25/04/2013
NEWS STORY
 Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is to drive a lap of the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife next month in a 2011 Mercedes F1 car. |
The demonstration lap, at the wheel of the 2011 W02, is intended as a thank you to his fans from the German who racer who retired - for the second time - at the end of last season.
The run will be the first by a contemporary Mercedes F1 Silver Arrow at Nordschleife since Juan Manuel Fangio's victory in 1954.
"I have a lot of fond memories of the Nurburgring and am really looking forward to giving fans and friends from my home town of Kerpen, which is quite close, something to remember as they see me drive by," said Schumacher.
"But it will be a fantastic experience for me too, driving along the Nordschleife in a state-of-the-art Formula 1 Silver Arrow, particularly in view of the fact that the Silver Arrow's legend began here.
"Posting a lap in a modern Silver Arrow on the most beautiful and most testing circuit in the world, what a brilliant mix - it's every motor racing driver's dream!"
Schumacher covered part of the Nordschleife in the last Formula 1 grand prix at the Nurburgring in July 2011 (above), however, that was in a Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow Streamline W196. The W196 was the first Formula 1 Silver Arrow that took Mercedes-Benz to two world titles with Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1954 and 1955 seasons. During this period, including his success at the Nurburgring, Fangio achieved eight wins in all.
Long before the start of the Formula 1 world championship in 1950, however, there had been a close connection between Mercedes-Benz and the Nurburgring; an icon was born on 3rd June 1934 when the Silver Arrow had its first outing on the legendary Nordschleife in the International Eifel Race.
The car was silver because mechanics had worked through the night to strip away the white paint of the brand new Mercedes-Benz W25 racing car, so as not to exceed the maximum permissible weight. The next day, Manfred von Brauchitsch won the W25's debut race, thus beginning the legend of the Silver Arrow.