Trackside: 80 years of the Nürburgring
15 January 2007 Since then thousands of drivers have tested their skills and their cars on the uniquely difficult and exceptionally dangerous track. See video of the fastest road car lap – part of Keith Collantine’s ten things you must know about the Nürburgring. 1 The track The Nürburgring Nordschleife (to give it its full name) meanders through the Eiffel hills with so many twists and turns that the official 172 corners is open to dispute. It is 22km long and has three villages within its boundaries. You can pop along and do a lap of the track in your own road car. But be warned: Some insurance companies specifically exclude the Nürburgring from the terms of the cover they provide, so make sure you have a squint at the fine print. 2 The history The track was built between 1925 and 1927 as a work creation effort. When the Nazi party took over in Germany they poured money into Mercedes and Auto Union (a fore-runner of Audi) who used the track to demonstrate Germany’s technical prowess.
Pflantzgarten. Bergwerk. Flugplatz. Karussel. Some of the most famous and evocative names in motor sport. Some of them are instantly recognisable from photographs: Karussel, a steeply-cambered hairpin lined with heavy concrete slabs. Bergwerk, the notorious twist where F1 champion Niki Lauda’s car exploded in a fireball. And Flugplatz, literally meaning ‘airfield’, because cars at speed are flung from the ground as they pelt through it. 4 The legends: Nuvolari Grands Prix were held at the Nürburgring before the creating of the modern World Championship. In 1935 Italian star Tazio Nuvolari entered in an Alfa Romeo, at a time when the dominance of the German cars was emerging. Hundreds of thousands turned out at the Nürburgring to see a German victory. The over-confident organisers brought only the German anthem to play for the winner. But Nuvolari, driving beyond the ability of his car, kept up with the front running German racers. He forced leader Manfred von Brauschitsch to destroy his tyres, and won the race. On learning that the organisers were not equipped for an Italian victory, he produced a recording of the Italian national anthem from his bag! 5 The legends: Fangio Juan-Manuel Fangio, the first of the great World Champions, scored his final and, arguably, greatest victory at the Nürburgring in 1957. He led early on in his Maserati 250F, but an overly-long pit stop dropped him almost a minute behind the Ferraris of British duo Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins. Unbowed, Fangio attacked the circuit, destroying the lap record time and again, reeling in the Ferrari drivers by the ‘simple’ means of taking every corner in a higher gear. He caught and passed the pair of them, who were so awed that they applauded the victorious Argentine on the podium. 6 The Green Hell This was three-time world champion Jackie Stewart’s nickname for the track – and he knew a thing or two about it. In 1968 he won in a rainstorm, four minutes ahead of second placed Graham Hill. After a serious accident early in his career, Stewart became an avowed agitator for improving safety standards. Unsurprisingly, the lethal Nürburgring was his number one target. Barriers were installed in 1971, but Lauda’s near-fatal accident five years later was the death knell for Grand Prix racing at the track. 7 The longest? Think the Nürburgring is the longest circuit ever to have been used for a Formula One Grand Prix? You’re not alone. But in fact the Pescara circuit in Italy, which was used for a single race in 1957, was 2.7km longer. Unlike the Nürburgring, however, the Pescara race was held on public roads.
The biggest international race that remains at the Nürburgring is the annual 24-hour event. It attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators and over two hundred entrants. In 2005 Briton Andy Priaulx won, sharing a BMW M3 GTR with Pedro Lamy, Boris Said and Duncan Huisman. 9 The taxis If you want to see how a proper lap is done first-hand, book a ride on BMW’s Ring Taxi service. A pair of V10 M5s are used by the famous marque to show how a professional tackles the track. One of the Ring taxi pilots is Sabine Schmitz, whom Top Gear fans will recognise as the ultra-fast lady who embarrassed Jeremy Clarkson by lapping the ‘ring almost a minute faster than him in the same car… 10 The fastest lap in a road car Sports car ace Michael Vergers holds the record for the fastest lap of the Nürburgring in a production car. Wielding a Radical SR8, Vergers lapped the track in 6m 55s, knocking 20s off the previous record. Take a look at how he did it: Auto Trader links Trackside - Andy Priaulx interview |
3 The corners
8 The 24-hour racePage 1
