star

The V8-Star (actually: V8-STAR for Silhouette Touring Automobile Racing) was a manufacturer-independent German touring car championship with silhouette vehicles that took place between 2001 and 2003 . Chassis and engines were the same for all vehicles.

They had no technical similarities with a production vehicle. There were different bodies - so-called silhouettes made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic , which were modeled on the appearance of various mid-range models - but there were no technical differences between all touring cars.

history

The V8-Star series had a modest start as a manufacturer-independent racing series for private teams and quickly became one of the most popular racing series in German motorsport. But due to economic difficulties, the series ended suddenly after only 3 years.

Background and motivation

The idea for the V8 Star came about at the end of the STW championship . German touring car racing was heading for an uncertain future. The former top touring car series, the German Touring Car Championship , had not existed for a few years. As the 2nd league of touring car racing, the STW championship could never replace the DTM and was about to end at the end of 1999. In addition, the plans for a new DTM were still in their infancy. At this time, the idea of ​​a manufacturer-independent touring car series with a standard chassis based on the NASCAR model developed.

At the 1999 Essen Motor Show , the former head of Ford Motorsport Lothar Pinske, BMW engineer Thomas Ammerschläger and the former racing driver and AMG consultant Dieter Glemser presented their plan to the former DTM driver Altfrid Heger. Heger played a central role in the development of the V8-Star, as his career turned from racing driver to motorsport manager. He was able to win the Essen-based Hopf-Holding with the two half-brothers Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner and Frank D. Holthoff as shareholders, who invested a lot of money in the V8-Star project, not only because of their passion for motorsport. They saw the potential to earn money in the long term with the project, which was designed for at least 5 years. Max Welti could be signed up as managing director for the V8-Star. In addition to his experience as a former racing driver, he also had experience as racing director of the Sauber Formula 1 team . Within a year, the original idea was turned into an elaborated concept at the Essen Motor Show 2000.

Within six months, the concept turned into a finished racing vehicle. After all contracts with suppliers had been concluded in the late summer of 2000, a first prototype could be built. The first test drives were carried out by Altfrid Heger before the vehicle was presented. In October 2000, the presentation of the first V8 Star prototype took place on the Nürburgring. A vehicle was presented with a black, only slightly modified BMW 5 Series silhouette with wide flared fenders and a large rear wing. The engine was a 5.7 liter Jack Roush V8 . The concept of the V8-Star was well received by many racing teams, so that over the winter 28 out of 30 chassis with 5 different silhouettes were sold. The V8-Star placed great value in marketing. By implementing the corporate identity , the distinctive V8STAR logo in the company colors blue, orange and white became a recognizable trademark of the racing series.

2001

Irmscher V8 star Opel Omega
Irmscher V8 star Opel Omega

In the premiere season, the V8-Star joined the Beru Top 10 event package . Here it acted as a second highlight alongside the German Touring Car Challenge (DTC). In order to make the weekend more attractive, the DTC held its races on Sundays as usual, while the V8-Star drove on Saturdays. This ensured that the top 10 events attracted more spectators on Saturdays than on Sundays for the first time. Since the Beru Top 10 also competed in the 24h race at the Nürburgring, the V8 Star was able to present itself to a large audience there. While the race was still taking place on the GP track, the exit lap took place after the race over the Nordschleife. With DSF , the V8-Star also found a TV partner who broadcast the races live on TV.

The field of drivers in the first season consisted of both young and experienced drivers who were known and loved by the fans. These included Ralf Kelleners , Karl Wendlinger , Kurt Thiim , Roland Asch , and Johnny Cecotto . For Cecotto, it was a comeback as a full-time racing driver after the compulsory break due to BMW leaving the STW. His former team-mate Heger arranged the contact with the Irmscher team, which switched from the DTM to the V8-Star. The field of drivers was supplemented by young drivers such as Christian Hohenadel , Steffen Widmann, Thomas Mutsch and Marcel Tiemann . Marcel Tiemann had actually signed a contract for the Champ Car series with the Zakspeed Forsythe Racing team . But since the main sponsor dropped out, Peter Zakowski was only able to offer him a place in the V8-Star, which he assumed in the belief that he would later drive a Champ-Car. Since this no longer came about, the season developed into a title duel between young and old. The driver, team and pit stop ratings are only decided in the last race.

