I'm not going to knock the track, I loved going there every time but the place is turning into a clown show fast.
Today it's in the news because of a big crash. No, it was not initiated by the BMW Ring Taxi. No, it did not happened on the corner Lauda crashed in 1976 but yes, a Ring Taxi was involved, people were hurt and cars were destroyed.
Nothing new you say? Correct. Why? Because those in charge of the track are clowns.
Touristenfahrten days bring in Euro 150000 per, that's a lot of money. Does the the Nürburgring spend even a fraction of that on even the most basic safety for its ever-growing customers eager to launch their vehicles on a track they mastered on Forza 4?
No, but they do make extra money on vehicle recovery and Armco repair!
Problem is, the track itself is not the danger. Hell, Watkins Glen has the same amount of runoff as most of the 'Ring, the biggest danger on the Nordschleife is human stupidity coupled with accidents or fluid spills you can't see.
The high spending, fancy new 'Ring management boasted it would improve the local economy: well, hire some damn marshals, actually spend money on shiny flags and make sure you pay them enough to stay awake. What fraction of that 150K per day would that cost?
Want to go one better? Invest in a remote caution light system, like a proper track.
Case in point, below is a video of the most recent "newsworthy" incident location, just before the crash happened, it shows borderline criminal stupidity by track management.
Coincidentally, the video starts on the "Lauda kink" to the slow right Bergwerk and then it's the beginning of the long flat out climb towards the top of the track. I stress again, flat in most cars, with a couple of blind left kinks.
There is some track work being done, the track is narrowed to one 5 mph lane yet the warning sign is placed behind one of the kinks at a distance that requires very, very ginger brake application. Clown show, what could possibly go wrong.
There is more: The BMW Ring Taxi now under Nürburgring management, fired Sabine, hired some dodgy driving clowns and are borderline screwing the customers. Surprised BMW puts up with it which may explain why the track was trying to cover up the incident.
So the news is NOT Ring Taxi crashes into Corvette but that the Ring is getting so fucked up even those who had previously an open mind about the new regime have turned against it. Mike Frison is right, the only way we are going to Save the Ring is if people demand change.
(proper info via Bridge to Gantry and Save the Ring)
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Frankly the whole incident is ridiculous. Coming to damn near a complete stop on a racetrack needs about a dozen marshals waving flags/flashing lights/ doing whatever necessary to get your attention. Were there warnings at the entry to the track that repairs were taking place?
ReplyDeleteI think the reality is, if you plan on safely setting a good pace, don't attend a Touristenfahrten day...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous. My Ring experiences are limited to private lapping days, and any incidents were cleared up - and track reopened - in less than 30 minutes. We can't say that for many American tracks during DEs.
ReplyDeleteGive them a break, the track is 20km long!
ReplyDelete- Who ever was responsible for the roadwork, and the placement of the warning sign should be shot. There should of been some kind of info about the roadwork at the entrance, but then again he was probably not briefed by the Nürb-Management on possible dangers...
ReplyDelete- Who ever enters the track on a TF session has to the aknowledge the fact that their car might not be in one piece 22km later. Yo can be driving god, but some douche can run you off the track.
This is a little off topic but why on earth would the company fire Sabine in favor of these ass clowns?
ReplyDeleteWOW. There is another video posted on BTG that shows the tail end of the accident where the ring taxi nailed the sedona orange vette. The previous vids have been removed or deleted, but if you watch those you know damn well what happened to cause the first accident, and then the pile-up afterwards. There is a part of me that wonders if the course workers are so cynical and fatalistic about the crappy job they do (because they are underpaid or work in such obviously dangerous conditions) that they may have set this up just to watch the carnage. I'm just sayin, they get blasted by at speed all the time, why not see if these drivers are half as good as they say they are...
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, I've spent less than an hour behind the wheel on a track but can immediately understand the obvious problem here. I HAVE spent many thousands of hours behind the wheel (or bars) on the street/interstate and I would never set a wheel onto 'unrestricted' pavement with 1/20th (or less) of those people. Just because some A-hole can afford a nice Porsche or BMW 'R' or 'M' it does not mean they know how to flippin drive it, or stop it, without killing someone. And that is my experience on road where there ARE rules to follow speaking.
...and yeah, it was the ring taxi that barreled into the back of those other 'stopped' cars. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/BXTXGY1sUeA
jump to 9:45 in that utube clip for the heart-stopping moment
ReplyDeleteAnd this is a link featuring several clips of the silver bmw that recorded the above link from inside on the same day. If you ask me there should be a way to 'remove' cars/drivers who come that close to causing so much mayhem offroaders). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEygx_dzOoI
ReplyDeleteNah. them corporate types that run the 'ring couldnt be bothered to keep safety in mind.