Taking on the virtual Nürburgring 24 for a great cause

Colin
By Colin Wood
May 13, 2023 | iRacing, Nürburgring 24 Hour, Virtual Racing

Image Courtesy Michael Polasek

One driver. One cause. Twenty-four hours of racing at a virtual Nürburgring.

Michael Polasek is taking on the 2023 iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours race as a solo driver–against teams of three to five of the best iRacing drivers in the world–to raise money for the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate relief to victims of all disasters, both natural and manmade, around the globe.


This isn’t Michael’s first endurance stint, as he's previously competed in three solo 12-hour events. However, the iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours will be his first 24-hour race.

A live, 24-hour broadcast with professional commentators will be available at RaceSpot TV starting at 8 a.m. Eastern on May 13. In addition, Michael will be streaming his live view from inside the cockpit via Twitch throughout the event–and make sure you keep a lookout for a familiar logo on the livery.

Image Courtesy Michael Polasek

For more information, including how you can donate to Michael’s fundraiser, click here.

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Comments
DjGreggieP
DjGreggieP Dork
5/11/23 6:11 p.m.

This is a cool idea. I'm going to need to try and tune in for a bit. 

Andrew Polasek
Andrew Polasek New Reader
5/12/23 1:06 a.m.

Remember, to finish first you must first...stay awake! Go Michael!

RadBarchetta
RadBarchetta New Reader
5/12/23 8:19 a.m.

DWNSHFT
DWNSHFT Dork
5/12/23 10:21 a.m.

How will he eat or go to the bathroom?

red_stapler
red_stapler SuperDork
5/12/23 10:33 a.m.
DWNSHFT said:

How will he eat or go to the bathroom?

He won't be scored so taking an extra minute to use the restroom during a pit stop won't be the end of the world. 

PeterP
PeterP
5/12/23 11:15 a.m.

Michael will absolutely be racing to try to win the TCR class, not just finish, so (hopefully) there will be no extended breaks.  He will eat sparingly, and has 52 seconds of "free time" every hour and a half or so during pit stops while the WCK Audi is being refueled and getting tires changed.   He pretty much has the dismount and remount into the deep OMP bucket down to a science, so he will be making the best of those 52 seconds!

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/12/23 11:51 a.m.

On that note... does anyone else find it weird to drive with no seatbelt?

 

I installed a seatbelt on the sim rig I had and it made my brain happier and my driving "better".  Never had to worry about high speed pitstops though.

PeterP
PeterP New Reader
5/13/23 5:57 a.m.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I feel that way in my daily driver.  Even when I'm moving the car 5 feet in the driveway, it just feels weird to not have the seatbelt on.

red_stapler
red_stapler SuperDork
5/15/23 10:24 a.m.

Looks like Michael made it about 4 hours in before retiring due to a crash.

PeterP
PeterP New Reader
5/15/23 10:00 p.m.

In reply to red_stapler :

Michael qualified on pole, 6/10ths faster than the prior champions for two consecutive years.  He had opened up a 14 second gap to the rest of the TCR field by the end of his first stint.  He was well positioned to save fuel and drive conservatively (just fast enough to maintain the gap) the rest of the race, but ran into trouble during the overtaking of a pack of faster class cars.  iRacing at Nurburgring with 5 different classes of cars spanning GT3 to GR86 is a very difficult challenge because of the huge speed deltas on such a narrow track -- only 23 of 55 cars finished the race.  A race summary has been posted on the World Central Kitchen campaign site (24 Hours for World Central Kitchen).

 

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