Archive. The day Stefan Bellof broke the Nordschleife record

A few minutes before the next 24 Hours of Nürburgring (Germany, May 12), two Porsches will take a parade lap on the Nordschleife : the 919 Hybrid Evo, an unbridled derivative of the LM P1 prototype used in the World ChampionshipEndurance in 2017 and author of the lap record at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) driven by Timo Bernhard, and a Porsche 956 C led by Hans-Joachim Stuck.

The Porsche 956 C is not an insignificant model in the collection of the manufacturer from Stuttgart (Germany). It was on board that the Nordschleife lap record was established on May 23, 1983 by Stefan bellof and guess what, CARhebdo was there.

In its edition of June 2, 1983 (No. 371), CARhebdo thus reflects this unrivaled performance. “ From 8:30 a.m., the clouds are there. The cold will come gradually as the day progresses, and, at the end of the afternoon session, it is almost Siberia. » Difficult conditions for maintaining tire temperature fore prototype of more than 630 horsepower for barely 800 kg.

Jochen Mass first sets a lap of 6'27''360. That's good, but Stefan Bellof will do better. The 25-year-old driver completes a loop in just 6'11''130! “A more interesting comparison, “Bellof-Porsche” managed 15 seconds better than “Bellof-Maurer (Bellof having already completed laps with a car Maurer on this track in the past, Editor's note). With such results, we better understand the “thrill” encountered in neighboring stands. »

“To be “put” twenty seconds is like saying that Bellof takes me 55 meters per kilometer, which is a real blow to your morale. My only consolation is to see Rosberg even further ahead, which proves if necessary that despite appearances, the factory and the customers do not have the same equipment,” explained a rather disillusioned Bob Wollek. »

CARhebdo continued as follows: “The important fact of the day remains that for the first time in the history of the Nürburgring, a car exceeded an average of 200 km/h. »

No complete video of the lap exists on the Internet, only a few snippets like this excerpt below: we can see in particular Stefan Bellof getting rid of another Porsche, swallowing without problem the famous Karussell, a treacherous corner in strong concrete banking, but also move to high speed Jacky Ickx (Porsche) on the straight back to the pits.

This record was achieved on a temporary version of the circuit, the route of F1 being under construction at the time. “Amputated due to work on part of their usual route, these 1 km 000 took place on a 1983 km circuit for which everyone lacked reference times. » In 2018, the Nordschleife is 20,832 km long (not including the F1 circuit).

In 2013, Derek bell traveled the Nordschleife with a Porsche 956 C at reduced speed, but this time, the complete tour with on-board camera is available: