It’s no doubt that in the dry the Nurburgring Nordschleife can be quite a challenge to tame safely. However, it’s not rare to see 24-hour races at the ‘Ring where it can be raining, hailing, snowing, and even dry at different parts of the track. While it was only rain today, Shmee tackled the ring in a BMW M8 Competition.
Right from the start, the M8’s all-wheel-drive system is extremely helpful in the soaking-wet conditions. While we don’t know exactly how much throttle Shmee is using, the vehicle looks very composed even under hard acceleration. That said, straight-line performance is far from being the biggest advantage around the Green Hell. During one of Shmee’s laps, he is overtaken by a Mini Cooper racecar.
As Shmee said, the driving line completely changes once it starts raining. While the rubber that gets laid down on the racing line is incredibly grippy in dry conditions, it’s a fair-weather friend. When the rain comes down the racing line becomes very slippery and will slow you down. Sometimes referred to as the karting line, drivers must get creative and avoid the rubber on a wet track.
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Unfortunately with the rules of touristenfahrten banning lap timers, Shmee couldn’t really compare how much the conditions were slowing him down. During touristenfahrten the track is treated as a public road which means lap times and drifting aren’t allowed. When you see manufacturers at the Green Hell setting lap times it is most likely during a private track session.
While the video is no Misha Charoudin driving clinic, it goes to show how accessible the touristenfahrten experience really is. Anyone can participate in any vehicle they bring so long as they follow the rules. The jury is out on whether we’d put our personal cars at risk, but its great to know that we could.
Source: Shmee150
