- 11,551
- Sweden
- eran0004
We've all seen it. Twelve people off the grid at the Green Hell, coming up to the first sharp corner to the left, and... disaster. Boom, five cars pushed off the track and spun out. In the following section, all the way up to the long Flugplatz straight, another two or three cars spins out after swapping paint with each other. Only a handful of cars will make it to the Sweden-cross without any incidents at all and it's safe to say that if you manage an entire lap without any contact with other cars you will either be first across the line, or last.
So, in hope of improving the general driving behaviour at Nordschleife, here are some thoughts of mine. Theten six commandments of the green hell:
1. Be cool.
Nordschleife is a long track and more of an endurance than a sprint. There is plenty of road and no need to rush desicions.
2. Stay in control of your car.
Don't go faster than you can manage. To exit Fuchsröhre at a much too high speed, spinning out and taking another car with you is not okay. To go too fast through Sweden-cross, getting out of balance before the long braking zone and pitting the two cars in front of you because you couldn't stop in time is also not okay. If you can't drive the car at the speed that the car can go, then slow down a bit. It will reduce your mistakes, give you a better time and most of all it wont piss off the other drivers.
Don't cut corners and don't go on the grass. Even if you can go in a straight line over the grass and even overtake a slower car in that way, you are no longer in control of your car. If anything happens ahead of you while you're on the grass, you have no chance to avoid an accident until you are back on the track again, which might prove to be 100 meters too late.
3. Sound and vision.
The key to making good desicions is to have good information available - to see and hear as much as possible is vital on the ring. Make sure that there is a rear view mirror, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road when looking back. Make sure to keep a distance to the cars ahead so you see what is coming up. Make sure you keep your music at a level where you can hear what is going on around you on the track (engine roar, tyre scream etc.). Also make sure to shield yourself from other distracting inputs, like annoying voice chats (mute is your friend), sun glare on the TV screen etc.
4. Think ahead.
Narrow, fast and blind. Those are the corners of Nordschleife. To be in control of the car now - in the present time - is not good enough. You need to be in control of the future car as well, knowing what is behind the next corner, knowing where your braking zones are, knowing already if you are gonna go for an out-in-out turn, an offensive late apex or a defensive cover of the inner line. If you are behind another car, you should know the type of car and it strengths and weaknesses: Is it fast or slow through the corners? Is it fast or slow in a straight line? Is the driver experienced or new to the track? Be prepared that a car in front of you might need to brake at certain points of the track where you can go full throttle, and keep a safe distance when such sections are coming up so that you have time to brake as well.
Also, don't just think ahead but look ahead as well. If the cars in front of you are suddently going very slow, or if the track is suddently covered in dust and tyre smoke, then something might have happened further ahead on the track - take precautions and slow down in time, it might be too late when you actually see what has happened. There's no reason to play russian car roulette...
5. Overtaking.
And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win. - Ayrton Senna.
For Nordschleife, the key in that quote is "exists". Nordschleife is a very narrow track and the apexes will often shift from the left side of the road to the right side, meaning that a car in front of you will move from side to side as a natural result of following a racing line through the corners. There will be gaps, and plenty of them. But most of them will only exist for a split second before they are closed again. Chose which gaps to go for very carefully and when you go, make sure that you are in control of your car at all times and that you know what is coming up ahead of you on the track. A recommended tactic is to wait for a mistake by the other driver, and using it to make a safe and clear pass. Mistakes can often be provoked by stressing a driver in a section where his car has a disadvantage.
Also, try and search for alternative lines through the corners, maybe there is one that will let you have a higher speed or to take a shorter way through?
6. Defending.
Knowing the track is essential. The trick is to play out the track to your advantage and to make your car as wide as possible. Don't sverve left and right to block an overtake, not only does it make you go slower, it's also considered foul play. One change of line is allowed, but not more. Try instead to place your car where it will be of most inconvenience to the car behind. Most of the time, these positions are where the apexes are, but it can also be a matter of obstracting a clear view, occupying the shortest way forcing the other car to go a longer way, etc.
If a car is much faster, it's usually better to accept the defeat (for now) and let him pass and then hang on and use the slipstream to gain a better speed. If you stay close you might be able to gain on other cars in front of you.
