Yesterday I posted up the video of VG Jr drifting the Nordschleife. It’s awesome, go check it out. But this morning I woke up to find posts like these…
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Erm, did they just say that? Really? The first person ever to drift the entire Nordschleife? Nah, I don’t think so. There are many very good reasons to dispute this, but I’m going to give you two. And they lead into each other…
REASON #1: The Tyres Wouldn’t Last (at this speed)
VGJ is laying down 900hp through some pretty normal beefy street tyres. He’s not holding back in these clips, he’s making epic video history. But while he’s shredding rubber in 5th gear, the tyres lifespan can be measured in minutes. And that number is less than the 9 or so minutes you’d need to do a whole lap like this. He’d need to restrain himself a little more. Drifting a 3rd gear corner in 3rd, sure tyres can last OK. Drifting it in 5th gear at WOT? Nah. They’ll burn and chunk and shred and…. <pop>
In fact, this amazing video is many sections filmed over a couple of different days. By this definition, many of us have already “drifted the entire Nordschleife”. We need the video of the whole thing in one go, deliver the goods VGJ!
UPDATE: VGJ just confirmed the FULL lap video will drop next week 😀
Which leads us to…
REASON #2: Werner Gusenbauer already drifted the ENTIRE Nordschleife in 2006
Yes, the Werner with which I’ve twice raced the N24 and twice took a podium. Yep, that Austrian dude that we’ve won a few GT86 Cup races with. The drift instructor.
AND HE DID IT WITH A WATER TANK COOLING THE TYRES!
Not only that, but in true German style he actually documented and logged the run, using the then brand-new Racelogic Driftbox and Steffen from Leitspeed checked it all over…
All of that in a slush-boxed CL55 AMG (tuned by MKB to 620 PS), with no handbrake.
So there you go. VGJ might have done it better, and the crew might have produced one of the most awesome action films on the Nordschleife, but he didn’t do it first. Hard to believe it maybe, but not everything you read on the internet is automatically true…
P.S. 1987 called and asked to meet you outside to settle this once and for all…