The duel for the drivers' championship led to a legendary race between Johnny Cecotto and Marcel Tiemann at the Hockenheimring, when Tiemann turned Cecotto around, received 30 penalty seconds, Cecotto then shot Tiemann in a revenge foul and also received 30 penalty seconds. The race ended with another accident on the last corner. Sascha Bert turned while in the lead, Kris Nissen couldn't avoid it and also hit Wendlinger. The winner of the race was surprisingly Thomas Mutsch , who also won the next race at the Nürburgring. In the finale in Oschersleben, Marcel Tiemann stood out again for his hard driving style, in which he shot down his Zakspeed team mate Karl Wendlinger, who was struggling with a differential damage. The television viewer heard the radio messages between the Zakspeed box and the drivers shortly beforehand: "If he doesn't let me by, I'll shoot him down" . Since Tiemann only received a fine for this, he was able to keep his victory, which was only enough for him to be runner-up. Johnny Cecotto, who already won 4 of the first 6 races, was crowned first V8-Star Champion with 5th place in the last race.

2002

After the first extremely successful season, the new 2002 season was initiated at the Essen Motor Show at the end of 2001. There were two new silhouettes, more engine power, and the sporting process was redesigned with a top 12 instead of a top 8 qualifying. For the television broadcast, DSF switched to the well-known TV commentator Rainer Braun , who had already commented on DTM and STW races in previous years and was very popular with the fans for his comments. Within the restructured V8-Star organization, Altfrid Heger got the title of President. Nevertheless, he personally completed most of the winter tests to set up the modified engine and the new silhouettes. The V8-Star also aroused the interest of many well-known racing drivers. In addition to Hubert Haupt , Pedro Lamy came from the DTM , who together with Robert Lechner formed a new duo at Zakspeed. Dirk Adorf and the only DTM race winner, Ellen Lohr , moved from the DTC . Markus Oestreich also changed from the European Truck Championship . With Roland Asch, Thomas Mutsch and the 2001 champion Jonny Cecotto, important protagonists of the first season of the V8-Star also remained. And so there was another title fight between Jonny Cecotto, Thomas Mutsch and the Zakspeed pilots Robert Lechner and Pedro Lamy. With 4 races won, Thomas Mutsch was only able to reach third place in the table despite the most individual victories at the end of the season. In the penultimate race of the season, Jonny Cecotto was able to defend his title early. With two wins in the last two races, Robert Lechner was able to secure the runner-up championship. From a sporting point of view, the 2002 season was the high point in V8-Star history. In economic terms, the first problems were already emerging, which took place behind the scenes and did not even reach the public. The expenses were offset by too little income. In addition, in the summer of 2002, the tax office was accused of being a hobby.

2003

The presentation of the 2003 season took place once again at the Essen Motor Show just five weeks after the 2002 season finale. There three innovations were presented. Due to the economic situation, a new “V8STAR Team Package” should reduce the deployment costs for the teams. The sporting schedule should be changed so that the free practice, timed practice and the top 12 qualifying should be held on Saturdays and the race after a warm-up on Sundays. With regard to the racing calendar, the V8-Star presented the change to no longer drive all races in the Beru Top 10 . In addition, the German 500 and the Truck GP at the Nürburgring should start instead. In addition, two oval races were planned on the EuroSpeedway Lausitz . In February 2003, however, it was surprisingly announced that the V8-Star is completely separating from the Beru Top 10. Due to the advanced time in winter, many contracts from other racing series with racetracks had already been concluded. Thus, the V8-Star could only start as a supporting racing series at other events and had to pay entry fees. As a result, the racing calendar consisted of three races at the Nürburgring (as part of the GTP Weekend, the 24h race and the Truck GP), one at the Sachsenring, two in Zandvoort (as part of the Marlboro Masters and the Trophy of the Dunes) and three at the EuroSpeedway ( as part of the German 500 on the GP course and twice in the oval). The independence of the V8-Star increased the organizational effort, as the existing structures of the Beru Top 10 could no longer be accessed. In addition, founding member Max Welti left the management of V8STAR before the season, which he most recently worked with Dr. Georg Scheid had directed.

Although the duration of the race was reduced from 70 minutes to 50 minutes, the races were no longer broadcast live on television. Although the TV contract with DSF could be extended, the reporting was significantly reduced and the races were only shown in summaries in the evening. Reporting also collapsed in other media. Not a single journalist from Motor Presse Stuttgart appeared in the print media, which was still dominant at the time, for the first oval race in a German racing series.