When approaching Döttinger Höhe, be smart! It's common to complain about the slipstream effect, but just accept the fact that it's there. Instead of sverving left and right to try and stop other drivers from using your slipstream, why not ease up on the throttle in the beginning of the straight and let the other driver pass you, so you have the benefit of the slipstream? Döttinger höhe is the chess of Nürburgring, it requires tactics. Be smart and gamble wise.
So, in hope of improving the general driving behaviour at Nordschleife, here are some thoughts of mine. The
1. Be cool.
Nordschleife is a long track and more of an endurance than a sprint. There is plenty of road and no need to rush desicions.
2. Stay in control of your car.
Don't go faster than you can manage. To exit Fuchsröhre at a much too high speed, spinning out and taking another car with you is not okay. To go too fast through Sweden-cross, getting out of balance before the long braking zone and pitting the two cars in front of you because you couldn't stop in time is also not okay. If you can't drive the car at the speed that the car can go, then slow down a bit. It will reduce your mistakes, give you a better time and most of all it wont piss off the other drivers.
Don't cut corners and don't go on the grass. Even if you can go in a straight line over the grass and even overtake a slower car in that way, you are no longer in control of your car. If anything happens ahead of you while you're on the grass, you have no chance to avoid an accident until you are back on the track again, which might prove to be 100 meters too late.
3. Sound and vision.
The key to making good desicions is to have good information available - to see and hear as much as possible is vital on the ring. Make sure that there is a rear view mirror, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road when looking back. Make sure to keep a distance to the cars ahead so you see what is coming up. Make sure you keep your music at a level where you can hear what is going on around you on the track (engine roar, tyre scream etc.). Also make sure to shield yourself from other distracting inputs, like annoying voice chats (mute is your friend), sun glare on the TV screen etc.
4. Think ahead.
Narrow, fast and blind. Those are the corners of Nordschleife. To be in control of the car now - in the present time - is not good enough. You need to be in control of the future car as well, knowing what is behind the next corner, knowing where your braking zones are, knowing already if you are gonna go for an out-in-out turn, an offensive late apex or a defensive cover of the inner line. If you are behind another car, you should know the type of car and it strengths and weaknesses: Is it fast or slow through the corners? Is it fast or slow in a straight line? Is the driver experienced or new to the track? Be prepared that a car in front of you might need to brake at certain points of the track where you can go full throttle, and keep a safe distance when such sections are coming up so that you have time to brake as well.
Also, don't just think ahead but look ahead as well. If the cars in front of you are suddently going very slow, or if the track is suddently covered in dust and tyre smoke, then something might have happened further ahead on the track - take precautions and slow down in time, it might be too late when you actually see what has happened. There's no reason to play russian car roulette...
5. Overtaking.
And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win. - Ayrton Senna.
For Nordschleife, the key in that quote is "exists". Nordschleife is a very narrow track and the apexes will often shift from the left side of the road to the right side, meaning that a car in front of you will move from side to side as a natural result of following a racing line through the corners. There will be gaps, and plenty of them. But most of them will only exist for a split second before they are closed again. Chose which gaps to go for very carefully and when you go, make sure that you are in control of your car at all times and that you know what is coming up ahead of you on the track. A recommended tactic is to wait for a mistake by the other driver, and using it to make a safe and clear pass. Mistakes can often be provoked by stressing a driver in a section where his car has a disadvantage.
Also, try and search for alternative lines through the corners, maybe there is one that will let you have a higher speed or to take a shorter way through?
6. Defending.
Knowing the track is essential. The trick is to play out the track to your advantage and to make your car as wide as possible. Don't sverve left and right to block an overtake, not only does it make you go slower, it's also considered foul play. One change of line is allowed, but not more. Try instead to place your car where it will be of most inconvenience to the car behind. Most of the time, these positions are where the apexes are, but it can also be a matter of obstracting a clear view, occupying the shortest way forcing the other car to go a longer way, etc.
If a car is much faster, it's usually better to accept the defeat (for now) and let him pass and then hang on and use the slipstream to gain a better speed. If you stay close you might be able to gain on other cars in front of you.
When approaching Döttinger Höhe, be smart! It's common to complain about the slipstream effect, but just accept the fact that it's there. Instead of sverving left and right to try and stop other drivers from using your slipstream, why not ease up on the throttle in the beginning of the straight and let the other driver pass you, so you have the benefit of the slipstream? Döttinger höhe is the chess of Nürburgring, it requires tactics. Be smart and gamble wise.
