Hello all,
Today I had planned on taking a trip to Hell but it was temporarily closed.
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Of course, I am not referring to that fire and brimstone place where devils are poking you with pitchforks. I am referring to the storied and once notorious race course which is now classified as a one way public toll road called the Nürburgring Nordschleife, also know as "Grüne Hölle" or "The Green Hell".
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The Nürburgring Nordschleife... a famous, now historical race track, is situated in the beautiful Eifel region in Germany. It is still rated as the most demanding race track in the world. According to Sir Jackie Stewart: "The greatest and most challenging race circuit in the world". It used to be the German Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit until Niki Lauda's crash in 1976 in which he almost burned to death while trapped in his car. Miraculously, he was behind the wheel of his Formula 1 car to race only six weeks (two races) later, finishing fourth in the Italian GP.
Modern Formula 1 circuits are between 2.6 miles (Magny-Cours, France) and 4.2 miles (Spa Francorchamps, Belgium) in length and may contain some 8 to 15 corners. This track is 12.9 miles in length and contains 73 (that being the official number) corners! Add to this the altitude difference of around 300 meters between lowest and highest point on the track, several blind corners behind a crest, lack of run-off area (remember, this track existed before safety entered Formula 1), many bumps and dips, often slippery conditions, and you'll realize that this is not going to be a walk in the park.
So, I left at 0820 which was a little later then I wanted to leave. This track (part of it was used for the German Gran Prix which I attended in Jul) is about 3 hours away and I wanted to get there before lunch when I thought it would be a little less crowded.
An hour into my drive, traffic on the autobahn came to a stand still. 10 minutes prior to coming to a stand still, I was moving along at about 125 mph. We all sat there for almost 2 hours before we got under way.
Turns out it was a single car accident (the most common on the autobahn) in the far left lane. A little car, like a VW Golf, had plowed into the guard rail. The car was a mess and the section of guard rail it hit had buckled pretty good (and this was reinforced guard rail, not the garden varity stuff we have in the US).
I continued on and as I got within 45 minutes of the track, it was getting darker and darker. Eventually, I experienced light showers. No problem, the course would still be open and the wet road surface would slow everyone down. This is probably true for most but not for those with more confidence then driving skills. So, on the other hand, while most would slow, there would be a handful who would not and cause mishaps.
The light rain was fine with me because I was not going to go out there and try and set a new record. That would have been foolish and dangerous as my rental car (Mercedes Benz E350 coupe) is not a race car. It is not even a sports car. It is way too heavy and does not have brakes designed for the punishing workout track driving brings. I suspect that the repetitive hard braking would have cooked the brakes to a point of having very reduced capacity to outright failure. I was not going to be "that guy" who put a car into the barrier, much less a rental.
Once I got to the entrance area, I was shocked at how many people were there. Some in extremely expensive exotic sports cars, others on motorcycles, and still many more in their daily drivers. Some obviously turned out just to watch the spectacle and planned on making a day of it with chairs, grills, and beer.
So, I prepaid my toll and had a debit card with 4 laps of credit. It is funny that this toll road has no outlets, i.e. it doesn't go anywhere. You exit at the same point that you enter the road. The fee for this trip to nowhere is Euro $22 per lap (you get a discount for multiple laps so my 4 lap toll was Euro $75.
This may seem like a lot to drive on a toll road that doesn't go anywhere. However, motorsports enthusiasts seek out "The Ring". This is a popular attraction for many driving and riding enthusiasts from all over the world, partly because of its history (completed in 1927) and the considerable challenge it still provides. The lack of oncoming traffic and intersections sets it apart from regular roads, and the absence of a blanket speed limit makes it an additional attraction.
So, I was all ready to go and approached the toll gate only to find that signage indicated it was closed. I asked that traffic attendant what was going on and he said that someone crashed and the track was closed until the track was cleared. Looks like that over confident, under skilled driver closed "Hell".
While it is unusual for deaths to occur during sanctioned races, there are several fatalities and many accidents each year during public sessions. It is not unusual for the track to be closed several times a day for cleanup, repair, and medical intervention. The track management does not publish any official figures, but regular visitors to the track have used police reports to estimate the number of fatalities at somewhere between 3-12 in a full year.
Somehow, I feel like a victim in all this. Two mishaps had spoiled my trip to "The Green Hell". I will try again next week.
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Until next week,
Michael
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