The German town of Nurburg, at 45 km from Bonn, near the Belgian border, is a traditional West German town in the middle of the Eifel mountains. A medieval castle guards the top of the 678 m (2,224 ft) hill where the city stands, surrounded by the longest racetrack in the world, the legendary Nurburgring, which translates as "The Circuit of Nurburg" or as is commonly known, The Ring. Remarkable altitude changes, blind corners, a severe lack of runoff areas, and 223 rainy days on average during the year are some of the factors that make this racetrack one of the most dangerous and exciting in the world.
This motorsport racing complex consists of two independent racetracks, The Nordschleife (the north loop) and the GP Strecke (Grand Prix Track). The first one is almost 100 years old and is also known as the Green Hell, a monicker given to it by the F1 champion Jackie Stewart back in the 70'. As Formula 1 cars developed higher speeds over time, racing in the northern loop became so dangerous that, after several fatal accidents, the purpose-built GP Strecke came into operation. The north track remains open to the public (for a fee) from March to November, and drivers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Nurburgring for a test drive (Touristenfahrten)
The legendary Green Hell has a rich history spanning almost a century from 1927 until today. It hosted the Formula 1 Germany Grand Prix until 1970, but as F1 cars got faster, it became increasingly hard to race them safely on the circuit given its long and challenging road course with non-existent runoffs. It was only until the construction of a new circuit, the Nurburgring GP Strecke, incorporating the highest safety standards in 1984, that the Formula 1 races came back to Nurburg. The new raceway is 3.6 km long (2.26 mi), with an average speed of 78 mph and an average lap time of 1:44.43, and when combined with the north loop, forms the Gesamtstrecke, or Nurburgring's complete road course.