IFRL History
The Nordschleife opened in 1927 and by the 1970s was too dangerous for Formula 1. The new Grand Prix circuit opened beside it on May 12, 1984. The celebrity race that day put twenty famous drivers in identical Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16 sedans. Ayrton Senna, a rookie standing in for Emerson Fittipaldi, won. Give everybody the same car and apparently the quick guy stays irritatingly quick. Formula 1 came and went and came back. The Mercedes Arena loop was added in 2002. This is not the Green Hell. It’s the modern brother that sits in the same Eifel weather.
Fun fact
The first winner on the new GP circuit was a then-unknown Ayrton Senna, in a spec Mercedes sedan full of world champions.
The corners that matter
Turn 1, the tight downhill right into the Mercedes Arena, is the lap-one funnel; expect the car ahead to slow almost to walking pace. The Arena (1 through 4) rewards joining corners together; don’t win one apex by making the next impossible for both cars. Haug-Haken (5) is a short braking zone where a clean move gains a place. The Dunlop hairpin is a proper pass, but the downhill approach tempts too much speed. The Schumacher S (9 and 10) needs a settled car and modest curbs. The NGK chicane (14 and 15) is the desperation pass late in the lap and draws track-limit penalties. In rain, the painted runoff at the Arena is a skating rink.
Main-event strategy
Rain is real here; have a wet plan. Dry: one stop. The GP layout is easier on tires than the Nordschleife would be, but the Arena still wears the fronts; medium-soft if you want a late push. Fuel is fine unless you’re stuck in sixth on the straight all day. The pit entry branches right at the final-corner approach; learn the lane before entering behind a car that’s continuing. Stable cars that don’t wash the front in the Arena: the McLaren 650S GT3 for rotation, the Lexus RC F GT3 for braking, the BMW M6 GT3 for the straight. If the radar shows rain in eight minutes, pit early for intermediates and let the heroes find the paint.
Garage notes
Medium-high downforce. Gear for about 170 mph. Brake balance forward for the Arena. Slightly softer front to keep the nose from washing in the slow stuff.
Opener notes
The RX-7 Spirit R is light, rotary, and happiest when the rears are settled. On mediums it oversteers off the Arena if you ask for throttle and lock together. Reverse grid packs Turn 1; give it a beat. Use the Schumacher S to pass, not the chicane. The rotary wants revs; short-shift only to save the car, not the engine.
“Senna beat Lauda, Prost, and Hunt here in a taxi. We will try to beat each other in an RX-7.”
