Before entering a track-day type event, you usually get briefed on safety standards and motoring etiquette. The fellow in the following video was obviously not briefed…
The thing is, on tourist days, Nurburgring does not offer a briefing course because it is not considered a race-track, but a toll road on which anyone can attend. And this is one of the best things about Nordschleife, as there are no boring pre-race instructions for you to participate; you just hop in your car and go.
Of course, because everything in the universe is balanced, this draws some major cons. For example, the lack of directives determines inexperienced individuals to do stupid things – endangering other people’s lives.
Even so, on the official site, you can download the regulations which instruct you what you can and can’t do on the active race-toll-road…-thing. First of all, it is prohibited to take photographs, film, or make video recordings during tourist drives. That means the guy filming the scene is breaking the law.
However, if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have seen this other guy braking Nurbugring’s conduct. And something tells us if it wasn’t for lady luck, the biker would have paid dearly for his risky maneuver. What kind of person thinks that a U-turn on an active race track is the best thing to do? Even if something happens, with you and you vehicle, you need to stay put – that’s one of the basic rules of racing.
Fortunately, the biker pulled out his trick right in front of Senna, which had the reflexes to step quickly on the brakes and avoid him. What? It was Senna, it says so on the car.
Seriously though, kudos for the Mercedes driver for anticipating the risky maneuver. Fun fact: Ayrton Senna drove a 190E 2.3 Cosworth – just like the one pictured in the video – in a one-off race at the Nurburgring, in 1984. The race was held to celebrate the opening of the Grand Prix circuit and the launch of the 190E 2.3 Cosworth.
Naturally, Senna came in 1st place – against James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Stirling Moss, Jody Scheckter, John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Alain Prost, Phil Hill, Denny Hulme, Nelson Piquet, Elio de Angelis, Hans Herrmann, Alan Jones, Jacques Laffite, Klaus Ludwig, Carlos Reutemann, Keke Rosberg, Udo Schultz, Manfred Schurti and John Watson