Race Track : Nürburgring
Location: Nürburg, Germany
Raceday : Sunday 29 May 2005
Time : 20:00 (Race) [Local Time]
2004 race winner : M Schumacher
The original Nurburgring, the Nordschleife, ran for an
awe-inspiring 22.5 kilometres (14 miles). It was so long and so
complicated that drivers simply could not remember a racing line.
The Nurburgring was, in fact, two circuits: the Nordschleife and
the Sudschleife. In total they had an amazing 172 corners.
It was safety which sealed the demise of the legendary track.
Following Niki Lauda's terrifying accident there in 1976 in which
he suffered horrendous burns, the Nurburgring's license to hold
Formula One events was withdrawn.
The track underwent huge redevelopment to create a new circuit and
in the spring of 1984 a race was held featuring 20 identical
Mercedes 190Es and a grid composed of some of the best-ever Formula
One drivers. Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Keke Rosberg, Alain
Prost, Ayrton Senna, James Hunt, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Phil
Hill, John Surtees and Denny Hulme were just a few of the names to
take part. Senna, then a relative youngster, won from Lauda and
Reutemann.
The European Grand Prix was held at the new track later that year,
and again in 1985, but it disappeared again after commercial
difficulties. With the ascendancy of Michael Schuamcher, from
nearby Kerpen, the track was once again back in Formula One in
1995. Posing as the Luxembourg Grand Prix for 1997 and 1998, it
has, since then, taken the name of the European Grand Prix.
The track may not be as challenging as the old circuit, but it is
still possible to take a trip down memory lane - literally. For
just a few euros one can take a car onto the old track and soak up
what was one of the most feared and yet respected circuits in the
history of motorsport.