In this tense economic situation, the V8-Star had to cut its expenses, which meant that the financial support of the teams had to be cut back. This had a negative effect on the number of starters and led to a significant fluctuation in the teams, some of which were only able to drive individual races due to one-time sponsors. Since the starting field had to be filled with financially strong male drivers, the performance density in the starting field also fell.

The last year's champion, Jonny Cecotto, was one of the departures of the season, although the Irmscher team had been negotiating with him until shortly before the start of the season. Driving in the oval was just as unimpressive to him as the processes behind the scenes of the V8 Star. Instead of Cecotto, the former DTM driver Yves Olivier drove for Irmscher. Due to the unsuccessful performance in the first two races, Irmscher replaced Olivier with the retired Roland Asch, who celebrated his comeback in the V8-Star in 2003. The Zakspeed team continued to rely on the drivers Pedro Lamy and Robert Lechner , who dominated the season. Although Thomas Mutch was again one of the fastest drivers of the season, partly due to bad luck, he was unable to achieve any further victories this season. With the former DTM driver Michael Bartels , another faster driver joined the series, who even finished third at the end of the season, tied with Thomas Mutsch. But even he could not break Zakspeed's winning streak. This was surprisingly achieved at the Nürburgring by the V8 star returnees Roland Asch, who at the age of 52 celebrated his first victory in his third year in his 22nd V8 star race. Even more surprisingly, guest starter Donny Crevels achieved a home win in the Formula 3 Masters in Zandvoort. The Zakspeed drivers were able to claim all further victories, also due to the perfect teamwork during the pit stop. Pedro Lamy won the championship with the fourth win of the season at the V8-Star finals in the oval of the Eurospeedway Lausitz.

Oval race

From the very beginning, the concept of the V8-Star was to drive in the oval course before races , as with its model in the American NASCAR series. This plan was implemented for the 2003 season. Extensive preparations were made for this in advance.

The first tests in the oval took place in 2002. After Altfrid Heger had already undertaken the first test drives on his own, test drives in an oval with four other pilots took place after the regular V8 Star race on the GP circuit in order to simulate tire tests and drives in a crowd. For the heavily loaded tires on the outside of the curve, Goodyear combined a rubber compound that has proven itself from NASCAR with the 18-inch V8 star construction. During the tests, it was possible to drive constant average speeds of well over 240 km / h. Extensive training courses were held in preparation for the V8STAR's oval premiere. President Altfrid Heger traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway in the USA as a test driver together with technical director Peter Kayser . In cooperation with the Richard Petty Driving Experience, a training center for oval racing drivers, the test drives were carried out there and experiences for driving in the oval as well as for the organization were exchanged. The V8 Star drivers had to acquire an oval racing license for the oval race according to the guidelines of the German Motorsport Association (DMSB). The Richard Petty instructors came to Germany to support the V8-Star drivers, all of whom were new to the oval, in the three-day rookie test prescribed by the V8-Star. In addition to extensive theoretical introductions, this mainly consisted of practical training in order to train safe driving in a crowd and in the slipstream at top speed. Even Roland Rehfeld supported with its experience from the British stock car series NASCAR , the V8-Star-pilots. For the teams and drivers, Alexander Friebel, an ASCAR spotter, was invited to teach tactics and pit radio.

In contrast to the races on circular courses, the format for the oval races was changed: a 30-lap qualifying race decided the starting grid for the 50-lap main race. During the distance of 160 km there was also a mandatory pit stop.

The premiere race was marked by plenty of overtaking maneuvers and slipstream duels with a roaring V8 sound in front of an officially 10,000 spectators. However, at the premiere there were a chain of problems and errors by the race management, so that the race was not counted in the end: Although the time monitor froze after a yellow phase in the 14th lap, the race was allowed to continue. However, this meanwhile outdated and incorrect intermediate result was used as the starting order for the next restart. In addition, the race management did not switch the traffic light at the pit entrance to red during the yellow phase, as specified in the DMSB oval regulations drawn up especially for this race. Therefore, the drivers actually came to the pit stop without permission, which significantly changed the order in the classification. At the end of the race, the race management wanted to correct their own mistake with drive-through penalties, but this was no longer possible due to multiple wrong decisions. After the race, Pedro Lamy was celebrated as the winner on the podium, but there were several protests from other teams, all of which, from their own point of view and for a wide variety of reasons, were possible subsequent winners. Because of this, a reconstruction of the race was scheduled in the week after the race, but this was unsuccessful and the race result was canceled. To compensate for this, the race was made up for at the end of the season with a second oval race at the season finale.

