VW on record course. With the ID.R electric racing car, track records are set in succession on famous racing tracks - records for electric cars. Now it was the turn of the Nürburgring.
SP-X / Nürburgring. With the electrically powered racing car "ID.R", VW 2018 has already set new records in the "Pikes Peak" race in the USA and at the "Festival of Speed" in Goodwood, UK. For the Nürburgring, the technicians have developed the car extensively. Particularly in the field of aerodynamics, the flounder was tuned to the demands of the Nordschleife: Less narrow bends but more long high-speed areas give here the direction before. Even the first tests a few weeks ago showed the enormous potential of the e-racer. Even if the route was still damp, as is typical for Eifel.
Now the external conditions are ideal already in the early morning. The asphalt belt, which meanders through the Eifel forests with around 70 curves, is bone-dry, and the pleasant outside temperatures also prevent the profile-free Bridgestone slicks from cooling down on the ID.R. Shortly before nine o'clock Romain Dumas goes on the first installation round. The Porsche works driver and four-time winner of the 24 hour race here at the Nürburgring knows both the course and the ID.R very well - after all, the latter was tailor-made almost exclusively for him, for the "Race to the clouds" at Pikes Peak to win in Colorado.
Now it is a matter of moving the 500 kW / 680 PS electric racing car as quickly and efficiently as possible over the Nordschleife. "The biggest challenge for me as a driver and also for our engineers is the battery management, so that we can get as much power as possible at the most important parts of the track," Dumas says when he leaves his ID.R climbs. There is no official time for circulation. So much can be said: The old record of the NIO EP9 (6: 45 minutes) already fell in this first installation round. However, the Chinese Stromer is, at least in theory, a road vehicle, while the ID.R is a thoroughbred racing car.
But when it comes to record runs on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring, you have to have two other records in your head anyway. The "eternal record" of Stefan Bellof, 1983 956 6 in the 11 35 a fabulous time in the tarmac burned 919 years later by Timo Bernhard in the Porsche 5 Evo, with 19: XNUMX minutes possibly one Set record for eternity.
But back to the VW ID.R. At the old pit area in front of the grandstand 13, the Wolfsburg have built a small tent city, which is home to two of the squat electric racing cars. The presence of such specialists as Willy Rampf, who for many years led the technical skills of the Sauber Formula One team and the rally successes of VW or VW motorsport guru Francois-Xavier "FX" Demaison confirm the seriousness of the project here at the Nordschleife. A whole horde of in-house mechanics prepares the ID.R for the next rounds. Every move is made, everyone is extremely focused and professional. You can tell: For VW, this record attempt is not just about setting another record, but also about the credibility of electromobility in the haze of such long-established motorsport meccas like Pikes Peak, Goodwood and the Nürburgring.
Change of scene: From the perfectly closed start-and-finish area to the "Brünnchen", the section of the track that is now only called "Youtube-Corner" due to its many accidents. The route post here, we call it "Günther", who wants to remain anonymous, is not a fan of e-mobility. It was all too expensive. "Nothing for everyone". When the ID.R mastered the fast right-hander on his final lap, as if drawn by an invisible band, he is nevertheless impressed by the high cornering speed that can be achieved thanks to the ingenious aerodynamics and the low center of gravity. Victory for VW.
Shortly after the helicopter has passed our route section to transmit the live image, the ID.R rushes over the finish line. 6: 05.336 - around 40 seconds below the previous record. Mission accomplished. And yet it is difficult to classify this new record. The - admittedly much more powerful - Porsche 919 Evo was another 45 seconds faster, but Stefan Bellof's “Oldtimer” is only six seconds behind the ID.R. And that despite the fact that in 1983 there was neither a closed route nor the tire technology of today.