Nurburgring is the ideal place for testing new vehicles, not just about setting the fastest lap times – BMW

Most associate the Nurburgring with one thing, and that is setting the fastest lap times. It isn’t a surprise that many manufacturers take their newest models there to prove a point but for BMW, the focus is more in development and fine tuning its cars.

Speaking to Autocar UK, Peter Langen, general director of powertrain development at BMW, said testing at the ‘Green Hell’ allows engineers to set up the car without distractions, and his familiarity with the track is an added bonus.

“The key point is that it is long, challenging, has many surfaces and corner types, yet I know it well enough to be able to drive it with the capacity to concentrate 100% on what the car is doing. There is room for setting quickest lap times of course – it proves something and is a nice benchmark,” said Langen.

“But for me, out on track, it is very rarely important to be the fastest driver out there. It is far more important that I am driving somewhere where I can put all my focus into what the car is doing,” he added.

Langen also noted that the quality and variety of local public roads near the Nurburgring makes it an ideal location to bring their vehicles for testing, in light of other race tracks across Europe. “We use it a lot, I know, but it offers challenges that meet our needs,” he said.

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