Race on the Nordschleife

In addition to the oval, the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring was at the top of the list for V8-Star to evaluate the suitability of their racing cars. In the first year already, the starting field drove the run-out lap after the Nürburgring race behind the safety car over the Nordschleife. Altfrid Heger's first test drives followed in 2002 during the setting drives for the seventh round of the VLN . This should prove the all-round ability of the V8-Star vehicles and arouse the interest of teams in these vehicles for the VLN and the 24h race. A pure V8 star race never took place on the Nordschleife. The racing premiere of a V8 Star vehicle took place at the start of the 2003 VLN season. The Sagarage team used a vehicle for Dirk Adorf , Hermann Tilke and Ulrich Galladé during the season . At the ninth round of the season, the team achieved their first overall VLN victory with a V8 Star vehicle.

Discontinuation of the V8-Star series

After the end of the 2003 season, the V8-Star presented its plans for 2004 in October. The races were to be extended to 60 minutes again. In addition, a new distribution key was planned for the prize money, which, instead of the previous bonus for the race result, was to be paid evenly as an entry fee among all teams. However, the necessary sponsors were not found. In addition, planning the new racing calendar proved to be difficult, as a return to the circle of old Beru Top 10 partners also failed. Even before the Essen Motor Show, the preliminary end of the V8 Star was announced. Officially, only a break was to be taken in 2004 to restructure the racing series and find new partners. A continuation of the series in 2005 was planned, but did not take place.

After the V8-Star series

Many years after the end of the V8-Star series, V8-Star touring cars were still racing in other racing series, such as the VLN , the Dutch Supercar Challenge, the Britcar and the Divinol Cup. While further development of the vehicles was not possible in the VLN, in the Dutch Supercar Challenge and in the Divinol Cup, sophisticated configurations with 650 hp were created under the name "V8SuperSTAR". Based on a V8 Star vehicle, Swissracing Motorsport developed the SRM V8 GT with its own silhouette and a 7.1 l Corvette Le Mans engine with around 750 hp. This made the Swissracing team overall winner in the last season of the Divinol Cup 2007. The Zakspeed team also owned these vehicles and organized courses and racing driver schools with them on the Nürburgring and the oval of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz .

Originally there were even plans to host the Dutch Touring Car Championship with V8 Star vehicles from 2003. However, the series was discontinued at the end of 2003 before a change in regulations.

technology

V8 star Jaguar S-Type
V8 star Opel Omega

The V8-Star relied on the concept of providing teams and drivers with the same technical requirements in order to put their individual skills in the foreground. For this purpose, manufacturer-independent standard vehicles with standard engines were used, which should, however, differ externally. The company Nitec , which was a subsidiary of Zakspeed, was selected for the development of the design and the subsequent production of the vehicles . More than 40 percent of the vehicle parts of a V8 Star came from Nitec, which mainly included body parts, chassis with tubular space frames, suspensions, safety cells and crash components.

With the original idea of ​​the V8-Star, standard V8 engines from the respective manufacturers were to be made into racing engines, which were to be inserted in a standard chassis with a tubular space frame and provided with the respective silhouette of the manufacturer. Due to the expected effort to adjust the performance level of the different engines to one another, the decision was made in favor of the standard engines. In order to offer the fans a varied field, the concept of the different silhouettes for a single chassis was retained.

In order to keep the costs for the teams affordable, a compromise was made between expensive materials and lightweight construction when developing the vehicles. For example, the cheaper GRP was preferred to the lighter CFRP for the silhouettes . The goal was a spectacular, but above all robust and reliable vehicle that would last over the 5 years for which the V8-Star series was originally designed. The price for a complete vehicle kit without an engine was 156,000 euros plus 45,000 euros for engine leasing. The teams also had the option of leasing the kit.

drive

The drive was based on a 5.7-liter V8 engine with 2 valves per cylinder, which had been developed by the US NASCAR tuner Jack Roush and was characterized by its typical V8 rumbling engine noise. When designing the engine, the main focus was on longevity for a whole season in order to keep possible failures and costs low. Since the engine was only rented out, the teams had planning security in terms of costs, especially since the leasing contract also included an engine replacement in the event of an engine failure. The power transmission from the engine to the rear axle was handled by a sequential 6-speed transmission from the Australian transmission specialist Holinger. This had already proven its reliability in the Australian V8 Supercars . To ensure equal opportunities, the teams were not allowed to make changes to either the engine or the transmission. For this purpose, the engines were sealed and checked regularly. Electronic driving aids were prohibited. While these engines were limited to 330 kW (450 hp) in the 2001 season, for the 2002 season they were officially increased to an output of 364 kW (495 hp) and delivered approx. 590 Nm maximum torque at 4,850 rpm. The maximum speed was 6,900 rpm. The increase in performance was achieved through changes to the intake system and the engine electronics. With 495 hp, the V8 Star was Germany's most powerful touring car series at the time. The high torque applied early on led to spectacular racing scenes with drifting vehicles even in dry conditions.

