“Real life" competing continues - Trogen competes with Walkenhorst Motorsport this weekend in Germany
Trogen, who has lately competed in digital motorsport, will now get to drive a real car with Walkenhorst Motorsport Team in Germany. Trogen will drive a four-hour endurance race on the legendary Nürburgring race circuit with a new M2 CS Racing -car, delivered directly from the BMW factory. The season that started with rally, will now continue on race circuits.
Trogen began his season in January with the Finnish Rally Championship, but when exceptional circumstances hit in March, competing continued only on the digital motorsport side. Nonetheless, the spring brought new opportunities in racing, which puts rally activities permanently aside.
"I have always been interested in circuit racing, and now a great opportunity has opened up. The beginning of the season in rally was interesting and educating, and gave me a good chance to maintain my driving skills in Finnish winter conditions," Trogen describes.
After a successful GT3 test in France in March, Trogen and Walkenhorst Motorsport Team have actively kept in touch. In mid-June, Trogen flew to Germany to complete a required basic level racing license, and now it's time for action with the German team.
"There has happened quite a lot in a short time. I have completed so-called permit-license, and now I'm finally officially authorised to race in Germany and aim for a higher license level. For now my goal is to drive clean races all the way to the finish line to progress with the license," Trogen explains.
Nürburgring Nordschleife with a new BMW – four-hour challenge ahead
The competition for the upcoming weekend, NLS race 1 - 51. Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, will take place at the Nordschleife track in Nürburgring, Germany, on Saturday 27th June 2020. The race arena is familiar to Trogen as he has driven around the track for closer than 100 hours with his simulator. In addition, when accomplishing the first license and testing with the team, Trogen has gained experience of about twenty laps.
"The track is familiar to me as I have driven several 24-hour races with a simulator there. It's nice to get to drive on a real track, and there is a lot of driving in the four-hour races," says Trogen.
What adds interest is that Trogen, together with his teammate Mario von Bohlen, will compete with a car with which no one has raced before: BMW M2 CS Racing car. It's a successor to the BMW M240i, and which will be used in the 2021 BMW Cup.
"I'm excited to get to race with a brand new M2. Since the car is new to everyone, races works also as tests for the team. As soon as I get the higher license in my pocket, let's then see what are my next steps," Trogen ends.
After Saturday’s race, the next races for Trogen in Germany will be on July 11th and 12th, both four-hour races.
The rest of the year includes both circuit racing in Germany and digital motorsport with the Williams Esports team.
Picture: Walkenhorst Motorsport / Swoosh Communications