Tourist laps at the Nürburgring are one of life’s great pleasures, but even the most battle-hardened ‘Ring addict probably feels a degree of trepidation when sharing the track with Joe Public. Heavily modified GT3s tend to come out of nowhere, lights flashing for you to GET OUT OF THE WAY, and almost certainly there will be a clapped-out 325i stopped in the middle of a blind corner having not pulled off an optimistic drift. But the scariest obstacles are the bikes. They’re immensely fast, being ridden by folks with no concept of fear and they’re going to come off a lot worse than you are in a shunt. Well, that will no longer be an issue: probably not before time, the circuit has officially announced that cars and bikes will no longer share the track at the same time.
On the surface, it looks like a move that benefits everyone. Drivers will no longer have to dodge screaming two-wheeled projectiles, while bikers can crack on without the fear of coming across a dawdling Fiesta Zetec. But truth be told it does limit bike owners because anyone on two-wheels will only be allowed on the full 12.9-mile Nordschleife under the supervision of professional guides during training sessions and courses. And while there will still be dedicated days for riders in 2025, they’re restricted to just four dates (July 30th to 31st and August 13th to 14th).
“The different driving dynamics can lead to misunderstandings between two- and four-wheelers”, says Nürburgring Managing Director Ingo Böder. “In this case, motorcyclists are particularly at risk because, unlike car drivers, they have no crumple zone. That is why we have decided to strictly separate cars and motorcyclists in the future and to restructure the offer for bikers so that they can enjoy the Nürburgring experience as safely as possible.”
The silver lining, aside from the obvious safety benefits, is that bikers will still be able to mix it with cars on the Grand Prix track. The circuit has earmarked 38 sessions for the GP track this year, nine of which are dedicated to bikers. But, let’s face it, that’s not much of a deal sweetener, is it? So, Nürburgring users of PH, is this a good move? Or one that’s a tad unfair to our friends on two wheels?
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