Construction of the 'Ring began in September 1925 by the design of Otto Creutz. The reason for the track was to be a showcase for German automotive engineering and racing talent. It is built around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg.
nicknamed the course (the version players of GT4 know) "The Green Hell" and it is widely considered the toughest and most demanding race track in the world.
The 'Ring is actually 3 tracks in one. The complete track was 28.3 Km (17.5 mi) long and 6.7 m wide (ca. 22 feet) with a total of 174 bends. This is then divided into two other tracks, the Südschleife (Southern loop) (7.5 Km (4.8 mi)) and the Nordschleife (Norhtern loop) (22.8 Km (14 mi)) (the one in GT4).
After WWII the Nordschleife became popular again, and was used in F1 races until the late 1960's (with the exception of 1959)
In the 1970's the track was under reconstruction to try and bring back the F1 racers. But in the end, mostly due to it's extreme length, it was unable to meet the ever-increasing safety requirements.
Work on a replacement trackm, named GP-Strecke, (4.5 km (2.8 mi)) next to and partly over the 'Ring began in 1981 and was completed in 1984.
Today most of the Sudschleife is mostly gone or has been made a normal public road, but the Nordschleife is a one-way public toll-road with no speed limit (altough it has been reduced to 20.8 Km (13 mi)). Often it is closed off due to testing of cars or races, but when open it is frequently used by motorsport enthusiasts. It is notable that accidents are very common on the 'Ring.
The annual highlight of the 'Ring is the 24 hour endurance race, which takes place in mid-June, where 220 cars (from 100bhp to 700bhp), over 700 drivers (amateurs and pros) and up to 220,000 spectators.
The 'Ring, as stated before, is used by many car manufacturers, where the most notable are BMW, Porsche, Mecedes-Benz and Audi. In 2002 GM also used the 'Ring to help enhance the 6th gen of Corvettes.
The fastest lap (Nordschleife) in a sports car is 6:25.91(Derek Bell or Stefan Bellof) which was on a Porsche 956 in 1983 and on a motorcycle is 8:22.2(Marco Lucchinelli) on a Suzuki 500ccm in 1980.
nicknamed the course (the version players of GT4 know) "The Green Hell" and it is widely considered the toughest and most demanding race track in the world.
The 'Ring is actually 3 tracks in one. The complete track was 28.3 Km (17.5 mi) long and 6.7 m wide (ca. 22 feet) with a total of 174 bends. This is then divided into two other tracks, the Südschleife (Southern loop) (7.5 Km (4.8 mi)) and the Nordschleife (Norhtern loop) (22.8 Km (14 mi)) (the one in GT4).
After WWII the Nordschleife became popular again, and was used in F1 races until the late 1960's (with the exception of 1959)
In the 1970's the track was under reconstruction to try and bring back the F1 racers. But in the end, mostly due to it's extreme length, it was unable to meet the ever-increasing safety requirements.
Work on a replacement trackm, named GP-Strecke, (4.5 km (2.8 mi)) next to and partly over the 'Ring began in 1981 and was completed in 1984.
Today most of the Sudschleife is mostly gone or has been made a normal public road, but the Nordschleife is a one-way public toll-road with no speed limit (altough it has been reduced to 20.8 Km (13 mi)). Often it is closed off due to testing of cars or races, but when open it is frequently used by motorsport enthusiasts. It is notable that accidents are very common on the 'Ring.
The annual highlight of the 'Ring is the 24 hour endurance race, which takes place in mid-June, where 220 cars (from 100bhp to 700bhp), over 700 drivers (amateurs and pros) and up to 220,000 spectators.
The 'Ring, as stated before, is used by many car manufacturers, where the most notable are BMW, Porsche, Mecedes-Benz and Audi. In 2002 GM also used the 'Ring to help enhance the 6th gen of Corvettes.
The fastest lap (Nordschleife) in a sports car is 6:25.91(Derek Bell or Stefan Bellof) which was on a Porsche 956 in 1983 and on a motorcycle is 8:22.2(Marco Lucchinelli) on a Suzuki 500ccm in 1980.
