Trips
The RingBunny
Ecurie Europe
Sabine Schmitz
Odd bits
Jørund Seim
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Introduction to the video by Euan:
This video is taken from the 400 bhp BMW M5 Ring Taxi, driven by the
legendary Sabine Schmitz. She always drives well within her own limits
when taking passengers, but it's most certainly quick enough to be
loads of fun. We encounter the aftermath of an accident on the exit of
Fuchsröhre - no one was seriously hurt. At Eiskurve the g-forces
became too much for my camera mount, and it fell off. So the last
couple of minutes are a bit shaky. On the final corner, Galgenkopf, I
pointed the camera at Sabine and said "Sabine at work" to which she
removed one hand from the steering wheel, started whistling and
looking really bored, and steered the car round the corner at approx
120 mph/200 kmh with two fingers, and with all four tyres squealing.
How we laughed!
Only one single thing overtook us on the entire lap. On the exit of
Ex-Mühle, Jørund Seim overtook us on one wheel, all beautifully
controlled. I watched him in the side mirror as he came up behind us,
and he was on one wheel a lot longer than you see on the video. He
pulled another wheelie after Bergwerk, but the camera angle and
distance don't show this very well. This was his style. There are a
few fleeting glimpses of him on the way up Kesselchen. For those that
know him, and of his outstanding talent, there is no doubt he was
taking it easy by his standards, and he was just out having some fun.
Tragically, just a few hours after this video was taken, Jørund had an
accident on the circuit, caused by an earlier oil spill. He died the
following morning.
My personal abiding memory of Jørund - the huge grin he would have had
on his face as he overtook the Ring Taxi on one wheel.
Jørund - till we meet again.
Euan
The video:
- A 48 second excerpt of Jørund flying past the Ring Taxi:
WMV: 320x240 (2.5 MB)
- The entire lap:
WMV: 320x240 (53 MB)
Note 1: For some reason Netscape 4.7 has a problem downloading
the WMV file... I verified that the file at the server is correct, so
downloading with Internet Explorer does work.
Note 2: this video was filmed before Nürburgring GmbH
banned filming during tourist hours.
Thanks to Simon B. for computerizing the clip at such short notice.
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