chassis

Even if the vehicles were outwardly similar to series production vehicles from different manufacturers, pure prototype technology for racing was hidden beneath their silhouette . The chassis was a tubular space frame made of chrome-molybdenum steel specially developed for the V8-Star. In order to further increase the safety for the driver, a driver's cell made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which technically corresponded to a monocoque of formula vehicles, was screwed into the center . The six-point seat belt system, the racing seat and the pedals were integrated into it. The driver's cell positioned well behind the front axle in the center of the vehicle resulted in greater safety and good weight distribution. However, this meant that the driver's view took some getting used to and in some cases was more limited than with other racing vehicles.

The passive safety of the chassis has been brought to a very high safety standard for touring cars by a front CFRP crash box and a crash pad placed under the rear bumper. This not only followed the recommendations of the World Automobile Federation (FIA), but also demonstrated safety with the obligatory side crash and a voluntarily carried out frontal crash with extensive crash tests.

The chassis included individually suspended front and rear wheels on double wishbones, as well as Bilstein dampers and H&R coil springs. The teams and drivers could choose from three different spring packages to fine-tune the chassis. The principle of equality continued with the tires. Each team had 10 Goodyear slicks in the format 27.5 × 11.0 - 18 inches at the front and 28.0 × 12.5 - 18 inches at the rear per race and vehicle.

Silhouettes

In order to offer the fans a varied field, different silhouettes were realized for the standard chassis . Here emphasis was placed on a spectacular appearance - with large spoilers and wings - as well as wide wheel arches. The bodies were different saloons of the upper middle class modeled. The 90 kg light, glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) silhouettes had the same aerodynamic properties after elaborate coordination in the wind tunnel. Drivers and teams were only able to change the vehicle's aerodynamics via the specified adjustment range of the rear wing.

However, the automobile manufacturers did not want to see a vehicle of their brand lose without influencing its success and saw their image at risk in the process. German automobile manufacturers in particular insist on their trademark rights. This meant that the V8-Star had to do without a Mercedes silhouette and the silhouettes of the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6 had to be greatly modified after the first prototype with an only slightly modified BMW design was presented at the first presentation of the V8-Star. 5 silhouette was presented to the public. The other manufacturers Opel , Lexus and Jaguar saw the reference to their series vehicles more as free advertising. Two new silhouettes were added for the 2002 season. This time, the two manufacturers Volkswagen and Ford committed to the V8 Star series, so that the bodies did not have to be modified, but instead corresponded to the original Passat and Mondeo above the wheel hub .

silhouette V8 star silhouettes timeline
2001 2002 2003
Audi A6
BMW 5 Series
Ford Mondeo
Jaguar S-Type
Lexus GS
Opel Omega
VW Passat

██ available ██ available, not used

Key data

engine

  • Type: V8 engine with engine block made of light metal
  • Displacement: 5700 cm³
  • Output: 495 hp at 6800 rpm
  • maximum torque: 590 Nm at 4850 rpm
  • Weight: approx. 200 kg

drive

  • Rear wheel drive
  • Transmission: 6 gears, sequential

landing gear

  • H&R racing springs
  • adjustable Bilstein dampers

Wheels / tires

  • front: 27.5 × 11.0-18 inches
  • rear: 28.0 × 12.5--18 in
  • Tire manufacturer: Goodyear

Brakes

  • front: 378 mm discs
  • rear: 330 mm discs

body

  • Standard tubular lattice frame made of chrome-molybdenum steel
  • Safety driver's cell made of CFRP
  • GRP silhouette (approx. 90 kg)
  • CFRP crash box at the front
  • Crash pad in the rear
  • Tank volume: 120 l
  • Total weight (fueled) approx. 1295 kg
  • Top speed: approx. 300 km / h

costs

  • Vehicle: 156,000 euros plus 45,000 euros engine leasing
  • Seasonal costs including accident insurance with self-service: approx. 500,000 euros
  • Registration fee: 15,000 euros (2002 season)

Sporty process

V8 star pace car
V8 star pace car

The sporty sequence of the V8-Star represented a small revolution in German as well as in European motorsport. Because, unlike many other European racing series, the V8-Star was not based on Formula 1 , but on the American NASCAR series, which was also inspired by the technical regulations.

