List of Nordschleife lap times (racing)

The Nürburgring Nordschleife is a motor racing circuit in Germany. Its over 20.8 km (12.9 mi) long old section dating from 1927, was truncated in 1982 as international championships had started to boycott the track after 1976. The adjacent modern Nürburgring Grand Prix track was opened in 1984. The two tracks can host events independently, or they can be combined, e. g. for the 24 Hours Nürburgring. As a result, lap times have been set in racing events on numerous Nordschleife track variants ranging from less than the shortest 20.832 km (12.9 mi) to the current maximum of nearly 26 km (16.2 mi).

An even longer approx. 28 km (17.4 mi) combined track that included the 7.7 km (4.8 mi) Südschleife was seldom used for major races since the 1930s. This shorter southern circuit was not modernized in the 1970s and was sacrificed for the 1980s construction of the modern track, as were the old pit facilities, the Südkehre (southern turn) and the straight behind the pits which were used in an original Nordschleife lap.

The track was inaugurated in 1927 with the Eifelrennen events for bikes and cars, taking place on the combined Nordschleife and Südschleife, with a length of 28.265 km. On the unfamiliar track, the best motorcyclists achieved an average race speed of about 90 km/h. The best driver was Rudolf Caracciola in the big Mercedes S, at an average of 96,5 km/h. In the three German Grand Prix that were contested there in the late 1920s, 18 laps resp. 508 km distance had to be covered. The cars of the time managed that in just under five hours, with an average of just over 110 km/h, with lap times not under 15 minutes. The Eifelrennen events soon moved to the much shorter Südschleife.

After the 1930 German GP (and again the 1933 round) had been cancelled due to the great depression, major racing resumed with the 1931 German Grand Prix which from now on took place only on the Nordschleife. Its track length of 22.810 km (14.173 mi) remained unchanged until 1966. The track surface was altered and improved, with the ditch inside the Karussell being altered to a concrete banking as drivers like Caracciola used to put their inside wheels in there for extra grip. Also, the Nürburgring in the Eifel mountains became notorious for frequent bad weather, and due to its length with lap times of 10 minutes, conditions could change significantly in the meantime. Probably due to this, it took four years between Nuvolari beating the 11 minutes barrier in 1932, and Rosemeyer breaking the 10 minutes in the 1936 GP after several pilots came close in practice.

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