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A brief history of the Nurburgring

In just 10 days time, drivers from the Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be in Germany preparing for the Porsche Carrera World Cup on the Nürburgring Nordschleife (Saturday 25 June). 

The Nordschleife, or ‘Northern Loop’, measures a massive 14.173 miles and is widely regarded as the most challenging track in the world. It is steeped in racing history and sits high in the Eifel Mountains, where unpredictable weather simply adds to the mighty challenge faced by the drivers. 
The creation of this piece of motorsport legend dates back to the early 1920s when the ADAC ran road races in the Eifel Mountains.

This was soon deemed dangerous and impractical and so construction of a dedicated track began, bringing employment and tourism potential to the region. The work was completed in 1927 when the 17.563-mile Gesamtstrecke (‘whole course’) was opened, incorporating the original ‘Sudschleife’ or Southern Loop. The fastest ever lap of the Gesamtstrecke was set by Louis Chiron’s Bugatti at an average speed of 72mph. In the 1930s, racing legends like Rudolf Caracciola, Tazio Nuvolari and Bernd Rosemeyer starred in famous races at the Nurburgring and earned the tag of ‘Ringmeister’. 
The Gesamtstrecke was last used in 1939 and when the circuit re-opened in 1949, the focus was solely on the Nordschleife. The track was the main home to the German Grand Prix through the 1950s and 1960s and in 1961 US racer Phil Hill clocked the first sub-nine minute lap in qualifying.
 
Through the 1950s and 1960s, new generations of ‘Ringmeisters’ arose, with drivers like Alberto Ascari, Juan-Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart winning the German Grand Prix. Moss scored his last Grand Prix win there in 1961, while Stewart’s masterful performance in the rain and fog of 196, when he won by four minutes, rates as one of the finest drives of his career. 

In 1970, the 24-hour race was inaugurated, but concerns over safety for the Formula 1 cars were growing and the 1970 German Grand Prix was moved to Hockenheim in the face of a probable boycott by the F1 drivers. Changes were made and the Grand Prix returned, but the final German Grand Prix on the Nordschleife was run in 1976 and resulted in serious injuries for Niki Lauda after an accident on the second lap.

Although Formula 1 was no longer on the schedule, the Nurburgring continued to test drivers through the 1980s, 1990s and into the new millennium. The new Grand Prix circuit was constructed in 1984, but for many racers, it is the 14-miles of the Nordschleife, sometimes known as the ‘Green Hell’, that remains the biggest challenge in the sport.

Next weekend, a total of 23 competitors from the Carrera Cup GB and the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Challenge will contest the Porsche Carrera World Cup, which runs prior to the start of the 39th ADAC 24-hour race. It will run over a distance of six laps of the Nordschleife, approximately 95 miles, and more than 250,000 spectators are expected to watch the race. 

The Porsche Carrera World Cup forms the season highlight of Porsche’s 18 brand trophy series worldwide. This race counts as a round of several other national Carrera Cups, including Germany and Scandinavia. The entry for the race will be divided into two classes: the 911 GT3 Cup with 3.6-litre engines from 2007 to 2009 model years (400 to 420 hp) and the 3.8-litre versions of the 2010 and 2011 model years (450 hp).