Jeroen Bleekemolen and Christian Menzel joined Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus for the final round of the 2015 VLN Series at the Nurburgring on October 31. The bespoke sports car team was thrilled to score its best result to date with second place overall on the most difficult circuit of them all – the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Competing alongside Manuel Lauck and Franck Mailleux in the first SCG003C car, called ‘Macchinauno’ was Jeroen Bleekemolen. The Dutchman was making his debut with SCG. The racing veteran was the perfect choice for the team as he brings a wealth of experience. He’s raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours on 10 occasions and has competed in the Porsche Supercup for nine years.
Driving the second SCG003C, called ‘Macchinadue’, was Thomas Mutsch and Jeff Westphal. They were joined by DTM and Porsche Supercup racer Christian Menzel. Menzel is a former Nurburgring 24 Hours winner.
In a challenging, weather-affected race Macchinauno started in 10th on the grid and climbed to a strong second place at the finish. Macchinadue started from second on the grid after setting a stunning qualifying time with Mailleux at the wheel. Sadly a pit stop just before a red flag – due to deteriorating weather conditions – confined the car to a ninth-place finish. The team is on target to reach its goal of fighting at the front of the famous Nurburgring 24 Hours race next year.
Jeroen Bleekemolen Q&A
How did the agreement to drive the SCG003C come about? When I heard about the project I was very interested in it. I went to the factory last December to look at the car and see the programme. I was very impressed by the whole operation as I could see they were building some serious racing cars. I was close to joining for the season and we kept in touch. They showed great speed on the track this year so when the opportunity came to do the last round I was very happy to become a part of the team.
Of all the cars you’ve driven, how did this one compare? It’s impressive to see how well built it is. I’ve raced some pretty nice cars and some very popular cars: many that are built by big manufacturers. The SCG003C doesn’t do anything short of what those cars do. I was impressed with how well the car behaves on the track and how it drives. It’s an impressive machine.
It was a fantastic result in the race, how difficult was it to achieve? We had some issues in qualifying. Unfortunately we had a fuel pump problem. Without that we could have been around the same position as the sister car, which was on the front row. We were looking good for the podium until we hit problems that dropped us back. Then there was a red flag. We had really good pace and we were one of the frontrunners. We ran strongly and I enjoyed a full stint. I was comfortable in the car and that’s important because on the Nordschleife you need a car that gives you full confidence.
How tricky was it to learn the car? It’s a very well built car. It drives a bit different to a GT3 car, which is the car that we are trying to compete with. I’ve driven so many types of car that I know this is a good car. It was easy to learn and it’s a car that I would love to drive again.
What sort of future do you think this team has? You need to take steps all the time. If they keep doing that then I think they are looking very good for the Nurburgring 24 Hours. They have really good pace and they’re at a really good level so if they keep developing the car they will do well. And the competition is unbelievable at the 24 Hours. I think they will fit right in.
Christian Menzel Q&A
Is the Nurburgring the most challenging circuit in the world? It is. For me it has a lot of characteristics, it goes up and down and it has blind sections, you can’t see what’s coming up. It’s a big package: each lap is a new challenge. I know it very well, but you learn more things with each race, especially in the rain. And it has the history too.
SCG aims to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours in the future. Is this an achievable objective? We have to be realistic. There are a lot of factory teams turning up with the best drivers and special tyres and things like that. But Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus can be successful there. It’s a question of working hard. There are only two cars but the performance and reliability is fantastic. This team is a very good example that if you work with passion then you can follow your dreams.
What can be done to improve the SCG003C in the future? The car is more or less a prototype: it’s new so we were learning. The areas of improvement are not so much the speed, but the handling. It’s a bit too stiff but it’s comfortable over a double stint. I’m sure there will be further improvements over the winter.
Do you think the car would make a good basis for a road-going supercar? If it’s an extreme road car, then yes. The car is more or less a racing car with a number plate. So why not make it a road car? We can drive the car on the public road and we’re pretty good on a racing track. The seating position is very low, very deep, but I was surprised that in traffic I had no problems with visibility. The seating position is perfect. In some cars it’s not so good, and you have to spend time acclimatising.
What was the key moment in the race last weekend? It was a difficult event because in the morning it was foggy. Before my first stint in the race I had only done three slow laps. I was surprised at how quickly I acclimatised. For me the key moment was working with the car. It was a lot of fun last weekend.
