In his youth, Christian Bock initially fancied motocross. He therefore drove several motocross motorbikes in the 125cc class over the years. He liked it so much that he trained a lot and took part in a few races. "That was a lot of fun, but my great passion was for vehicles with four wheels," he recalls. "When my driving licence was in sight, I had to get a car." First he drove a Golf 2 GTI 16V, then came the Golf 2 Rallye G60. Via various other sporty vehicles such as the Audi S2 and BMW M3 E36, Christian Bock eventually ended up with the BMW M3 E46 and then carried out a complete conversion to a Ringtool. "The E46 M3 has shed a few pounds through lightweight construction, a welded cell, racing suspension, large brakes, six-point seat belts and much more," he says.

He became an I Pool driver through touring on the Nordschleife. The I Pool is an industry association that tests prototypes and pre-production vehicles on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. This is done exclusively with authorised drivers and vehicles from the manufacturers "In 2008, I got my racing licence and then also competed in the VLN (previous name of the NLS). In 2008 and 2009, I made a few starts in the V5 class, which was still dominated by the BMW E36 M3 at the time," he explains.

Christian Bock has already competed in many different racing series

After a few more years of trackdays with a constant tingling sensation in his fingers, he moved on to racing. These initially remained in the Eifel and he moved on to the RCN. Later, the BMW Challenge and a short detour into the 318Ti Cup, when it was still in its early days, were added. The NLS was also on the programme again. For a few years now, whenever time permits, Christian Bock has been competing in the NATC and drives a lot in the BMW Challenge and NES 500. Cayman GT4 in the PCHC. Despite only half a season in the NATC, he finished sixth overall in 2021. But the highlight so far was 2023 the NES 500 championship title in the NES 3 class.

"Things got really tight again in the last race due to a technical defect. However, we were able to secure the title thanks to a cushion we brought with us and a few points for fourth place," recalls Christian Bock. He has also been working as an instructor since 2012, mainly at trackdays, driver training sessions and vehicle presentations.

Christian Bock feels at home on and around racetracks

In 2016, he decided to become a senior instructor for the DMSB. The path to this leads via the Instructor B from the DMSB. Provided you have the relevant racing licences, you can simply apply for this (Instructor B licence). Every three years, you have to attend further training organised by the DMSB. The next step towards becoming a leading instructor is to come into contact with other leading instructors and collect assignments at their licence courses as a candidate and keep a record of these. Once you have enough of these on your list, you can register for the exam to become a senior instructor. This takes place once a year as a scheduled two-day event on a race track (provided there are enough interested candidates). Once you have passed the exam, you can obtain a new (larger) licence. The international C licence with a few races and further training every three years is still valid.

Christian Bock keeps a close eye on whether someone confuses a track day with a race

In 2021, the Pistenclub introduced the position of "Head of Driving Operations" at its trackdays. This position is responsible for organising the instructors, drawing up a schedule for the Pistenclub team on site and for the drivers' briefing, and is available for questions and problems from participants regarding driving on the trackday. This applies both to problems with vehicles (e.g. technical issues or if it gets too loud) and to problems between participants if someone confuses the trackday with a race or does not adhere to the Pistenclub driving rules. "You're not normally assigned to coaching on days like this to help participants with problems," says Christian Bock.

Christian is the father of a son and is married. When he is not on the racetrack, he works as a foreman in a small mechanical engineering company. In his free time, he looks after the house and garden, rebuilds cars and drives them.