A Dacia Logan Will Return To Tackle The Nürburgring 24 Hours Again

The Nürburgring 24 Hours always features one of the largest and most stacked grids anywhere in motorsport, with everything from fully-fledged GT3 cars to near production-spec Golf GTIs and BMW 3-series racing around the clock on the treacherous, 15.8-mile circuit.

In recent years, one car has captured the hearts and minds of fans more than arguably any other: the Dacia Logan of Ollis Garage Racing. An example of the first-generation Logan, introduced in 2004 and still in production today in some forms, the car was heavily modified for racing. It had custom suspension and the standard 104bhp 1.6-litre engine was swapped out for a 2.0-litre,163bhp Renaultsport unit.

Despite that, it was almost always the slowest thing not just in its class, but in the entire race, but it gained a reputation as a plucky challenger that was able to finish the gruelling event multiple times. It was no small feat to survive for 24 hours around arguably the most punishing racetrack in the world, and the little Logan became a proper underdog hero.

We use the past tense because the Logan was sadly destroyed in last year’s race, being clipped and sent into a barrier by a Porsche 911 GT3 R during the night. While driver Maximilian Weissermel was unhurt, the car was a write-off, and it seemed that was that for the Logan.

Now, however, Ollis Garage Racing has announced arguably the most exciting news of the racing season so far: the Logan is back. Well, a Logan. Keen to continue its adventure, the team has sourced a new car and is returning to the Nürburgring this year.

The team has been working on the car during the off-season, and it’ll be making its debut at the opening round of this year’s Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS) championship, a four-hour race on 6 April. This is, of course, just an appetiser for the main course which is the 24-hour race, taking place from 1-2 June. We’ll be cheering it on.