Andy Carlile is a 33 year-old who is, let’s say, keen on riding his bike around the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife. He is so keen, in fact, that in 2007 he left his island-nation home, preferring a more continental location, but not just any location - he moved to the Nurburgring, literally.
According to Andy, he has lapped the 20.8 km (13 miles) ‘North Loop’, in his own words, “a few thousand times”. His new record isn’t some fluke - it’s the result of sheer dedication and passion and we thoroughly respect him for it.
To achieve the record, he uses a 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1, which he bought damaged and then later repaired and improved. Modifications wise, he says that the engine is stock “down to the air filter” and that he’s concentrated on weight loss, suspension settings and other minor tweaks.
You know someone is genuinely into something when they do stuff like shaving 14 grams (0.5 oz) off the bike’s headlight loom and 12 grams (0.4 oz) off the clutch cable guide. However, with all his weight saving measures, he has managed to lighten the bike by 11 kilos (24 lbs) - a number which does in fact make a difference to a bike weighing 172 kilos dry.
So, the new record for motorbikes on the Nordschleife is 7 minutes and 10 seconds and we truly admire Andy for his passion, dedication and for having attempted to break such a difficult-to-break record.
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