The official BMW M Motorsport driver, a three-time DTM champion, and the overall victor of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring will not be competing in the renowned Eifel long-distance classic.
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| René Rast |
How is Behle doing? During a ZDF TV broadcast of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, legendary sports reporter Bruno Moravetz made history with this intriguing question. It was in vain that Moravetz searched for the successful German cross-country skier and subsequently national coach Behle on his monitor at the time ("Do they have something against Behle, what's going on there") because the US television producers had never heard of him despite the intermediate best time.
Rene Rast is now competing in the 51st running of the illustrious 24-hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, and what applied to Behle back then also holds true today! The overall champion of 2014, Audi Sport Team Phoenix, is not included in the list of competitors. He was from Minden, thus he would have fit in well with BMW M Motorsport's works-sponsored teams (RMG, ROWE, and Walkenhorst).
Rast would undoubtedly have been a problem as one of the drivers for the biggest German racing event, according to a spokesman for BMW M racing. "There was a conflict with Formula E when we at BMW M Motorsport chose the driver lineup for our works-supported cars. Due to his commitment, Rene will regrettably not be racing for us at the 24-hour event at the Nürburgring this year, according to BMW M Motorsport.
You must also be aware that Rast's participation in the electric racing series and that of his additional employer McLaren come first! Rast is also absent from the event as a spectator and potential BMW representative despite the fact that the appointments are no longer converging; this is because of another BMW appointment.
This weekend, the all-arounder and his fellow BMW racing driver Bruno Spengler are in action as brand ambassadors for BMW M GmbH at the prestigious Concorso D'Eleganza 'Villa D'Este' on Lake Como. The pair will mostly showcase the storied BMW 3.0 CSL and provide client taxi rides in it. There are undoubtedly worse options than the potential start of a well-known 24-hour race.
Source: Motorsports Magazine