Isolde attends 24-hour race

9th May 2005

A Toyota Yaris Cup invitation race was held as support event of the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race at the circuit's legendary Nordschleife. Isolde was also there.

This weekend, Toyota's brand ambassador, Isolde Holderied, travelled to the Nürburgring for the 24-hour race. She was thrilled and felt reminded to her days as an active racing driver. The grid for the invitation race was smaller than the one for the regular Toyota Yaris Cup rounds as many of the young guns contesting the season don't possess the license necessary to race at such a demanding circuit. Therefore, the race at the Nürburgring was about prize money but not about championship points.

Isolde knows the classic endurance race at this circuit that is regarded as one of the planets most demanding and difficult tracks. Back in 1989 and 1990, she contested the event herself, behind the wheel of an Opel Kadett GSI. "It was absolutely fascinating," recalls Isolde, "the ongoing up and down, the sudden changes of the weather conditions, rain, fog…- the Nürburgring represents a true challenge for any driver and kind of reminds of a rally stage." During several 'Deutschland Rallyes', Isolde benefited from the experience gained at the Nordschleife as the Eifel circuit represented a special stage of the rallies.

But the Nürburgring 24 Hour Races haven't been Isolde's only endurance race experience. Together with Freddy Loix and Rennand Verreydt, she also contested the 1996 Spa 24 Hour Race. "24-hour races have got what it needs to thrill me again and again," reveals Isolde. "The atmosphere and all the action going on around these events are just great."

Quite obviously, Isolde supported a driver in this year’s 24-hour race field. "I crossed my fingers for my friend, Hans-Joachim Stuck. Prior to the race, I wished him luck," she revealed. "He still is blinding fast and I hold him in high esteem for his achievements." Behind the wheel of his BMW M3 GTR and together with Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller, Stuck finished runner-up in this year’s Nürburgring 24 Hour race, with the BMW M3 GTR of Pedro Lamy, Boris Said, Andy Priaulx and Duncan Huisman clinching the victory.

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