Nurburgring management has effectively banned manufacturers from setting lap times around the Nordschleife by applying speed limits introduced after the
fatal VLN accident
in March to "all activities" on the circuit. The restrictions were revealed in a production blog for a forthcoming film called 'APEX: The Story of the Hypercar' after an attempt at the production car lap record by Koenigsegg was vetoed at the 11th hour by 'ring management. The film, produced by the team behind the YouTube Drive channel Chris Harris played such a formative role in, was due to follow the progress of Koenigsegg's record attempt with the One:1. Since the story broke the Nurburgring has issued an official statement - see below for more.
"I was to jump on a plane with my team to capture the Koenigsegg lap-time effort for our upcoming 4K documentary, APEX," says executive producer JF Musial in the original blog on the Apex homepage. "This is the final chapter in a storyline that follows the past three years of auto manufacturers battling it out for technological dominance in producing halo cars for the next decade, cars including the Porsche 918, McLaren P1, and Ferrari LaFerrari. All have shown what they're worth on the track, but the Koenigsegg One:1 has yet to do so."
Will the 918's time ever be beaten? Possibly not...
The way it's described Musial and his team had their plane tickets booked, the track was hired and ready, the helicopter was waiting, Christian Von Koenigsegg was confident of a "double digit seconds" improvement in the
Porsche 918 Spyder's 6min 57sec
and all looked good to go. And then the call from circuit bosses to say 'nein'.
Many - including Porsche's GT boss Andreas Preuninger - have expressed disquiet at the sudden escalation in the 'ring lap time arms race, Preuninger telling us it was now as much about the risks the driver was prepared to take as how fast the car was capable of going. This even assumes you consider lap records as relevant at all - a discussion many have had off the back of the recent battles for hot hatch supremacy between Renault, SEAT and Honda.
But the ability of a stellar 'ring lap time to capture the imagination and define a car's ability remains undiminished - just look at the response to Lamborghini's incredible sub-seven lap in the Aventador SV. Musial picks up on that in his post, pointing out the Lambo's time was set after Jann Mardenborough's crash at Flugplatz that killed a spectator. That prompted the introduction of speed limits in certain sections of the track for racing - these would now appear to have been extended to all other activities on the track including industry testing. Lamborghini has already admitted the lap was opportunist; if it also turns out to be the last supercar to set a time at the 'ring there will be added romance and poignancy to the Aventador's achievement.
Certainly the repercussions of that horrific accident continue to be felt by racers, manufacturers, track day drivers and 'touristenfahren' participants alike. The story continues to develop - further updates as and when we get them.
Update (Friday June 19):
We asked the Nurburgring for clarification on the reported ban on lap records and were given the following statement by Carsten Schumacher, CEO of Capricorn Nurburgring GmBH: "Following the tragic accident on 28 March 2015, the German motorsport association (DMSB) introduced speed limits for races at the Nurburgring. Capricorn NURBURGRING GmbH has decided to extend these speed limits to other activities on the Nordschleife, which is why record drives are currently not permitted on the Nurburgring Nordschleife."
APEX trailer
Aventador SV lap
Porsche 918 Spyder 6min 57sec onboard
