“24hours – ONE TEAM. ONE TARGET”: Unique BMW Motorsport documentary now available on DVD.

Munich, 11th. November 2011. From today, racing fans can get their hands on a unique, feature-length documentary about BMW Motorsport’s endeavours at the Nürburgring 24 Hours: “24hours – ONE TEAM. ONE TARGET” by film-makers Tim and Nick Hahne. Armed with their camera, the brothers accompanied BMW Motorsport during its preparations for the endurance classic before filming the race action in the “Green Hell” at close hand. The result is an intimate, 104-minute sports documentary, the likes of which has never been seen in Germany. It can be ordered online now on DVD (23.90 Euros) or Blu-ray (25.90 Euros) at www.racingwebshop.de.

“High-gloss documentaries” are hard to find in the world of motorsport. That is why film-makers Tim and Nick Hahne set about filming a story, the genre of which they describe as a “docu film”. It features cinematic imagery, real dialogues and unpredictable twists. Thanks to the continuous use of revolutionary technology – digital reflex cameras – the film can truthfully claim to get “closer to the action than ever before”. “24hours – ONE TEAM. ONE TARGET.” tells the story of the BMW Motorsport team as it tackles its big challenge: to repeat last year's victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director: “Motorsport is a very emotional sport. Television viewers only usually experience the purely sporting action on the racetrack. However, what the majority of folk on the outside never get to see are the many people behind the scenes, who prepare for a race like this for months on end and who are not only doing their job, but also eat, sleep and breathe motorsport. The Stereoscreen film team accompanied us so closely for such a long time that we ultimately saw them as part of the team. The film manages to portray this intimacy magnificently. The people are at the fore: that is what also makes this film absolutely worth watching for non-motorsport fans. There are few outstanding motorsport films – but that is certainly how I class this film.”

Tim Hahne, director: “As a director, you rarely have the opportunity to take on a project that is so close to your heart. What we found so inspiring was that right from the word go we came across passion everywhere we looked. We could not have wished for a better partner than BMW – not just because of the insight they allowed us into an otherwise hidden world, but primarily because of the many interesting personalities and characters in the team. It is precisely this human touch that ultimately gives the film that proverbial something special.”

Nick Hahne, producer: “24hours: in this case it is not just the film title, but was also an agenda for our small, finely-tuned team. We planned, filmed, edited, composed, coloured, tweaked and wrote day and night for months. However, when I saw the many moved faces after the premiere, I knew it had been worth all the effort. Some even admitted to me that they had to reach for a tissue during the film...”

The plot starts well before the race weekend. For months, the engineers, mechanics and eight drivers prepare for their most important race of the year in their two BMW M3 GT cars. Sometimes the race draws closer in rather unusual fashion: for example, the audience is there when triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx goes sea-angling, Dirk Adorf gets philosophical about racing whilst cooking pasta, and Jörg Müller takes a plunge in Monaco's harbour swimming pool.

The race is a story in itself, the outcome of which even the film crew did not know until the chequered flag was waved. The crew is always at close hand, listens in to the pit radio and is glued to the voices of the engineers and drivers. Even if, from a purely sporting point of view, the overall victory was not to be, the result is a unique, highly emotional film that will have more than just motorsport fans perched on the edge of their sofas with goosebumps. Last but not least, Toussaint's background music adds to the mounting tension. You can find more information on “24hours – ONE TEAM. ONE TARGET” at www.24hours-der-film.de.