Now that Porsche has inaugurated the 2016 layout of the Nurburgring, ahead of the official start of the season, the time has come to talk about how the track's revised layout is seen from the perspective of a "civilian" driver who enjoys the track's infamous Touristenfahrten (tourist day) events.
The video below focuses on the two main changes that have shown up at the Nordschleife, with the clip coming from 'Ring aficionado xthilox. You know, the amateur racer who used to chase supercars in his Megane RS, using the circuit for trolling purposes and determining us to come up with the notion of 'Ring Wolves.
Those of you who haven't been following Germany's badass track should know these changes come after a deadly VLN racing crash that took place last year, with a Nissan GT-R racecar getting airborne and landing with traffic effects.
As a result, the Flugplatz section's bump has been flattened out, while the track has been streched. In a bit of a confusing effect, the lack of a jump-bump may keep cars on the tarmac, but the new layout means greater speeds through that area. This is true for both street cars, such as the Leon Cupra DSG being used as a camera car here, and racecars pacing serious downforce.
As if that weren't enough to make the track changes questionable, the run-off section on the side of the track hasn't been extended. Oh well, at least the spectator area has extra protection fences aimed at keeping people at a safe distance.
As for the second notable transformation, the driving direction for the parking at the entry of the Nurburgring has been changed, so things now happen the other way around.
Track activity is still less than intense at the moment, with the weather being one of the reasons for this. Guess we'll have to wait for things to heat up a little in order to see the effects of the changes. Until then, be sure to also check out the second video below, which offers you a complete lap of the 2016 Nordschleife, coming from the same hot hatch.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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