Peugeot Holds Euro-Wide Contest to Find Drivers for 208 GTi at Nürburgring 24H

How do you select a racing team? In premiere classes, it is the norm to find highly experienced drivers to guarantee good performance, but what about in smaller series? PeugeotPeugeotFrance, 1882 > present120 models
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took a little inspiration from Nissan'sNissanJapan, 1932 > present159 models
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GT Academy for its new 208 GTi Racing Experience that has selected eight European drivers to race a 208 GTi Peugeot SportPeugeot 208 GTI Peugeot S...France, 2013 > 2000 in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. 

The selection process is what makes the 208 GTi Racing Experience so interesting. Instead of hiring established drivers, Peugeot set up a web site asking for applications from European drivers to race the car. The major stipulation was that the driver must already have a racing license. Peugeot was amazed when it received about 2,000 applications for the eight seats. It announced it would select one driver from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The applicants were invited to tracks in each of their respective countries to take part in a pre-selection trial at the end of February. The top five drivers from each country were invited to the Circuit La Ferté Gaucher in rural France for a final test that would keep one driver from each country. To gain experience in the car, the drivers will take part in the 208 Racing Cup and VLN Series before the full 24-hour race.

The eight drivers vary wildly in age and experience level. Dominik Pietz from Germany is the youngest of the group at 21 and has only been racing for three years. Vincent Radermecker from Belgium is 45 years old and drives Super Touring cars in Belgium. Gonzalo Martin de Andres from Spain is 31 and has one four single-make racing championships since 2004. Mathieu Sentis from France is 27 and is an auto journalist and rally driver for the last two years. Giacomo Ricci from Italy is 27 and has won three Italian F3000 titles. Christian Frankenhout from Holland is 31 and is among the most experienced. He was third overall in the 2012 Nürburgring 24 Hours and second overall in the 2012 Dubai 24 Hours. Johnny Niederhauser from Switzerland is 41 and has not raced professionally since 2003. Finally, Bradley Philpot from the UK is 27 and a racing instructor. 

Peugeot is in its fourth year of entering cars into the Nürburgring 24 Hours, but this will be the first year for the 208 GTi Peugeot Sport.

The car is based on the 208 GTi but with 300hp and a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox. Beyond that it gets racing modifications like a roll cage, adjustable suspension and larger brakes. It weighs 990kg (2183lbs), 170kg (375lbs) less than a stock 208 GTi. 

“The drivers each had rather different experience. One of the objectives was to create a well-balanced car that is pleasant to drive, easy to handle and to recover in the event of losing grip. It must also protect the drivers’ physical condition; this is essential for long races, when driving for up to 2 hours long stints," said development engineer Florent Meilhaud.