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WTCC rookie Ehrlacher: this is not PlayStation, this is real life

Nürburgring Nordschleife first-timer Yann Ehrlacher says hours spent pounding around the iconic track on PlayStation will count for nothing when the FIA World Touring Car Championship heads to Germany this week.

Ehrlacher is in his first WTCC season and has impressed with the privateer RC Motorsport team. But with the 25.378-kilometre circuit representing unchartered territory for the French youngster, he's prepared for a "big challenge".

"I drove a Mijet race car for two laps during the VLN test day and I was there a few weeks ago with my road car just to discover the track," said the 20-year-old, nephew of four-time WTCC champion Yvan Muller. "I can't say I can't wait to drive on the Nordschleife because the driver who says they really enjoy the Nordschleife is not going fast enough. It's impossible, it's going to be a big challenge for the young drivers like me, Aurélien [Panis] and Dániel [Nagy] because it's a hard track and and a mistake is a crash."

He continued: "I thought I was knowing the track perfectly before going there because I have been playing it since I was a kid on PlayStation, playing on Gran Turismo and I was doing this everyday after school and I know the track by heart. But it's not the same in real life."

Zdroj: fiawtcc.com