Finishing second to the King of WTCR: journalist Bräutigam on his unexpected Nordschleife rivalry

German journalist Michael Bräutigam has revealed what it was like to go up against the King of WTCR Yann Ehrlacher on the world’s most challenging race track, the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Bräutigam and Ehrlacher were entered in the same class in the opening round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, a four-hour race on a 24.358-kilometre version of the legendary circuit, last Saturday. Ehrlacher, who was partnered by uncle and Cyan Racing Lynk & Co WTCR team-mate Yvan Muller, won the class with Bräutigam part of the team that finished second.

Afterwards, Bräutigam, who reports on the WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup for respected weekly titleMotorsport Aktuell, said: “I spoke to Yann on the starting grid and I guess he was not expecting to see me in a fireproof racing suit and then directly behind him and in the same class but we had a nice chat. “They were incredibly quick and consistent in the race, so we were never in a position to really challenge them. Plus, we had a hefty stop and go penalty when I was entering the pits too fast.

Anyway, we were on P2 in the end. It was only my fourth NLS race, so I was really happy to roughly be able to keep up with the pace. “Unfortunately, Yann and I were separated at the start when he used all his experience to gain some spots while I was losing a bit and then got held up by a Porsche Cayman for most of the stint.