Touristenfahrten
"Motorsport can be dangerous." A familiar warning to anyone who's ever visited a race track. It's on signs peppered around the track. It's affixed to the fences. It's quite often printed on the back of your ticket. And yet, at the most dangerous track in the world, it doesn't seem to phase people one bit.
Safety has long been a problem at the Nordschleife, first capturing the public gaze in 1976 with Nicki Lauda's infamous crash that saw F1 never race on the Nordschleife again. A 13 mile sinew of tarmac snaking through the Eifel forest, it changes altitude over a thousand feet per lap and throws 154 corners at you with almost no run off points, making it probably the most challenging race track in the world. Add in a mix of drivers with hugely varying experience levels in everything from a shopping spec Vauxhall Corsa to the newest and fastest 911 GT3 RS. Lightly season with a few motorbikes to really ramp up the danger, because why not. Then remember that touristenfarhten (public driving, otherwise known as TF) sessions are not the same as a trackday so do not have dedicated marshals (Edit: Chris Kästner has pointed out that there are dedicated marshals stationed around the track) around the track but instead rely on volunteers to keep drivers safe. Quite the recipe for disaster, isn't it?
Me driving a TF session | @robertgriffithsphotography
TF sessions have run for decades but exploded in popularity after TV shows like Top Gear showed us just how easy it is to get over to Germany and smash out a few laps in a Golf GTI living the full Kevin Estre fantasy before popping to one of the many fine eateries nearby for a steak dinner. While this is still the case the reality is a little more complex.
So, what's going on?
Every petrolhead has heard a whispered playground story from a friend of someone who crashed on the Nürburgring and got billed thousands, a ghost story told around campfires to keep excitable young drivers reigned in. Unfortunately, this particular horror story can come true - and that's before anyone else decides to rinse your insurance policy! And no, Admiral won't cover you in case you were wondering. This however doesn't seem to be putting off an awful lot of people who drive as if Toto Wolff himself will be waiting in the paddock outside Devil's Diner with a freshly printed F1 contract for you to sign after your first sub 8 lap. Newsflash: he won't.
TF is currently going through a bit of a crisis. The heartbreaking loss of life of a driver on October 5th did little to slow things down as just five days later the track recorded twenty one incidents including three rollovers in just one day. Deaths and serious injuries are rarely reported at the Nürburgring for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, but I do believe we've reached a point where we as enthusiasts have to confront them head on if we wish to see public driving survive in a meaningful way.
How do you solve a problem like TF?
This is where things get difficult. There is no one size fits all solution to the problem at hand. The owners are currently investing a lot of money in digital safety including artificial intelligence that can potentially recognise hazards and flash warnings up on screens around the track. However this is a long way off covering the whole Nordschleife and in my limited experience I've seen plenty of people ignoring yellow flags because they're trying to impress their Instagram followers, so I'm not convinced this will change all that much.
A DN Trackday | ©DN Events
Trackdays? In theory a fantastic idea. I've only ever done one at the 'Ring but I absolutely loved it. It utilised TF rules (overtaking on the left only) and even though it was a damp and cold October day there was only one minor accident in nearly 9 hours of track time. The downsides are that they cost an awful lot of money, require a full days commitment and take away that most unique of TF charms which is being able to pop in on the way home from Lidl with a boot full of shopping to cram in a lap or two before the kids finish school.
Speed limits have been discussed but again remove a big draw of TF and of race tracks in general which is being able to drive as fast as you want to, even though the Ring is actually a public toll road. The section of track around Ex-Mühle, or the Adenau entrance, actually has a speed limit but in five years of visits I've never seen it enforced. Presumably it's only used as a stick to beat you around the head with should you stack it.
In my mind there is only one way to slow things down and that's through safety briefings. Admittedly it'd be nearly impossible and pretty pointless to cram everyone into a conference centre and Powerpoint them to death but what about utilising smartphones? The Nürburgring already has an app for purchasing tickets so how difficult would it be to switch over so that tickets can only be bought through the app and only after watching a short safety video? All it needs to show are the rules of the Nürburgring, the basics of the flags system, highlight the dangerous parts of the track, tell you what to do if you crash, give you the emergency number and emphasise that you are liable if someone crashes on fluids you spill. Maybe set the app so it has to be watched every 30 days as a refresher. I'm no IT geek but it can't be that hard. Admittedly there are ways around it and stupid people will always find a way to be stupid but I can't see a perfect solution and I think this is the best compromise.
The Golden Pineapple
I firmly hope TF driving is here to stay. I love the track and the villages around it and I want to be able to enjoy it for many more years. The responsibility rests with all of us to make sure this can happen. On TF accept that you might be passing people who have never driven the track before and are nervous as hell - give them time and space and remember at one point in time this was you, concentrating on checking your blind spots 38 times a second for Megane RS's approaching at twice the speed of sound. If you want a clear run to blitz your personal best, book a trackday. And most importantly, always remember that the golden pineapple isn't real.
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Comments (5)
October 10 I was there, the day with 21 accidents and 3 rollovers.
at one time there were over 400 cars on the track. it was just awful day one track closure after another.
this Sunday something like 370 cars on the track.
I think they should just limit max number of cars.
or make it €60 per lap instead of €30. keep the season pass at the same price so you don't affect the regulars
A limit on the number of cars wouldn't work, it'd just see the roads around the track backed up for miles.
Then how about reserving your laps in advance? If you know you're coming you can reserve your laps and if the limit is passed then you have the leeway to reschedule your visit, much like you'd do with any holiday you plan.
For just popping a lap...
Read moreMotorsport is indeed dangerous, we all know that. But people lack something important these days: respect. But all kinds of respect, even for their own limitations and boundaries. They just don’t know stopping, driven by a society that overly demands performance.
I’ve driven the Nordschleife over a 100 times, virtually on a sim. I’m no pro driver and never will be. I know how to drive fast but I’ll stick to my sim, where the biggest hazard is spilling my drink. Know what you can and especially, what you do not can.
I don't think it's a societal thing. I think it's just stupidity, the same stupidity that sees people stop on track (through a crash or breakdown) and take pictures instead of getting over the barrier to safety. The stupidity shown at the...
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