Here’s a nice, clean Touristenfahrten lap filmed from inside a MINI JCW GP, the last Cooper S special built on the R53 platform. Many consider the GP to be the ultimate (BMW) MINI. Well, now you can see how a GP handles the ultimate track. Eight minutes of ‘Ring goodness can be seen after the break.

[via MotoringFile]

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Got a spare 7 minutes or so? Then you’ll enjoy this clip from Audi tv that takes a look at four of the world’s most famous racetracks—Hockenheim, Spa, Mugello and, of course, the Nürburgring. Just a shame the voice over guy sounds so uninspired! Check out the clip after the jump.

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BMW tv have just released a new promo for their M5 Ringtaxi. This is the gig that helped launch Sabine Schmitz into the blogosphere as probably the world’s most famous female cabby. For a closer look from inside the cabin, take a look at the previous AUSringers post from June this year. For more information on how to get yourself a seat in this wild ride, take a look at the BMW website.

I’m sure most AUSringers readers would be familiar with the Nürburgring webcam positioned at the Touristenfahrten gates. Like me, you’ve probably spent your fair share of time checking out the cars hitting the track and wishing you could be there. So, what a cool idea it is, then, to squeeze a day’s worth of webcam viewing into just 3 minutes!

[Source: Track Cams]

This post is a tribute to Bernd Rosemeyer, the first man to break the 10 minute barrier around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. A feat he accomplished during the 1937 Eifel Race. Next Wednesday, 14 October, marks the 100th anniversary of Rosemeyer’s birth.

Rosemeyer is acknowledged as one of the finest drivers of his era. He won the 1936 German Grand Prix, driving the Auto Union Type C you see above. Tragically, Rosemeyer was killed on 28 January 1938 while attempting a world speed record at the wheel of an Auto Union Streamliner on the Autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt.

As a mark of respect, Audi will be honouring Rosemeyer’s anniversary by placing a wreath near his memorial on the A5 Autobahn.

Racing footage of Rosemeyer in action during the 1930s can be viewed after the jump.

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Finally, here is a complete, and official, video showcasing the record lap set by the Radical SR8LM. In case you missed it, the little British sportscar that could lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6 minutes and 48 seconds. That’s a reduction in lap time from Radical’s previous best of 6 minutes 55 seconds, set by the the SR8 back in 2005.

The lap itself, as you might expect, is quite uneventful, well, apart from its blistering pace. The SR8LM just sits so flat and, dare I say it, almost makes lapping the Ring look easy. Of course, to that would be doing the driver Michael Vergers a disservice, as his talents are undeniable as this clip shows.

For a behind the scenes look at Radical’s record charge, check out evo. For a handful of wallpaper-friendly 2000px super image, make the jump below.

[Thanks to Todd & Tiaan for the tip]

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Volkswagen has recently launched another iPhone driving game. This time featuring the Scirocco R. The theory goes that you’re racing around the Nordschleife in the “Scirocco R 24 hour Challenge”. The reality is it’s simply a marketing gimmick designed to get you to add your name to Volkswagen’s database.

The game itself is okay, if you’re into that sort of thing. But as a genuine replica of the Nürburgring Nordschleife the track in this game rates pretty poorly.

There are three game modes—qualifying, 24 hour mode and multiplayer, the latter requires Bluetooth to be activated. The 24 hour mode is really a five minute game where you start in 11th position and try to win the race before your time is up.

The Scirocco R 24 hour Challenge is a free app available through iTunes, and if you liked their previous VW Polo game then you will like this. Despite the game’s downfalls it is a step forward compared to the Polo game.

You can watch a video demo after the jump.

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Lotus have turned their “luxury” tourer, the Evora, into an out and out racer. The Type 124 (one twenty four) meets full FIA racing specifications and has been designed for endurance racing. There is a reasonably extensive factory backed calendar of races in line for the 124, starting with next year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race (15-16 May 2010). Sepang, Silverstone and Dubai are also on the endurance race calendar for the Evora.

Luke Bennett, Director of Lotus Cars Limited, said, “Motorsport has been in our blood ever since our founder, Colin Chapman, built the first Lotus back in 1948. We are proud of our motorsport history, which includes victories in Formula One, Le Mans, saloon car, rally car and sportscar racing around the world; more recently, we won the British GT3 Championship in 2006 with the Lotus Exige. The Lotus Evora Type 124 Endurance Racecar is from the same unique stable and we expect it to be a competitive racecar when we enter various endurance races next year.”

For more detail, check out AUSmotive.com.

Dates for the 38th running of the Nürburgring 24 hour race were announced on the race’s official website last week. Those planning on attending need to mark their calendars down for 13-16 May 2010.

“We are delighted with being able to announce the Ascension-Weekend date that early,” said Peter Geishecker, the man responsible for the organisation of the ADAC Zurich 24h Race Nürburgring. “It provides all those involved extraordinary planning reliability. Quite obviously, we had preferred holding the event on the second bank-holiday weekend, in June, as the weather is somewhat less changeable, then. But the Nürnburgring GmbH has got a long-term agreement with the organisers of ‘Rock am Ring’ that traditionally is held on the first weekend in June. And that’s a fact we just have to accept.”

[Thanks to Obi for the tip]

Here is a nifty split screen clip of the Lexus LF-A lapping the Nürburgring during the 24 hour race earlier this year.

If you can speak Japanese you’ll get plenty out of this as driver Takayuki Kinoshita provides commentary throughout the lap. If not, you’ll just have to make do with some quality in car footage. There is also a handy circuit guide in the bottom left of screen to show where the car is on the track.

Seeing as there is a Ring lap time fixation these days its hard to get an exact time from this footage to compare to the marketing times that manufacturers keep pushing, especially as the lap above includes the Grand Prix track. However, a rough estimate, using the regular start and finish points for the production car runs, sees the LF-A lapping the Nordschleife in roughly 7 minutes, 16 seconds.

Regular readers of AUSringers will be interested to spot the Volkswagen Golf of Wayne Moore at Aremberg, around 3:40 into the clip. A bit further down the road, on the run into Wehrseifen, the LF-A swings past the Osborne Motorsports Toyota Corolla.

[Source: autoblog]