It is hard to imagine a 24-hour race at the Nürburgring without Uwe Alzen. Not only would his countless fans miss the Nordschleife expert, but also his rivals out on the track. Alzen is regarded as one of the absolute professionals in the “Green Hell”, who repeatedly emerge successful from their tussles with what is probably the most demanding circuit in motor racing.
A fine example of this came last year, when he won the classic in the Eifel Mountains in a BMW M3 GT2 alongside Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus and Pedro Lamy. As the final driver, Alzen used all his experience to guide the car to a 19th overall victory for BMW, despite a gearbox problem. This was the second time Alzen had crossed the line in first place at the 24-hour race: his first entry in the list of winners came in 2000 with Porsche.
Alzen practically has a place reserved on the top step of the podium at his home circuit. Thirty four class victories and nine overall wins in the VLN Endurance Championship speak for themselves. However, Alzen would never have become a complete racing driver had he not dared to look beyond his own backyard.
In 1993 he won the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps and finished second overall at the classic in Le Mans in 1998 – by the side of Jörg Müller. He went on to win the GT3 class one year later. In addition, he also competed in the DTM for Opel and Mercedes, claiming a total of six victories. Alzen was triumphant on two occasions in the Porsche Carrera Cup (1992 and 2007) and won the Porsche Supercup in 1994.
When it comes to success, there is no compromise for Alzen. He can barely disguise his irrepressible ambition at the race track. In contrast, only one thing counts for him in the cockpit: utmost concentration. Combined with his talent and experience at marathon races, this makes him a true asset to the BMW Motorsport driving line-up.
