Nürburgring Nordschleife - the best Race Track in the world

Nürburgring (or simply the Ring) is no doubt the most famous racing track in existence.

Today the Ring is a mecca for car enthusiasts from all around the world. The venue is a popular weekend destination for Germans, Brits and Dutchmen, as well as for advanced car enthusiasts from more distant countries. We hope that our site will prove a reliable and helpful source with tips and information on both the track and its surroundings with lots of car rentals, tuning companies, repair shops, hotels and restaurants.

The main building of the race track Nürburgring Nordschleife with offices and shops.


The main building of the race track Nürburgring Nordschleife with offices and shops.


A typical picture of the day. On "Brünnchen", people watching the cars and drive of tourist days.

You'll be impressed by the Ring's unique combination of grandeur and democracy. Germans somehow managed to avoid imperial design and made the Ring available and pleasant for everyone, whether it's a keen British student on a twenty-year old VW Golf III or an elderly American millionaire with a dozen of vintage Porsches 911.


Parking in front of the entrance to the track Nordschleife in tourist days fully packed with sports car.


Race track Nordschleife - best in the world.


Nordschleife Eiskurve.

Today many automobile manufacturers test their pilot models on the Nordschleife. This classic Northern loop of the Nürburgring with its multiple corners and straights is deemed perfect to reveal advantages and drawbacks of all the key car components throughout the very first lap. In the past it was mainly German automakers who used the Ring as a proving ground for the new versions of their top sportscars. Nowadays most experienced mechanics and engineers of American, Japanese and British companies have literally come to dwell on the Ring and are obviously going to stay here for long. Inside their auto repair shops, which they rented or built from the ground up, you feel as if you are in a garage owned by a rich racing team or in a powerful engineering complex with a well-stocked research lab.


Test Center Aston-Martin.

PR-departments of auto manufacturers have also gradually got into worshiping the Nürburgring. At first they just proudly reported that their new model had passed a tough test on the Nordschleife. Later on, they started to claim lap times achieved during the tests and even give imposing status to their new cars. Cadillac CTS-V, for instance, held the record as the fastest production sedan on the Ring for over a year until Porsche Panamera Turbo S appeared. One day we will publish a post about the tricks engineers use to help test drivers achieve better lap times. In fact, even the right choice of rubber compound in rather regular-looking tyres may help shave some seconds off lap times. Let alone using some more aggressive brake components and a slight increase of boost pressure...

The German magazine Sport Auto provides fairly objective information on sports cars tested on the Nordschleife. Its editor-in-cheif Horst von Saurma put miles running various cars on the Ring. He uses the venue to test-drive cars, with their original factory settings and parts intact, in similar road conditions. Von Saurma’s lap times loom large when it comes to standard comparisons of sports cars.

Race track Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Hard to believe, but it only took two years to complete the Nürburgring. The project was approved in April 1925, and on June 19, 1927 the brand new track hosted the first race, young Rudolf Caracciola winning it on his Mercedes. Since then lots of most gifted racers have won world renown through their victories at the Nürburgring. In the 1930s the track became a showcase for German automotive engineering talent and the unlimited capabilities of their auto plants. It was on the Ring that the legendary Silver Arrows were born, when Mercedes Benz serviceman grinded off all the white paint exposing silver aluminum of the bodywork beneath. Those were the days when Silver Arrows, along with Auto Union cars, dominated the tracks. — Auto Union Gmbh contracted Ferdinand Porsche to design the latter... Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union supercharged engines could produce over 500 hp, which allowed to hit over 300 kmh on straights.

The 1950s and 1960s were the high days of the Nürburgring, when it played host to Grand Prix races. The Ring brought glory to Askari, Fangio, Moss, Hill, Surtees, Clark and Ickx, even though their bolides weren’t always the fastest ones. Fangio won the race in 1957 on Maserati 250F and became a legend. After an emergent pit stop he was the third to rejoin the race, falling a whole minute behind two Ferraris. However, he managed to catch up with them and take over in the remaining eight laps. Later on Fangio said he wouldn’t like to ever race like that again.

The 1970s saw the new generation of F1 bolides, which called for completely new safety standards for racing courses. So, in 1970 a whole system of barriers was built all the way around the track. Before that there had been nothing but bushes and trees lining it. However, Niki Lauda's terrifying accident in 1976, in which he suffered horrendous burns, brought about the demise of the Nordschleife as a Formula 1 circuit. In 1984, though, the area nearby was rebuilt to create a new relatively short racing ring GP Strecke, which met the highest safety standards. It is now the venue of the F1 German Grand Prix. It is now the venue of the F1 German Grand Prix.

Sportscars and VLN Endurance Championship.

Today the Nürburgring complex consists of several racing tracks, i.e. the legendary 20.8 km-long Nordschleife and the somewhat boring 5.1 km-long GP Strecke. During extremely popular VLN Endurance Championship marathon races these tracks are combined to form a unique track layout.

Come to us and stay here forever. Big Garage and Nürburgring is waiting for you.