autoevolution
 

Heavy Rain Made Nurburgring 24H Race Drivers Look like Drunken Moths

Formula One taught us that racing in the rain is usually more fun to watch, even though it's anything but for the drivers involved. It seems like the water pouring from the sky acts like a previously invisible filter that separates the less talented pilots from those who really know what they're doing.
Nurburgring 24H carnage 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from Facebook
The thing with this natural selection device is that it can't be controlled, so there are times when it goes a little over the top, raising the stakes way too high even for the most experienced drivers. When your tires refuse to make contact with the track surface, the number of races you've won becomes completely irrelevant. World champion or debutant, you're still going to crash into the railing just like everybody else.

The things a person's skill behind the wheel can do to help end where the limits of the laws of physics begin, and they are very clear about what friction is and how important it is for being in control. Lose grip, and you might as well be driving a car with no steering wheel, because whatever the driver does with it is just as important as what he ate that morning.

Rain alone can very seldom cause this type of disruption for a race, but when huge quantities of water fall in a very short time frame, the earth's natural draining system can't cope, so you get fast running torrents running all over the place.

When they also manage to drag tons of mud onto the track, the result is a funny yet painful sight of tens of race cars going straight in a bend as if everybody suddenly forgot how to steer. This was what those watchint last weekend's 24 Hours Nurburgring endurance race had the unexpected privilege to see.

Red flags were shown and the race had to be put on hold, but it did eventually resume only for the Mercedes-AMG customer teams to turn into a bloodbath. Five of the first six positions were taken up by the three-pointed star cars, with a lonely BMW venturing on to fifth. Last weekend's race was also the one with the closest finish in all 44 editions so far with just 5.7 seconds separating the first two cars.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Vlad Mitrache
Vlad Mitrache profile photo

"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories