Panda Racing enters the Van Man Challenge with a new sponsor
Posted 6 days ago by
As the Van Man Challenge starts on SRS, Panda Racing is proud to confirm they will take part in the competition.
The Van Man Challenge
The series, hosted by the renowned simracer and real-life driving coach Ted Hough, will feature six weekly 20-minute races, and will be contested in the 2005 Ford Transit. The official calendar of the series includes fan-favourite tracks like Calabogie, Ahvenisto, the Glen and Charade; the latter will host the series finale and will feature a longer 1-hour race.
| Track | Country | Date | Time (CEST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calabogie Motorsports Park (Stadium) | Canada | July 30th, 2021 | 21:00 |
| Ahvenisto | Finland | August 6th, 2021 | 21:00 |
| Croft | Great Britain | August 13th, 2021 | 21:00 |
| Autodrom Most | Czech Republic | August 20th, 2021 | 21:00 |
| Watkins Glen International (Boot) | USA | August 27th, 2021 | 21:00 |
| Charade 2018 (8 km) | France | September 3rd, 2021 | 21:00 |
As usual, Ted asked the Roundel Racing community to choose the car for the series, and the polls were dominated by the 2005 Ford Transit. A commercial van is definitely a weird choice when it comes to racing, but this one is well-known by enthusiasts because of Sabine Schmitz, who famously drove the Transit around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in an iconic challenge for Top Gear. Schmitz, who was the first woman to ever win the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (which she did in 1996 and 1997), was nicknamed “the Queen of the Nordschleife”; she fell just short of completing a lap of the legendary Green Hell in less than ten minutes, clocking in at 10:08 in a diesel van, just a few seconds slower than Jeremy Clarkson’s lap in a turbodiesel Jaguar S-type. So yeah, the Transit packs quite some racing pedigree - at least when there’s an excellent driver behind its wheel.
A new sponsor, a new livery, and a tribute
For this series, we are excited to announce a partnership with Ben Rangia, our new sponsor. We have always been committed to racing in style, and Ben Rangia shares our passion for style. The team’s official name will be Ben Rangia Panda Racing.
With this all-new livery, Panda Racing debuts never-seen-before colors to honour an outrageous series in the Ford Transit. Racing this van is also our tribute to the late Sabine Schmitz, who passed away earlier this year.
Ben Rangia is universally acclaimed as one of the world’s top fashion designers. His products are known and appreciated for their creativity and their forward-looking attitude. Hi latest line, Ben Rangia Urban Wear, is conceived for people who embrace change and want to express their idea of “future”.
