24-hour premiere with turbulences
Colin Bönighausen‘s (Team razoon – more than racing) first 24-hour race was a bit of a rollercoaster, to say the least! But the newcomer to endurance racing kept his cool and was over the moon to cross the finish line for the first time in this January classic.
From a car parade and grid walk to spectacular fireworks and even camels, there was plenty for Colin Bönighausen to experience off the track at the first major endurance event of the motorsport season. However, the 20-year-old from Lower Saxony remained focused on his job as usual, driving fast, despite the spectacle. In qualifying, he set the team‘s fastest time, the fourth fastest in his session. This earned him praise from the Austrian team‘s engineers.
It wasn‘t just the daytime temperatures of up to 30°C that made things hot at the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai Motor City. The variety of vehicles and drivers‘ differing skills led to repeated minor collisions, unusually frequent defects, and mistakes by the teams. After nightfall, Bönighausen‘s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup also suffered: “After we had changed the brakes as planned, I went back out on the track and lost a tyre on the back straight.” This was due to a wheel nut that had not been tightened properly. Colin adds, “Of course that shouldn‘t happen, but it can — we‘re all only human. In a 24-hour race especially, the mechanics are under pressure for days on end.” Colin demonstrated his talent in this dangerous situation, bringing the car safely back to the pits where the repair could be carried out quickly. “This also happened to some of the top teams this weekend – some even dropped out completely because of it.” Colin‘s first stint in the afternoon went very well, with the team leader handing over to his teammates in third place.
Colin also coped very well with the darkness. “The lighting was pretty good,” he said. I found my way around well in traffic, too – only at night were some drivers a little confused, so you had to be careful.” To compensate for the amateur drivers‘ slower lap times, Razoon changed its tactics for the night. The pros — Colin, his former Carrera Cup colleague Senna van Soelen and Daniel Drexel — shared the night’s driving duties to get the car in contention for a podium finish. “That would definitely have been possible,” says Colin.
But luck was not on their side once again: “This time, a split pin broke on all the wheels, so a repair stop was unavoidable. That meant we were out of the running for a top position.” At least the Razoon Porsche made it back onto the track, though. Colin completed his planned four stints and consistently posted the best times in the team. “I’m definitely taking home more positives than negatives.” Given the circumstances, the team could be proud of their ninth-place finish in its class after 24 hours.
However, the busy weekend wasn’t over for Colin yet: he then headed to the AEEDC, the world’s largest dental conference and exhibition. Colin’s partner, SEMLINGER 3D Printing and Milling, caused a stir at the Dubai World Trade Centre when they exhibited the original race car from the weekend, complete with patina. Colin answered questions from interested visitors, some of whom took the opportunity to climb into the cockpit and experience what it’s like to be a racing driver.
