The Nürburgring’s skyline has been dominated by a single track of rollercoaster almost as long as I’ve lived here. Visible even above the bright lights of the Lindner hotel, and the imposing mass of the Grand Prix Grandstands.
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But the gas-axes are lit, and men in yellow vests are already scrapping the section of the notorious rollercoaster that once ran so-famously in parallel with the F1 track’s starting line.
FOUR DAYS
That’s how long the Nürburgring Ring°Racer rollercoaster was open to the public in its entire lifespan. It nearly opened almost-on-time in 2009, but a very loud bang, and shrapnel peppering pitlane, put a stop to that dream.
It was all part of the Nürburgring’s big Project 2009. A project many of us referred to as Nurodisney, and one which was mired in corruption, failures and eventually the bankruptcy and controversial sale of the entire Nürburgring operation.
For many of us, the lifeless steel bones of that unsuccessful rollercoaster have stood as a constant reminder of those terrible times. That’s the era when SaveTheRing was born, Sabine was ostracised, I was served legal papers to close BridgeToGantry.com, and certain members of the free press had their houses raided by state police, contravening the so-called whistle-blowers protections.
Ah… fun times indeed.
Of course, there was no smoke without fire. Then Finance Minister Deubels went to jail, the CEO Walter Kafitz got a suspended sentence before landing a cushy job at the FIA, while others fled the scene, pled innocence, and nobody ever did find the estimated €245 million missing funds. I’ve checked around a few of the trees here, but nothing’s buried. What a shame.
ANYWAY, back on track (ha ha), and I can tell you wiggly warm-up section of the ‘coaster is already scrapped, and teams are moving along the front straight rather rapidly.
The S&S Power-designed Ring Racer (I’m not sticking that little 0 up there anymore) was supposed to accelerate to 214kmh before looping around depositing guests back in the middle of the museum.
But in September 2009, a pressure vessel failed, and 7 workers hospitalised with associated injuries, including torn eardrums. Then in 2011, at another test, it blew AGAIN, this time peppering the pitlance with pieces of hot steel, though nobody was injured.
And in 2014… it opened! I seem to remember the speed was limited for the first opening week, and I jumped on it a few times that first day:
Unfortunately it would only stay open a few more days before mountains of paperwork and regulations forced the attraction into an early retirement.
One Nurburgring insider told me:
“There was a valid operating permit, but it included a bizarre clause: the coaster could only run if two 50-meter boom lifts and two ambulances were on standby, every time it operated. That decision was based on an expert report claiming passengers could suffer permanent brain injuries if left hanging upside down for more than 45 minutes.
Of course, the coaster design never actually put riders upside down except at the highest point, and the design meant that even if it failed, the carriages would drop to a lower point. But the regulation stuck, making it technically feasible but economically impossible.”
So there you go, too much paperwork, who would have thunk it?
They could have given me the €12m instead, and I’d have invested it far more wisely. New marshals huts, a permanent flagging crew for ALL events, and a Caterham for everybody. Easy peasy.