10 replies to this topic

[Michael Ferner]

When the local newspaper devotes its entire front page of the sports section to motor racing, something memorable must have happened. Well, judging from the article about yesterday's German GP there seems to have been very little of the stuff that makes legends ("... Großer Preis der Langeweile..."), but further down the page there's another one about the last German GP on the old, proper Nürburgring, August 1 in 1976 (of course with a picture of a burning Ferrari ). Do we need another Nürburgring thread? Perhaps not, but on the other hand there can't be enough about the circuit that "must've been traced by an intoxicated giant", as W. F. Bradley put it. 40 years since the last Grand Prix, and only 50 weeks to go until the 90th anniversary of the first. Who wants to sing with me about the power and glory of the 'Ring?

[f1steveuk]

I could sing, if you want, but apparently I sing like a lark, a pill lark

[DanTra2858]

The worst part about 40 years ago is the fact that I was 32 years of age & I was old then.

[uffen]

We were often told that it would be too difficult to modify the Nurburgring circuit to be safer. To me this was lazy reporting. I believe the true reason was that it would have been too expensive.

Just a small nit from me.

 

I was there in 1976 and saw the G.P. We were at the opposite side of the track from Bergwerk and all we saw of the crash was a plume of black smoke. The message broadcast to the spectators was that Lauda had crashed but it wasn't much to be concerned about. Then the next morning we saw the photos, etc. at the local newsstands. It was obviously something to be concerned about.

[f1steveuk]

I recall standing at that bend, with Niki, doing an interview. The "bar b que" as he refered to it, held no fears for him at all, very pragmatic about the whole thing. The thing that sticks in my mind was when I walked the crash, down from where the car jinxed on the kerbing (probably when the suspension broke) with Nike, because he had never done that before. He said he could remember nothing, but it was when you got to where the car impacted the barrrier the first time, he went quiet, because even then, the barrier was inches from the rocks behind, no run off to speak of. He looked at me and said, "f#@k I'm happy I don't remember!"

[Charlieman]

One has to remember that "Hitler built the Nurburgring", a falsehood reported in many tales.

[ensign14]

Indeed.  He just did the painting.

[arttidesco]

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Amazingly the price of my 5 quid ticket to the most extraordinary of the half a dozen Grand Prix I attended included 20 pfennigs for 5k's insurance in the event of accidental death.

 

 

[E1pix]

40 years, Wow. And still amongst sport's greatest comebacks.

[Arjan de Roos]

I recall standing at that bend, with Niki, doing an interview. The "bar b que" as he refered to it, held no fears for him at all, very pragmatic about the whole thing. The thing that sticks in my mind was when I walked the crash, down from where the car jinxed on the kerbing (probably when the suspension broke) with Nike, because he had never done that before. He said he could remember nothing, but it was when you got to where the car impacted the barrrier the first time, he went quiet, because even then, the barrier was inches from the rocks behind, no run off to speak of. He looked at me and said, "f#@k I'm happy I don't remember!"

Niki did later have a small party on that spot with friends. Some gents passing by got told by the man himself that they were looking to find his ear.

[Arjan de Roos]

And found it as well! (Niki beside a guy who claimed he blocked him years ago with his Chevron).

 

http://www.snaplap.n...-rescued-lauda/