Training and qualifying

The race weekend started with two normal free practice sessions on Friday. Qualifying took place on Saturday morning. Here, the fastest lap times were determined in a normal 50 minute timed practice, which decided on the starting positions from 13th place (from 9th place in the 2001 season). The top 12 (or 8) qualified for the top 12 qualifying (only one top 8 qualifying in 2001), in which three groups of four vehicles each drove a two-lap race with an integrated pit stop between the first and second lap has been. The starting grid was determined from the fastest times in the two-lap races of all groups. The team thus had a direct influence on the position of the driver on the starting grid via the speed of the wheel change.

run

The V8-Star did not have the classic race Sunday in the first two years of the Beru Top 10 . The races started on Saturdays, which was extremely unusual at the time. The race itself was a time trial of 70 minutes or 50 minutes (2003 season) and consisted of two sections with a brief neutralization in between.

The first section of the race was started standing . Around the middle of the first race section, the 6-minute pit stop window opened for all drivers to change their compulsory wheels - they did not refuel. As in the top 12 qualifying, the team with 2 mechanics on each side of the vehicle again had a direct influence on the race result. In addition, the teams had their own pit stop rating, in which the fastest wheel change was rated with 14 points. For teams with more than one vehicle, only the fastest wheel change was included in the pit stop rating. After the pit stop window was closed, the race continued for a few minutes, until after 25 minutes or 20 minutes (2003 season) the first race section was ended by waving the black and white checkered flag. At this point in the race, the first points were awarded for the team classification, but not for the driver classification.

At the end of the first racing section, the neutralization phase was immediately followed, for which a pace car was sent out to collect the field of participants. For this, the V8-Star used the American pick-up truck Ford F150 SVT Lightning . This led the field of participants for 3 rounds. The first lap was used to collect the field of participants and to lead them through the pit lane at the end of the lap. The drivers now had the opportunity to stop at their pits and have repairs carried out by the team. After the second lap behind the pace car, the participants stopped at the pits for repairs, as well as the lapped pilots, had the opportunity to cut in again behind the pace car at the end of the field of participants. The lap backlog was reset for the second race section. The third lap behind the pace car served as preparation and formation for the flying start of the second race section. For the 2003 season, the number of laps behind the pace car was reduced to 2. The neutralization phase could be used for a commercial break in live TV broadcasts without the TV viewer missing anything essential from the race.

In contrast to the first racing section, which was started standing, the start of the second racing section after the pace car pulled out was flying . The race was continued until a total duration of 70 min or 50 min (2003 season) was reached. The winner of the race was the driver who crossed the finish line first at the end of the overall race. Based on the overall result, points were awarded for the driver standings as well as again for the team standings.

Racing time Race sequence Scoring
2001/
2002 		2003
0. min 0. min Standing start of the race (Section 1).
14. min 10. min Opening the pit stop window for 6 minutes.
20 min 16. min Closure of the pit stop window . Pit stop classification
25. min 20 min End of section 1 of the race with the checkered flag. Team evaluation
Pace car phase 2001/2002 2003
1 round Run-out lap of the race participants and collection of all race participants behind the pace car. Run-out lap for the race participants and collection of all race participants behind the pace car, with the exception of those who drove into the pit lane for repairs.
2nd round Drive behind the pace car through the pit lane: The race participants can stop at their pits for repairs. Drive behind the pace car through the pit lane: Participants stopped for repairs cut in again behind the pace car. Formation at the start of Section 2 of the race.
3rd round Participants stopped for repairs cut in again behind the pace car. Formation at the start of Section 2 of the race.
~ 35. min ~ 28. min Flying start of the race (Section 2).
70th min 50th min End of the race with the checkered flag. Driver standings
team standings

Prize money

  • 2001: 4.5 million DM
  • 2002: 2.3 million euros

Point system

placement 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th 15th 16 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23 24 25th 26th 27 28 29 30th
Points 2001 26th 24 23 22nd 21st 20th 19th 18th 17th 16 15th 14th 13 12 11 10 9 8th 7th 6th 5 4th 3 2 - - - - - -
Points 2002 - 2003 32 30th 29 28 27 26th 25th 24 23 22nd 21st 20th 19th 18th 17th 16 15th 14th 13 12 11 10 9 8th 7th 6th 5 4th 3 2

