There’s two reasons to share these videos of an accident at the Nurburgring. The first is to highlight the potential dangers when you’re riding the Nordschleife. That’s not to say you shouldn’t experience the legendary venue on two wheels. But obviously if you’re mixing cars, motorcycles and people without any experience on a public track, it can be risky.
So you need to be aware. That means realising that other drivers can be unpredictable. And knowing which side of the circuit to use if there are vehicles close behind.
Watching the above clip, it looks that the motorcycle has run wide onto the left side of the track, which is where people are supposed to be overtaking. And you could argue the bike should have stayed right to slow down and let the Porsche Cayman past…
But now check out this video of the incident from a different angle.
Now you can see how close the Porsche gets to the bike, and how he switches from right to left. That may be a fast line, but it’s also going to confuse the motorcyclist, who can’t know what the car is going to do…
It’s clear now that even if the Porsche was right in trying to pass on the left hand side, he didn’t show any consideration. That included waiting for a safe opportunity, making it obvious where he was going, and most importantly giving the motorcyclist plenty of room. Because after all, the car will always come off better if there’s a collision.
Thankfully the biker looks like he wasn’t as badly injured as he might have been. Hope he’s back on two wheels soon.
(Found via the excellent Bridge to Gantry site, run by a former bike journalist and friend of Rescogs. Essential reading if you’re planning on visiting the Nurburgring.)
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