A Motorcycle Race on the Nordschleife

[Matthew327]

I recently started rewatching some old footage of motorcycle Grand Prix races from the 1970s and I couldn't help but wonder - is it thinkable that professional road racing one day returns to the Nordschleife?

The arguments against it are absolutely understandable. The Nordschleife is among the most dangerous racetracks in the entire world. In most places, the barriers are just a few feet away from the racing line. In others, riders would be thrown directly into the woods.

On the other hand, the same can be said for some of the tracks motorcycles are still racing on today. The two examples coming to mind are Macau and The Isle of Man. On both tracks, it's hard to recall a year without serious injury or death.

However, with modern developments in terms of safety (e.g. Airfences), the question arises whether the Nordschleife could be made remotely safe for motorcycle competition (at least about as safe as the Isle of Man TT or Macau).

What's your take on it? Could airfences make this track safe for competition? What kind of race should it be (MotoGP, Superbike, Endurance)? Looking forward to reading your responses!

 

[Andy_J]

Of course it could happen and should be allowed to happen but the do gooders and health and safety maniacs will cry and shout how dangerous it is.
Thank god they don't get to dictate to us about the Isle of Man TT, the Classic TT and all the other real road races. Yes they are dangerous and can't be made any safer but that's not what the racers want. They want to master the challenge and the danger of road courses like the TT. How do I know? Because I know some and I talk to many about it. They know the dangers and accept the risk.
As for the style of racing, well I only think TT (time trial) would be allowed as a mass start might be a bit too dangerous these days with bikes in 240 bhp ball park.
Just my take on it.

 

[Karl S.]

At least a motorcycle race won't be any more dangerous than a Touristenfahrten drive.

Look after 7'25'':

 

[FergalVET]

At least a motorcycle race won't be any more dangerous than a Touristenfahrten drive.

Look after 7'25'':

Wow close call, very lucky escape!

 

[monners]

I randomly found this thread on google and thats my video that has been posted! Its a shame motorbike races are not held at the Nordschleife anymore but I can see why they do not with so little safety features. That said there's no reason why a Time Trial type event along the lines of the IoM TT couldn't be held but again the management of the track are not that keen on bikes anyway since they come with a high risk of bad publicity from injuries or worse.