TIME TO CHANGE : F1 CIRCUIT ...
Killed by Lauda’s crash ( it’s quite easy to take a bend on a F1, he could have been careful... ) , the Nurburgring was the victim of its own assets (length, difficulty) and so its future became darker and darker.
However, there was no way for Nurburgring GmbH, the company managing the circuit, that the most famous events remained away of its cash registers. It had to offer a track that suits modern races requirements.
So, in 1983, came the new Nurburgring . A more-than-normal F1 circuit: shorter, safer, designed for spectators and TV. A tasteless stuff, as most things build since this moment.
The new thing was built over the former pits lane area which was destroyed (two parallels straight lines and the sudkhere). We may regret it but, after all, it was not the most exciting part.
And fortunately the essential of the Nordschleife was not hurt, German are not nuts :-)
In red the Nordschleife. On the left, the former pits area, on the right the actual F1 track that replace it. Same scale.
So today live together the F1 track of 4.5 km, with an intense activity, and the nothern loop, slightly shortened to 20.8 km.
The two of them can be linked, as for the 24 H of the Nurburgring, or the Eifel Klassik, or even occasionnaly some... public sessions.
The present Nordschleife is still very close to its 1971 design. Numerous patches of macadam has appeared since, and rare sand traps widened, nothing more.
Only the public use of the track was modified.
A NEW START FOR THE NORDSHCLEIFE
Prior to 1983, during a public day, people used to start from the pits straight line, like for a race.
But since the creation of the F1 track, the Nordschleife has its own starting area, thus both track can be active simultaneously.
Untill 1998, finding the start area of the Nordschleife was only possible to superior minded people. It was right at the junction of the two tracks. You could only access by a small and narrow street just before Nurburg. The tiny car park was at the bottom of Tribune 13, and there were no building, except a hut. The starting line looked like a border line check point, marshalls sold tickets standing on the track by wooden barriers , whatever the weather was.
In the foreground the car park (911) Behind the armco, this white car may either exit by the access road on the right, or begin another lap, after the barriers and the marshalls business.
In April 1998, the starting line moved to its present place.. The Nordschleife has now wide parkings (though often crowded), and two buildings, a marshalls’ office and a bigger one for restaurant and toilets. A major drawback : you start now a lap right in the middle of the straight line, cutting it in two.. So forgot all about the 5 km flat out and incredible speeds that used to be reached at Antoniusbuche by lucky people who had enough Watts…
One may retain a nostalgia for the old system, when one felt like someone different, belonging to a parallel world, apart from normal life.
RECORD LAP ...
As planned, we didn’t talk about races, but now, an exeption has to be made :1983 Nurburgring 1000 km.
It was the last time people saw racing cars of this level of performance on the old nurburgring. 20 years later, it’s become hard to imagine such a madness. The same prototypes as used at Le Mans, 600 bhp/900 kg monsters, reaching 300 km/h down to Fuchsröhre, relying on a strong ground effect on a track where they took off several times… And without airbags ! !
Some photos of the ultimate race ? See www.nurburgring.de
Stephan Bellof set the absolute record of the Track, driving his Porsche 956 in 6 min 11s .However, the track had been modified due to the construction of the F1 circuit. So figures can not be strictly compared with others, but anyway, it was the fastest lap on the Nordschleife ever.
Today it is still used for competitions. The 24 H of the Nurburgring are the major event of the year, for touring cars and some GT cars. Other events are : the Eifel Klassik, a great historic race, and some national races too. But no longer bike or single seater so far…
