A Personal Recollection of Der Nürburgring by a young English Lad Who Grew Up to Become a Motorsports Photojournalist

Having trudged the long way out to the back end of Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix circuit recently—an entirely worthwhile experience I might add—it struck me that not a lot had changed out there in the 40 years I have been going to this great track.

I was there for the World Touring Cars meeting, and as I watched Seats and BMW 320is chasing ’round, with their regulation 2-liter engines changing note and gear at seemingly precisely the same time and at the same point on the track as all the other cars, with little difference in all their sounds, my mind wandered back to touring cars I had enjoyed watching in the past and the circuits they had raced on. Today, with that 2-liter limit, variety is sadly absent from the racing, so let me take you back to the Nürburgring Nordschleife for a taste of how it was.