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BMW 135i High-Speed Nurburgring Crash Is an Overcorrection Lesson

Schwedenkreuz is perhaps the most threatening corner of the Nurburgring and it all has to do with the mix between the surprise appearance it likes to make and the fact that it follows a generous straight.
BMW 135i Nurburgring Crash 6 photos
Photo: TOP Nürburgring Videos/YouTube
BMW 135i high-speed Nurburgring crashBMW 135i high-speed Nurburgring crashBMW 135i high-speed Nurburgring crashBMW 135i high-speed Nurburgring crashBMW 135i high-speed Nurburgring crash
Any novice that doesn't mind his or her entry speed will be caught off guard by the bend and the freshest example of this comes from the driver who trashed his BMW 135i in a battle against the said bend.

We can see the guy losing the rear end of his Bimmer on the corner entry, probably due to lift-off oversteer. Nevertheless, it looks like the driver could've brought the rear-wheel-drive machine back in line if he hadn't overcorrected.

Alas, once the said mistake was made, the compact coupe, which is knows for its rather snappy on-the-limit behavior, entered a struggle for regaining control, one that ended up with the car flying into the guardrail sideways.

The impact was serious enough to throw the car into the air and it seems like a blown radiator "smoke" show came next. Come to think of it, the ailing 135i trying to come to a halt almost looks like a stunt plane leaving a trail of smoke behind as a memory of its extreme trajectory.

And things didn't stop there. As is the case with many Schwedenkreuz crashes, the driver didn't manage to bring the car to halt in time to prevent a second impact.

Since the BMW spent plenty of time on the grass, the grippy surface of the track or the pretty generous gravel trap that followed failed to stop the 135i, which also hit the barrier with its left side.

Here's to hoping aficionados that zoom in on this clip understand that knowing the layout of the track and matching one's corner entry speed to this is the first rule of completing a Nurburgring Touristenfahrten (Tourist Days) session in one piece.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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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.
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