Goosebumps guaranteed!

Goosebumps guaranteed!

Romain Dumas knows the Nordschleife – the most challenging race track in the world – like the back of his hand. Until now, however, only from the perspective of the cockpit. He has won the notorious 24-hour race here four times already. “The Nordschleife is my favourite track,” says the man who is aiming to set a new lap record for electric vehicles in the ID.R. “Even though I’ve driven thousands of kilometres here, I still get goose bumps when I drive out of the pit lane for the first time in a while. It is one of the few race tracks that still inspires such respect from me.”

And one that pushes Dumas to the limits as well – including outside of the cockpit. For example, the section that bears the harmless-sounding name ‘Ex-Mühle’ (which refers to the ‘mill’ outside of Adenau), surprises Dumas on an exclusive walk along the Nordschleife. “I’ve participated in races at the Eifel-track since 2007 yet I’ve never once experienced this place on foot,” admits the Frenchman, somewhat out of breath, as he climbs the 17-percent inclined hill at the 9th kilometre.

Checking the tricky spots

It is a walk like no other. Commonly known as the ‘track walk’, drivers get the chance to inspect a track on foot. Though this rarely happens on the historic part of the Nürburgring, since the track itself is 20.832 kilometres long. This evening, however, the track is officially closed. So Dumas can drive very slowly and regularly stop to take a closer look at some of the tricky spots of the circuit – something one can rarely do here. One of these passages is ‘Ex-Mühle’.

“In the ID.R, you barely notice just how steep the slope is here,” says the 41-year-old in astonishment.

The two electric engines of the race car deliver 500 kW (680 hp), as well as 650 newtonmetres of torque, making light work of a 17-percent incline. “The ID.R has so much power that I even have to brake lightly once before the uphill right-hander at Ex-Mühle. But thanks to four-wheel drive, I can get back on the power very quickly, when exiting this corner,” says Dumas.

The famous 200 degree turn on a banked concrete slab. “A turn like this you’d only ever get at the Nordschleife,” explains Dumas. “Here, you drive pretty much at the same speed regardless of what race car you’re in, be it 200 or 700 PS. The track is so bumpy that it really shakes you. I take the smoother outside line here with the ID.R so as not to endanger the front wing.” Nordschleife-expert Dumas knows, however: “because no one normally drives out here, a lot of dirt and leaves lie on the track. This makes it very slippery.”

This knowledge of such a unique race track – which former Formula 1 world champion Jackie Stewart coined the ‘Green Hell’ in 1968 – makes all the difference between victory and defeat. Sometimes, however, experience cannot help. Even the smallest problems can have dramatic consequences on the Nordschleife – more so than on other race tracks.

Dumas has had to experience this himself before. “The Nordschleife does not have the huge run-off areas of today’s Formula 1 circuits,” he explains. “The barriers stand right next to the road almost everywhere along the track, which leaves no room for mistakes.” Even when they are not your own ones, as was the case at the 2018 24-hour race. On approach to the Bellof-S area (named after the German racing driver Stefan Bellof), Dumas drove over an oil spill.

It was left behind by another car after an engine failure. After making contact with the barrier, Dumas’s race was over. “Nothing happened to me, but at this point in time we were in the lead,” he remembers in sadness.

Nevertheless, they are still right in the thick of it, because the Nordschleife offers motorsport you can almost touch. A situation that would now be unthinkable when Dumas chases the lap record for electric vehicles is that of qualifying in the 2009 24-hour race. “I had a puncture, so I stopped in the ‘Breitscheid’ area of the track and called my pit crew.” The mechanics set out with a spare wheel and managed to reach Dumas over the road running right next to the race track. Only, they were not allowed to help their driver. “It wasn’t so bad,” laughs Dumas. “I took over the tyre change with the fans.” A typical Nordschleife anecdote.