Compare with the DTM

The start of the V8-Star was shortly after the DTM was re-occupied . The concept of the vehicles was very similar. Both were prototypes with no technical relationship to a production car with superimposed silhouettes that were powered by a V8 engine. While the DTM wanted to keep costs low by using identical parts, the V8-Star implemented this concept more consistently with a standard chassis. Since the V8-Star was designed for teams and not for manufacturers, the focus was on low costs. Hence there was no expensive arms race. Compared to a DTM car, the V8 Star cars were a good 300 kg heavier. But the engines had officially 495 hp more power. The sound of the rumbling V8 star engines was very popular with the fans and differed significantly from the screeching DTM engines. In order to differentiate itself from the DTM, in which at that time only coupé vehicles were permitted, the V8-Star consciously chose silhouettes of vehicles from the upper middle class.

Since the V8-Star was manufacturer-independent, there was no competition between the manufacturers involved in the series, but for sponsors, drivers, teams and engineers. At the beginning, Mercedes AMG consultant Dieter Glemser forbade participation in the V8-Star. The V8 star itself did not want to compete with the DTM and only wanted to be in the 2nd league in German touring car racing after the DTM. But over the years there have been repeated attempts by the DTM to discredit the V8 Star.

driver

With Johnny Cecotto (2001-2002), Karl Wendlinger (2001), Christian Danner (2002), Pedro Lamy (2002-2003), Michael Bartels (2003) and Jan Lammers (2003) some former Formula 1 drivers were at the start . With Harald Becker (2001–2003), Kurt Thiim (2001–2003), Roland Asch (2001–2003), Ralf Kelleners (2001), Kris Nissen (2001–2002), Marcel Tiemann (2001), Gianni Giudici (2002) , Hubert Haupt (2002), Franz Engstler (2002), Markus Oestreich (2002), Yves Olivier (2003), Altfrid Heger (2003) and Cor Euser (2003) were some former DTM drivers at the start, with Jeroen Bleekemolen (2002 ) a later DTM driver. With Ellen Lohr (2002) a woman also drove in this series.

Overall winner

V8 star
Driver ranking Team evaluation Pit stop classification
year driver team vehicle team vehicle team vehicle
2001 VenezuelaVenezuela Johnny Cecotto GermanyGermany Irmscher Omega V8 star GermanyGermany Zakspeed S-Type V8-Star SwitzerlandSwitzerland PoleVision S-Type V8-Star
2002 VenezuelaVenezuela Johnny Cecotto GermanyGermany Irmscher Omega V8 star GermanyGermany Zakspeed S-Type V8-Star GermanyGermany Zakspeed S-Type V8-Star
2003 PortugalPortugal Pedro Lamy GermanyGermany Zakspeed S-Type V8-Star GermanyGermany Zakspeed S-Type V8-Star GermanyGermany Zakspeed S-Type V8-Star

