Michael Schumacher vs the Nurburgring rollercoaster
Fri, 17 Jul 2009
Michael Schumacher vs the Nurburgring rollercoaster
By Ben Barry
First Official Pictures
17 July 2009 13:03
Michael Schumacher still holds the Nürburgring GP circuit’s lap record (1:29.468 back in 2004), but he’s never left the startline faster than he did last weekend – when he was strapped into the world’s fastest rollercoaster, subjected to 4.5g at launch and accelerated up to 135mph along 1212m of track.
The rollercoaster – originally planned to open in Easter 2009 as part of a €215 million expansion plan – finally got the champers treatment at the German GP, and runs right next to the race track’s start/finish straight before spearing off into a number of tortuous twists and turns.
How did the ’Ring people manage to get the former F1 world champ on board? ‘He owed us a really big favour,’ a source tells CAR, mysteriously.
By Ben Barry