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Nordschleife |
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The Nordschleife is the northern section of the
original Nürburgring which used to extend south of the village and
included the South Curve, where the present Grand Prix track now
is and which was home to the pit lane and start straight, and the
Südschleife, which looped down through Müllenbach but has almost
disappeared nowadays under public roads. Some of the Rassrück section
can still be seen running alongside the L93 road with the upper
section now forming access roads for the modern GP circuit.
Visiting the Ring today means riding the Nordschleife, over 12
miles of bendy ups and downs with a few straightish bits thrown
in; the map shows the basic layout. The old car park at the top
of Hohen-Rain was getting far too crowded as the 'Ring became more
popular, especially with cars, so in the late 90s the new much larger
car park was opened down on the main straight, hence the start point
is now on the straight between the 18 and 19km marks. Unfortunately
the new car park also meant new ticket barriers and automation,
so the days of getting free laps were over.
The change to the car park also meant the loss of the full main
straight and the challenge of maxing it under the bridge. A shame,
but no way would the old set-up work with the traffic the 'Ring
has to take now.
OK, first off we should get one thing straight here - the Nürburgring
is a very dangerous place to be on a motorbike. That's why they
stopped racing there, and those guys get paid to take risks. It
is quite possible you will be killed at the Ring, plastered onto
the armco barrier and smashed to bits. This is no trackday. And
it's not even as if you can just poodle round and enjoy the view.
Dozens of mad bastards in outrageous cars and nutters on bikes cutting
you up on every bend will soon make you realise this place is not
for sightseeing.
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Eek,
oof .... |
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Apart from the obvious dangers of blind bends, no runoff, armco,
loads of bikers with varying levels of skill and mad Germans in
high powered cars, one of the biggest causes of crashes is oil spills,
usually from cars blowing their engines. Porsches seem to be particularly
adept at this. If you're following a fast car and it spills its
guts you have little time to take any avoiding action. Keep an eye
out for spectators waving frantically - it may not be because you're
riding like Valentino.
If you drop oil on the circuit you'll be charged
for the cleanup ... £1000 for a long trail, so pull over pronto
if your engine blows and warn others of any spill. And if other
vehicles crash on your oil your insurance company will be looking
at a very big payout.
Any crashes involving more than 2 vehicles automatically
involve plod. Make sure all your papers are OK and that you are
fully insured, otherwise you will wind up in chokey.
Overtaking can be tricky, and it's easy to get
impatient with a slower vehicle, but don't overtake on the right
unless they indicate left and make it clear they've seen you. Hit
someone and it's your fault. If you're not sure, it's safest to
wait until they pull to the right to give you room.
As
the ring is a public road all the usual insurance stuff applies,
so you should be covered if you dump the bike and if someone takes
you out you can claim against them. As Germans drive on the right
then that is where you should be unless you are overtaking. As far
as we know, the only odd thing is if someone crashes into the back
of you when you're wobbling about on the left side of the circuit
and don't get out of the way - apparently under German law you're
to blame. So use your mirrors, and if someone comes up behind you
assume he's quick and will want to get by!
Many people on the circuit are driving or riding with 100% concentration,
and may not realise that someone faster is behind and trying to
get by. Don't be impatient and be careful if you force an overtake.
No one here is getting paid except the ambulance guys. For bikers
it's worth remembering that there are some very quick cars out there,
especially noticeable in the tighter sections where their superior
grip really gives them a speed advantage. If you hear the dreaded
squeak of rubber behind you get out of the way ... you can always
try to get your own back in the uphill sections. But don't piss
quickish cars off by being limp and holding them up through the
bends and then blasting off along the straights so they can't get
past. Much better to let them go and try and keep with them - you
may learn how to do bends!
Every year we see more English riders at the Ring, and a lot of
them don't check their mirrors for faster traffic - or if they do,
they're not bothering to get out of the way. You may be top dog
at Donnington, but you'll be dog slow on the Nordschleife until
you've done many laps and learned the circuit. Experienced ringers
reckon it takes between 50 and 100 laps to master the circuit. So
use your mirrors and let the quick guys past - one day it'll be
you!
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Weather |
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You can't get away from weather, it's all over the place. The Ring
is located in the Eifel Mountains, so local weather conditions are
not always the same as in the general region. Most times if you
go in the summer months you should have dry sunny weather, but go
in April, May or September and it can be very cold, with low clouds
obscuring the course and making everything dank and wet. Last April
it even snowed. The circuit is not a good place to be when it's
wet, as it gets very slippery from all the rubber deposited on the
track, and with little runoff you don't want to be sliding off.
As the track dries watch out for damp patches
in the shaded areas under trees. The last place to dry out is
normally Bergwerk, so take special care here even if the rest
of the Ring appears to be dry.
The 'Ring can be a dangerous place.
It isn't about lap times, it's about having fun and letting others
have their fun in whatever vehicle they choose. If everyone shows
a little respect we can all enjoy ourselves and go home smiling.
The last F1 GP was on 1st August 1976, the
year of Lauda's terrible crash approaching Bergwerk. The race
was won by James Hunt, averaging around 7:24 for each of the
14 laps ... and the start was wet!
| Lap records: |
| Nordschleife plus south
curve (1.2 miles longer) |
| Formula 1 |
Clay Regazzoni |
Ferrari |
7:06.4 |
119.8 mph |
German GP 1975 |
| Bike |
Marco Lucchinelli |
Suzuki 500 |
8:22.2 |
101.7 mph |
German GP 1980 |
| Record |
Stefan Bellof |
Porsche 956 |
6:25.80 |
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1983 |
| Group C |
Derek Bell |
Porsche 956 |
6:25.91 |
120.7 mph |
1,000 km Renner 1985 |
| Production |
Robert Neam |
Caterham 7 |
7:55.21 |
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1999 |
| Bike |
Helmut Daehne |
Honda RC30 |
7:49.70 |
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1993 |
"Nothing gave me more satisfaction than to win at the Nurburgring,
and yet, I was always afraid. When I left home for the German
Grand Prix I always used to pause at the end of the driveway and
take a long look back." Jackie Stewart

2 things you don't want to meet at the
Ring - the emergency helicopter .......
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and Koblenz Bundeswehr krankenhaus,
the nearest major hospital
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As it was - 1927 until the rebuild 1971 |
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Click the photo for this most interesting site showing the 'Ring
as it was originally and then after the major rebuild in 1971, including
the strangely naked Wehrseifen - and the smokey old Beemer..
Unfortunately some of the best sites describing the old 'Ring are
only in the German language and so are a bit of a mystery to those
of us without der Sprache.
Still, have a gander at the photos - you will be surprised just
what a narrow little lane of hedgerows those Grand Prix guys used
to race down ...
(pictures by Hans Gustafsson and Lennart Jarmyr)
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