Trivia

  • The Finnish rock band The Rasmus shot the video for the song First Day of my Life together with the V8 star on August 5, 2003 on the Eurospeedway Lausitz . In the video you can see the V8-Star Passat from V8-Star President Altfrid Heger. The band presented the video as a world exclusive during the V8-Star Final on September 14, 2003 on the big screen in the V8STAR World on Eurospeedway.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Heiko Stritzke: V8STAR Part 1: From the idea to the car in twelve months. Motorsport-Total.com, November 19, 2018, accessed February 11, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Thomas Voigt: touring car story 2001 . Sport-Verlag Berlin, 2001, ISBN 3-328-00922-1 , p. 96-121 .
  3. ↑ a b c Heiko Stritzke: V8STAR Part 2: "Wow" effect the first time. Motorsport-Total.com, November 20, 2018, accessed March 8, 2019 .
  4. ↑ V8STAR on the Nordschleife. racing1.de, May 24, 2001, archived from the original on July 18, 2002 ; accessed on March 1, 2019 .
  5. ↑ In a circle in off-the-peg racing cars. Tagesspiegel.de, March 26, 2001, accessed on March 8, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Rainer Braun comments on V8STAR. racing1.de, March 20, 2002, archived from the original on August 16, 2002 ; accessed on March 13, 2019 .
  7. ^ A b c Thomas Voigt: touring car story 2002 . Heel, 2002, ISBN 3-89365-960-9 , pp. 88-147 .
  8. ↑ a b c d Heiko Stritzke: V8STAR Part 3: A surprisingly quick decline. Motorsport-Total.com, November 21, 2018, accessed March 18, 2019 .
  9. ↑ V8STAR is getting ready for 2003. racing1.de, November 21, 2002, archived from the original on December 2, 2002 ; accessed on March 13, 2019 .
  10. ↑ The V8STAR racing calendar is available. racing1.de, November 29, 2002, archived from the original on December 2, 2002 ; accessed on March 19, 2019 .
  11. ↑ V8STAR starts at the German 500. racing1.de, February 3, 2003, archived from the original on March 8, 2003 ; accessed on March 19, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Max Welti leaves the V8STAR. racing1.de, March 20, 2003, archived from the original on April 28, 2003 ; accessed on April 15, 2019 .
  13. ↑ V8STAR on DSF. racing1.de, March 27, 2003, archived from the original on April 28, 2003 ; accessed on April 15, 2019 .
  14. ↑ V8STAR without Cecotto. racing1.de, April 19, 2003, archived from the original on November 4, 2003 ; accessed on April 15, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Asch replaces Olivier at Irmscher. racing1.de, May 27, 2003, archived from the original on November 4, 2003 ; accessed on April 23, 2019 .
  16. ^ Thomas Voigt: touring car story 2003 . Heel, 2003, ISBN 3-89365-991-9 , pp. 116-120 .
  17. ↑ V8STAR: Positive conclusion after the oval test. racing1.de, September 3, 2002, archived from the original on December 23, 2002 ; accessed on May 17, 2019 .
  18. ↑ V8STAR collects NASCAR experience. racing1.de, February 25, 2003, archived from the original on April 24, 2003 ; accessed on May 17, 2019 .
  19. ↑ V8STAR makes drivers fit for the oval. racing1.de, June 16, 2003, archived from the original on September 11, 2003 ; accessed on May 17, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Debut for a new type of oval tire. racing1.de, July 4, 2003, archived from the original on July 17, 2003 ; accessed on August 9, 2019 .
  21. ↑ V8STAR race is to be reconstructed. racing1.de, July 8, 2003, archived from the original on December 29, 2003 ; accessed on September 27, 2019 .
  22. ↑ V8STAR oval race canceled. racing1.de, August 13, 2003, archived from the original on December 29, 2003 ; accessed on September 27, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Heger satisfied with the Nordschleife test. racing1.de, August 27, 2002, archived from the original on December 23, 2002 ; accessed on November 1, 2019 .
  24. ↑ The season opener with a high level of tension - DTM and V8STAR cars at the BFGoodrich endurance championship. VLN, March 15, 2003, accessed November 1, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Dramatic race with sensational victory. VLN, September 27, 2003, accessed November 1, 2019 .
  26. ↑ More money for the teams. Auto Bild, October 1, 2003, accessed April 23, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Off for the German NASCAR! Auto Bild, November 26, 2003, accessed April 23, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Off for the V8STAR. racing1.de, November 14, 2003, archived from the original on December 29, 2003 ; accessed on April 23, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Made-up technology clones , Spiegel-Online from April 2, 2001, accessed on November 9, 2011.
  30. ↑ V8STAR series planned in Holland. racing1.de, September 10, 2002, archived from the original on December 23, 2002 ; accessed on March 18, 2019 .
  31. ↑ a b Will 500 hp fit a Passat? Auto Bild, May 2, 2002, accessed February 19, 2019 .
  32. ↑ a b c d e V8Star Series 2001. auto-sports.de, accessed on February 14, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Performance plus for V8STAR. racing1.de, November 30, 2001, archived from the original on December 14, 2001 ; accessed on March 1, 2019 .
  34. ↑ BMW agrees to V8STAR body. crash.net, February 13, 2001, accessed March 1, 2019 .
  35. ↑ A breath of fresh air in the V8STAR. racing1.de, November 5, 2001, archived from the original on August 12, 2002 ; accessed on March 1, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Mondeo silhouette in the V8STAR. racing1.de, November 30, 2001, archived from the original on August 12, 2002 ; accessed on March 1, 2019 .
  37. ↑ V8STAR: The rules of the game. racing1.de, April 29, 2001, archived from the original on July 17, 2002 ; accessed on March 1, 2019 .
  38. ↑ The Rasmus - First Day of My Life (Official Video) on YouTube
  39. ↑ World premiere in Lausitz: V8STAR & "The Rasmus". pitwall.de, September 10, 2003, accessed on January 9, 2020 .