Nürburgring Nordschleife

Lore & Background

The German magazine sport auto publishes its "Supertest" of cars, in which the lap time (usually driven by editor-in-chief Horst von Saurma) at the Nordschleife is the most discussed result. The magazine also runs a challenge for the fastest lap time driven with a car that is road legal (TÜV) and registered in Germany. British motorcycle magazine Performance Bikes began testing their bikes in a regular feature at the Nordschleife in March 2007 and finished in December 2007.

Bikes were tested by Dale Lomas and Brendan Keirle (then known only as "The Baron"). As motorcycles are forbidden to participate in industry pool sessions and after-hours test sessions, Performance Bikes were forced to test during quiet mid-week tourist sessions, where speed limits apply in some sections. This means their lap times are measured from bridge to gantry and are approximately 22 seconds shorter than a full 20,832 m Nordschleife lap. Nordschleife runs are conducted or observed by various other media outlets, such as the British Evo Magazine or Auto Bild from Germany.

Reader's Guide

A full lap of the Nordschleife, bypassing the modern GP track, is 20,832 m (12.944 mi) long. Most laps are completed about 200 metres (656 ft) shorter for safety reasons, such as tests performed by Sport Auto, which uses the 20,600 m configuration. Full uninterrupted flying laps can only be done in closed sessions and race events like Castrol-Haugg-Cup. During tourist driving sessions, the full main straight cannot be driven at speed due to the exit/entrance. These laps are usually timed "bridge to gantry", which is only 19.1 km (11.9 mi). The lap goes from the "bridge" at Antoniusbuche to the "gantry" (currently carrying Audi sponsorship) on Döttinger Höhe. It is forbidden to race on tourist days. Additionally, there are two speed limits (one in Breidscheid, and one on "Döttinger Höhe") on tourist days.