Formula 1 at the real Nurburgring
To coincide with Michael Schumacher's Nordschleife F1 run with Mercedes this weekend, Gary Watkins caught up with a few drivers to find out what it was really like to race around the legendary 14-mile circuit
The old, monster Nurburging, which included the Nordschleife, was built in the 1920s and has played host to some of the sport's greatest races.
Considered by many to be the best circuit in the world, its F1 events now are limited to demonstrations like Michael Schumacher's Mercedes run this weekend. But what was it really like to race on?
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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.
Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.
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