Nürburgring To Separate Cars And Bikes On Public Sessions

When you stop and think about it, it’s a wonder that the Nürburgring’s Touristenfahrten sessions even happen at all. Anyone can turn up in whatever they drive, pay a fee and be let loose on the infamously tricky 12.9-mile circuit, quite possibly becoming an inadvertent YouTube sensation in the process.

What’s more, for many years, cars and motorbikes have shared these sessions. As you can imagine, the combination of fearlessly-ridden Panigales and Ninjas weaving between everything from 911 GT3s to ratty VW Lupos can, and on occasion has, been a recipe for disaster.

For the upcoming Touristenfahrten season, though, the track’s decided to make a change. The Nürburgring’s managing director, Ingo Böder, revealed that research has shown that “the different driving dynamics can lead to misunderstandings between two- and four-wheelers,” which sounds like a bit of an understatement.

In this case, motorcyclists are particularly at risk because, unlike car drivers, they have no crumple zone,” continued Böder. “That is why we have decided to strictly separate cars and motorcyclists in the future and to restructure the offer for bikers so that they can enjoy the Nürburgring experience as safely as possible.”

As a result, it’s announced that Touristenfahrten laps on the full Nordschleife will from now on be restricted to cars only. Bikes, meanwhile, will get their own dedicated sessions under the supervision of trained riders, with the sessions split into groups ranging from Nürburgring novices to seasoned ’Ring riders.

Bikes, though, will continue to be accepted on the tourist sessions on the shorter Grand Prix layout, where they’ll get their own exclusive stints depending on how many of them show up on a given day.

It’s the end of an era, then, for the famed public sessions, but given the inherent risks filling a track with both cars and bikes brings, ridden and driven by people of varying skill and experience levels, it seems like a smart move to us.