Question for one million euros: to what extent can you trust the records at the Nürburgring or the times announced by the brands on the German circuit? For those who had the opportunity to read our article about the fastest cars in the Nürburgring Nordscheleife it's no surprise that “green hell” is the ultimate “fire test” for production sports cars.
A circuit that is so dynamically demanding that sometimes suspension setup and chassis competence count more than power or top speed. As a result of this demand and also of the mystique surrounding the German circuit, car brands have transformed the German track not only into a test track, but also into a well-oiled advertising machine.
Every month there is news that the X model has broken the Y record at the Nürburgring. And we noticed that effectively this news is well received and has an effect with the public, just go to our Facebook and see the discussions around the topic whenever a new record is announced.
But can we trust the times recorded at the Nürburgring? To what extent can times on the Nürburgring be used as a barometer of the supremacy of one model over another? These are some of the factors that influence performance on the German circuit:
Pilot
Everyone agrees that in order to obtain record time (especially on the Nürburgring, one of the most demanding and unpredictable circuits), in addition to the car, an experienced and skillful pilot is required. . And on a track with more than 20 km in length and 73 curves, the pilot makes all the difference. And as we know, there are brands that beat their records using test drivers and others that do it using competition drivers.
But this is not even the factor that most discredits the times achieved at the Nürburgring Nordscheleife, because each brand is free to put the driver it wants behind the wheel — and we believe that each brand chooses the best it has available. The following factors are more critical.
Car Specifications
What guarantees us that the models brought by the brand to the circuit are with the series specifications? Sometimes it's enough to remove the rear seats or any other elements from the cabin to remove unnecessary weight in the loop. Not to mention the standard tires that are replaced by competition units or the tweaks in the suspension and chassis. A common problem, but one that is not without its importance, especially when it comes to comparisons between two models.
Will the car I bought be as capable as the record-breaking one, or will it be less effective? It is an important question, as the purchasing process may be based on the supremacy of a certain model over another.
Meteorological conditions
Rain and humidity can ruin any attempt at fast time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and while it's not always easy to get ideal conditions, in a perfect world every car should be able to race in the same conditions.
Brand preparation
For logistical reasons, not all brands have the same time to prepare for a quick tour of the German circuit. If in some cases, the engineers of the brands spend more than 400 hours in small adjustments to the car and the drivers have more than 200 laps to reach the desired time, in other cases it becomes more difficult to make corrections and reach the objective in such a short time. .
Combine individual sectors
One of the tricks used by brands to claim a better final time. Bad tongues say that some sports, like the McLaren P1 , achieved record times by combining individual sectors, thus achieving an almost perfect lap. All this is justified by the fact that the energy regeneration system (in the case of the McLaren P1) is not able to withstand the depletion of the batteries over about seven minutes.
So what's the solution?
Did we fail to give importance to the times disclosed? No. We simply need to take a more pragmatic stance towards the results obtained. Not least because the opposite can happen: a car that is not even the fastest on the Nürburgring can even be the one that best adapts to the real needs of everyday drivers.
The solution to end doubts regarding the Nürburgring times could go through the creation of an independent entity to ratify these records. In particular, ensure that the cars used to beat these records comply with factory specifications, and that the times are beaten under similar circumstances (tracing, temperature, etc.)