Ennepetal/Nürburgring, April 23, 2012 – At this year’s 40th running of the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring from 17 to 20 May 2012, it is not only the endurance classic that is celebrating its anniversary. BILSTEIN, too, can look back on 40 successful years at the 24-hour race in Germany’s Eifel, and is once again equipping the majority of this year’s race cars with BILSTEIN shock absorbers. They include dead certainties for overall victory like Phoenix Racing, Audi Racing Academy and newcomer United Autosports. All are banking on the quality of the modular damping system (MDS). With its MDS platform, BILSTEIN offers a broad spectrum of high-performance dampers specifically for professional racing use. Off the track, too, there are plenty of things to see at BILSTEIN. On Friday, 18 May 2012, at 3.00 p.m., TV star and tuning icon Lina Van de Mars will be signing autographs at the BILSTEIN stand on the ring boulevard. The BILSTEIN truck is once again a highlight of the drivers’ enclosure. This is where technicians and engineers are at the beck and call of the teams round the clock. The Nordschleife itself is clad in the colours of the specialists from Ennepetal – the BILSTEIN promotional team is bedecking the fans with flags to get them in the mood for the 24-hour race.

Standing a good chance of making it to the first starting row is the Audi R8 LMS from Team Phoenix. It is once more racing for overall victory in the 40th running of the classic clad in BILSTEIN’s distinctive blue and yellow livery. With Nordschleife veterans Marc Basseng, Frank Stippler, Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock, Phoenix Audi is starting with a very strong driver line-up. But a large proportion of the remaining field – like the Audi R8 LMS, Mercedes-Benz SLS and BMW MINI – is also depending on quality running gear from BILSTEIN. They include likely candidates for victory such as Audi Racing Academy, Mamerow Racing, Räder Motorsport and Black Falcon. And with good reason – the Nordschleife demands top performance from both man and machine. With its 40 years of experience at the 24-hour race, and from its motorsport and testing expertise in the “green hell”, BILSTEIN is supplying the teams with a powerful product that is perfectly adapted for the track and the conditions of this marathon in the shape of the BILSTEIN MDS.

A popular meeting place in the drivers’ enclosure once again this year is the BILSTEIN truck. Right alongside the track, the suspension experts are on hand to provide advice to ambitious hobby drivers and professional racers alike. In the mobile workshop, BILSTEIN technicians and engineers provide the race teams with round-the-clock support. Visitors to the BILSTEIN stand on the ring boulevard can also look forward to special highlights. There is one in particular that fans should not miss – a visit from tuning expert Lina Van de Mars. The well-known TV presenter will be signing autographs exclusively at the BILSTEIN stand on Friday, 18 May 2012, at 3.00 p.m.