The Green Hell

By Greg MacLeman

| 4 Nov 2014

Throughout the 1920s, the Eifel mountains reverberated to the sounds of the ADAC Eifelrennen races, held on the twisting public roads of western Germany. However, it was less than ideal and organisers began construction of a dedicated circuit in 1925. By 1927, the works were complete, and one of the most demanding and fearsome racing circuits in the world was born.

The original track, which linked both Nordschleife and Sudschleife, was over 17 miles long. Dozens upon dozens of corners were almost impossible to memorise, with tight hairpins, kinks and blind crests proving a monumental challenge for drivers.

The circuit evolved as the decades rolled on, in an attempt to keep pace with the gathering safety campaign in motor sport. As the cars became quicker, so the stakes rose, until 1976 when Niki Lauda's catastrophic crash proved to be the last straw in terms of the Nordschleife as a Formula One venue.

Throughout the years, the world's most demanding track has produced some of the greatest racing highlights from the best drivers.

Here is a selection of the most historic moments to take place at the circuit.

Rudolf Caracciola celebrates his victory at the Nürburgring in 1931 with his mechanic, Wilhelm Sebastian. Despite being held in July, the race was blighted by torrential rain. 'Caratsch' was always good in the wet, and this win at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz SSKL confirmed his status as the first 'Ringmeister'.

In 1935, more than 300,000 spectators and the most high-ranking officers in the Third Reich braved terrible conditions in the hope of witnessing a German win his home Grand Prix. It wasn't to be. The great Mantuan Tazio Nuvolari drove perhaps his finest race to take a last-gasp victory aboard his Alfa Romeo P3. It was one of the most incredible giant-killing performances of all time – the next eight places were filled by the massed ranks of Mercedes and Auto Unions.

During the 1936 Eifelrennen, Bernd Rosemeyer showed his courage and skill by lapping 40 seconds faster than his rival Nuvolari in the foggy conditions. His performance was no one-off – in practice for the 1937 Eifelrennen, he became the first man to break the 10-minute barrier for the Nordschleife.

Here he returns to the pits after setting the record time; Mercedes-Benz team manager Alfred Neubauer is standing to the left.

With the spectre of war hanging over Europe, Tazio Nuvolari once more set his sights on victory at the Nürburgring. This time, however, he was piloting an Auto Union. He retired from the race, which was won by Rudolf Caracciola – it was the final Grand Prix win of his career.

The best drivers come to the fore with their backs against the wall, and that's exactly where Juan Manuel Fangio found himself in 1957 following a botched pitstop by his Maserati team. After rejoining the race, he set his sights on the leading Ferraris of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, smashed the lap record over and over again in an attempt to close the gap.

It worked, and Fangio took his most famous win. By the end of the race, he'd clocked a best of 9 mins 17.4 sees – 8.2 secs quicker than his pole-position lap, and 24.2 secs faster than his race record from the previous year.

The 1961 German Grand Prix was a celebration for all, except perhaps Ferrari. The race was the 100th of the Formula 1 World Championship, and resulted in a resounding underdog victory for Stirling Moss, who broke Ferrari's four-race winning streak by taking the chequered flag in his privateer Lotus 18/21. It was also an important landmark for eventual World Champion Phil Hill – he became the first person to lap in less than 9 minutes in his Ferrari 156.

For the 1967 German Grand Prix, the field of Formula 1 cars was bolstered by less-powerful Formula 2 racers. Pole position went to Jim Clark, who was well clear of Denny Hulme in second. Incredibly, the third-fastest practice time went to a young Jacky Ickx in his 1600cc Formula 2 Matra. Sadly, he had to start with the rest of the F2 cars, behind the 'main' grid.

Conditions at the Nürburgring are notoriously unpredictable, a lesson learned by Jackie Stewart in 1968. Driving rain and dense fog plagued the drivers for the duration of the race, but Stewart – driving with a heavily strapped broken wrist – swept to victory in his Matra by a margin of more than four minutes. Despite his stunning win, Stewart famously referred to the 'Ring as The Green Hell – a moniker that has stuck to this day.

The 1969 German Grand Prix was plagued a number of crashes, and the circuit was heavily modified the following year before returning to the F1 calendar for ’71. Mario Andretti and Vic Elford were both involved in an accident at Wippermann, while Piers Courage crashed heavily on the descent to Adenauer Bridge.

The ’69 race, however, will be remembered for a blistering performance by Jacky Ickx, who came from 9th position to overtake the entire field within three laps. He set the fastest racing lap of the 'original' circuit – jumps, hedges, crests and all – posting a time of 7 mins 42.1 secs in qualifying, and 7 mins 43.8 secs during the race.

On 2 August 1975, Niki Lauda posted the fastest qualifying lap of the circuit in its 22.83km guise, getting round in just 6 mins 58.16 secs aboard his Ferrari 312T. He was no stranger to that sort of pace – a year earlier, he'd gone 0.4 secs quicker in free practice.

By 1976, the demand for greater safety in Formula One began to catch up with the Nürburgring. It was a glorious anachronism that was hugely expensive to marshal because of its length. Of all the drivers in opposition to the event, Lauda was most vocal and sought to have the 'Ring dropped from the calendar.

Ironically, it was the Ferrari driver's near-fatal crash that finally sealed the deal. At the left-handed kink before Bergwerk, the car snapped to the right, hit the bank and burst into flames. Guy Edwards, Harald Ertl and Brett Lunger all helped to rescue the stricken Austrian, joined by Arturo Merzario. Together, they pulled Lauda from the wreckage. Chris Amon, who had seen how long it had taken to get help to the Austrian, declined to take the restart and retired from Formula One.

A further two records fell in 1983 during that year's 1000km Nürburgring – the final time that the World Endurance Championship raced on the Nordschleife. Stefan Bellof set a qualification time of just 6 mins 11.13 secs – unofficially the fastest-ever lap of the circuit in its current layout. He also posted the benchmark during the race – 6 mins 25.91 secs – two laps before crashing his Porsche 956 at Pflanzgarten.