Nürburgring

The Nordschleife was built between 1925 and 1927 through the Eifel hills as a public works project, and at 20.8 kilometres with around seventy-three corners and three hundred metres of elevation change it is unlike any modern circuit; Jackie Stewart called it the Green Hell. Grand Prix racing left it after Niki Lauda's crash in 1976, and a new, shorter Grand Prix circuit was built alongside in 1984. The Nordschleife now hosts endurance racing and, on published open days, Touristenfahrten, when anyone with a road-legal vehicle can buy a lap ticket and drive it under one-way public road rules.

History

Around 1925 a dedicated race track was proposed near the castle of Nürburg, south of the old Nideggen road circuit used for the Eifel races, on the model of Monza, the Targa Florio and Berlin's AVUS, as a showcase for German engineering and drivers. It was completed in the spring of 1927, and the first races, on 18 June 1927, were won by Toni Ulmen on a Velocette motorcycle and, a day later, by Rudolf Caracciola in a supercharged Mercedes-Benz; the full circuit was used for major racing for the last time in 1929, and from 1951 the Nordschleife was the main home of the German Grand Prix. On 5 August 1961 Phil Hill became the first to lap it in under 9 minutes, and between 1982 and 1983 the start and finish area was rebuilt for the new Grand Prix circuit (Wikipedia, Nürburgring).

What you'll find

• The Nordschleife - 20.8 kilometres and about seventy-three corners.
• The public laps - open sessions where anyone can drive their own car.
• The elevation - three hundred metres of climb and descent through the Eifel.
• The endurance races - the 24-hour race and long-distance series each year.

When to go

April to October for open sessions, which are published in a calendar and cancelled in rain or after incidents. Race weekends close the track to the public.

Things to know

Public sessions run under road rules: crashes are the driver's liability and repairs are charged. Sessions close constantly for incidents. Insurance rarely covers the track.

Nearby

The Eifel maars lie south; Cologne is north.

Key facts