In an age of growing artificial intelligence — where humans and machines are both partners and rivals — we’re drawn to places that awaken our natural instincts. To places, routes, turns, crests and chicanes where we feel centered and grounded — even as we give in to our need to move. We chase speed, push our senses to the edge and tap into unknown dimensions of ourselves as we venture into the last uncharted territories. And sometimes we find these frontiers in high-speed regions. At full throttle.
The Nürburgring Nordschleife — a legendary circuit since 1927 and standing for nearly a century — was built in a place of silence and timeless stillness. It remains a frontier of human ability, where drivers, aided by cutting-edge vehicle technology, continue to explore new dimensions. Hardly any person or event embodies this as much as Timo Bernhard and his Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo. On June 29, 2018, they completed a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife in an astonishing 5:19.55 — thanks to a breathtaking fusion of Bernhard’s driving skill and the technical brilliance of his machine: 20.832 kilometers, an average speed of 233.8 km/h, a top speed of 370 km/h, 73 corners, gradients up to 18 percent and descents of up to 11 percent.
Now, he reveals the dark secrets of that hell which, for every racing driver, is also its opposite: the final paradise.
01 Hatzenbach
These days, GT3 drivers take the second right-hand turn almost at full throttle — whereas in the past, drivers had to ease off the throttle by at least half.
02 Schwedenkreuz
is always a challenge, partly because the corner slopes outward and the vehicle gets very light there at high speed. You have to make sure you brake in time because you’re arriving at an incredible speed.
03 Fuchsröhre
is especially challenging in traffic, because you need to have overtaken by the time you reach the bottom. Otherwise, it will be too late because there's only one line and therefore only one turning point.
04 Approaching Adenauer Forst
The turns get tighter here, and while you can carry speed into the turn, you must find the right braking point, especially because the turn coming into Adenauer Forst closes quickly.
05 Metzgesfeld
The entrance is very, very fast. Hitting the turn-in point there is crucial, but there's no curb on the outside — if you're slightly off, you'll end up in the grass.
06 Kallenhard
Very challenging. You have to brake hard for the hairpin turn that follows, as it's very slippery, especially in the rain. If you hit the curbs, you'll go straight off track.
07 Breaking into Wehrseifen
the slowest section of the track, the vehicle is very light on the rear axle. It's an exciting turn, especially when you're driving in traffic, as there are often misunderstandings there. That means you have to be careful how you position yourself.
08 Approaching Ex-Mühle
Explosive, because the turn slopes so sharply to the outside and also has an extreme gradient. The approach isn't very easy, and it's always tough on the drive shaft when you're on the gas early, as the wheel speeds are different.
09 The Mutkurve
is a huge challenge because you have to turn the vehicle very smoothly if you want to carry speed without using much braking. It's important that you find the right turning point. If you're a bit too late there, you're immediately off the track.
10 The right-hand turn before Klostertal
is very challenging simply because of the hill, but it's a lot of fun.
11 Hohe Acht
From here on, it's all downhill with lots of direction changes — and driving downhill is definitely different from going uphill. The rear end can get very light. You shouldn’t underestimate the speed either. Especially towards Wippern, you can take the curbs there, but you need to time it precisely and know exactly what you're doing. This is where you can find time, but you can also quickly run into problems.
12 Eiskurve (ice turn)
As the name suggests, it is very slippery at certain spots. It always dries out a little later there because everything is in the shade.
13 Approaching the Pflanzgarten
is always great, as is the Bellof S descent. Then you take the left turn in free fall, followed by a direction change in the dip. Right, left, right – here you have to be careful not to hit any curbs, but still give the vehicle enough space so that it practically dances from right to left. If you pull the vehicle too hard, you can quickly lose the rear end.
14 Galgenkopf
It is a super tight turn-in point with barely any room to maneuver, but the second part at Galgenkopf is really smooth. The turn opens up really early, so you can carry a lot of speed toward Döttinger Höhe — right before everything kicks off again shortly after.
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Text first published in the Porsche Experience Magazine.
Images: Porsche
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