Getting to know the Nürburgring for the first time: a shot in the dark
As the first Chinese track service organization in Germany, we are based on the Nürburgring, a hallowed track, and are dedicated to the most professional vehicle testing and top sport driving training services. However, these did not exist at the beginning, and our brand and services evolved from the sincere love of ordinary players.
In 1993, the Chinese founder from Taiwan, Zhou Dawei (on the right side of the picture), came to the Nürburgring for the first time and formed a bond with the world’s longest and hardest track, at a time when there were very few Chinese in Germany, not to mention such a niche region as the Nürburgring. Fortunately, fans can communicate with each other smoothly even if they don’t speak the same language. Zhou Dawei became one of the first Chinese players at the Nürburgring with his love for the track, and has saved more than 4,000 laps of driving experience since the Nürburgring track officially launched the first annual season card.
Solo fun for all: the formation of the PDC New York North Club
Around 2010, with the rise of China’s automobile industry, more and more automobile-related professionals and enthusiasts came to Germany, the country that invented the automobile, to travel and study, and there is no lack of pilgrims to the Nürburgring. When more and more avid Chinese fans come to the Nürburgring, but struggled to find the way, some even because of little understanding and lack of technology, resulting in a dangerous situation, so that Chinese drivers have gradually become synonymous with “skill is not high, the courage is also big”. As a veteran player, Zhou Dawei realized that it was necessary to set up a club to help these pilgrims to challenge the Nürburgring with the right posture.
In May 2014, after years of planning and preparation, the predecessor of Powerdream-Motorsport: Powerdream Nordschleife Club (Chinese name: 动力极限纽北俱乐部, or PDC for short) was officially launched in Adenau. This is the largest commercial town around the Nürburgring for the first time ushered in the Chinese organization that took root here, and since then, Chinese people have finally planted their flags for the first time in this hallowed track, no longer without a base. Since then, with rich experience in playing cars and tracks, PDC has gradually developed a whole set of service system for pilgrims: from track experience to driver training, from car tuning to team support, we fulfill all the imaginations of car fans here.
Growing the team: the gap is not small, when to catch up
In the summer of 2015, Kerpen in the hometown of King Schumacher was staging an intense karting competition, which was organized by the PDC with the purpose of selecting Chinese coaches. This time, 3 young men of good merit were successfully selected, and they will be further trained until the final PDC 100 laps of the New North and decide whether they will stay or go, which 100 laps of training requirements are also retained to this day. These three young people were soon formed into a small team to participate in another 6-hour karting endurance race, but unfortunately: not only were their lap times different from those of their foreign friends in the same race, but they also almost failed to finish the race due to physical exhaustion. One of them still clearly remembers the scene in that race, when his arm was already weak and twitching, and he forced himself to push the steering wheel by using the strength of his body and legs. This person is Wang Qiqi (right side of the picture above), he is also the only one of the 3 people who completed the 100 laps of New Zealand North training as planned, and successfully became a junior instructor of PDC. And that 6-hour endurance race, despite finishing at the bottom of the pack, inspired a fighting spirit. To this day, Powerdream can easily finish in the top third of the field in similar races, with podiums occurring from time to time, which is something to be very proud of for a team member who doesn’t make a living in professional racing.
After completing his undergraduate studies at the School of Automotive Engineering at Jilin University in China, he came to Germany to continue his studies in vehicle engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the alma mater of the inventor of the automobile, Karl Benz. He worked as an engine engineer and driver for the FSAE Formula Student team, and his time spent building and racing cars made him increasingly fascinated by automotive sports. He regarded becoming a PDC coach as a major achievement after coming to Germany, but he never imagined that this was just the beginning.
Brand shaping: moving towards greater strength and specialization
In the first half of 2018, when Wang was still a student, he couldn’t wait to join the team and set up a limited liability company, and the Powerdream brand officially had a home. He also accumulated nearly 1,000 laps of driving experience during his studies in vehicle engineering at the KIT Karoo Institute of Technology in Germany, when China’s automotive industry began to flourish, Chinese cars, with their ever-advancing research and development and testing concepts, began to gradually compete with or even overtake the traditional European and American veteran car makers with more and more car companies began to step out of the country and open up overseas markets. He realized that Germany is a hot spot where the best in the automotive industry can’t get around. He then led his team to study sports driving technology and racing tuning technology, and continued to expand the suppliers and contacts related to the development of vehicle sports performance, and became the only Greater China partner of the local top team of the Nürburgring, Teichmann-Racing, and began to provide vehicle sports performance and durability services to the corporate customers. We began to provide solutions for vehicle sports performance and durability testing to corporate clients, as well as technical support for the research and development of vehicle systems and components; thanks to the significant increase in brand resources and professionalism, the original track experience and driver training services for individual clients have been gradually expanded into high-end automotive themed experience programs, including customized tours.
Nowadays, we have initially built a service system based on driving technology and vehicle engineering to provide unique services to more enthusiasts, manufacturers and engineers in the field of automobile sports. At the same time, we are aware of the importance of updating professional knowledge, and insist on continuous research theory and practice, even during the epidemic, the annual track driving and testing mileage is maintained at more than 10,000 kilometers, and continue to absorb automotive professionals at the same time, but also with the major manufacturers of the team cooperation and exchanges, maintenance of Chinese racing enthusiasts have long been planted in the flag here for the Chinese car to cheer and help!
Fervor, which brought us here; persistence, which keeps us rooted.
Written/revised in May 2024
Germany — Frankfurt