Raoul Owens returns to Germany’s legendary Nurburgring-Nordschleife this week in readiness for round two of the VLN endurance racing series on Saturday, 8th April, where he intends to wipe the slate clean after a frustrating season-opener last month.

Driving a BMW 235i for Walkenhorst Motorsport, the British racer has his sights set on a strong performance as the VLN resumes and particularly so after gaining some additional mileage at the Nordschleife this past weekend in a club-level championship.

wens, from Pembury in Kent, has arrived in VLN this year off the back of a superb season in the RS01 Renault Sport Trophy, and a stellar single-seater career prior to that, and round two marks the opportunity to kick-start his 2017 programme.

xasperatingly, the Briton was unable to compete in round one following a luckless testing accident which rendered the car too damaged to be repaired in time for the race. Annoyed the merest of mistakes resulted in such heavy contact with the barriers, one of the most challenging aspects of competing at the fearsome Nordschleife, the 22-year-old has, however, put it firmly behind him.

“I was more disappointed than anything”, said Owens in reflection, “To be honest, it was a very small error – I got the car slightly on the kerb and once you’re off at the Nordschleife, you’re off, as there’s no run-off. It was a small incident but, unfortunately, one with a big consequence as I just couldn’t bring the car back.

“It’s good to have returned to the track since, in the race I did last weekend in an older BMW, it got me back into it and with a few laps under my belt now I’m really looking forward to being back in the VLN car. Nordschleife is the kind of place where you always learn something new as it’s such a vast track, so it’s good to have those extra laps from last weekend to gain experience from.”

One of the variables which can never be predicted at the world-renowned Eifel venue is the local climate which can, quite literally, bring four seasons in one day with bright sunshine at one end of the 24-kilometre track and torrential rain at the other. Thus far, Owens only has dry-weather experience at the Nordschleife but whatever the weekend brings, he says he’s more than ready.

“We’ve been pretty lucky so far with the weather every time we’ve been out”, added the Bright Spark Ventures and Purple Dot supported driver, “The first time I went on track it was a little bit damp, but dry the rest of the time. Hopefully we’ll have a dry weekend but, whatever happens, we’re ready and determined to have a good race.”

Round two of the VLN season takes place this Saturday, 8th April, at the Nurburgring-Nordschleife with online streaming at www.vln.de