Last year Koenigsegg has announced plans to go to the Nürburgring with its One:1 and attempt a new lap record but their plans were cut short when the track’s management decided to put temporary speed limits on certain sections of it.
This move forced Koenigsegg to cancel their plan and just wait for the restrictions to be lifted, which finally happened just a couple of weeks ago. The company now says in its blog that they are indeed getting ready for their trip to Germany but they won’t be doing a lap record sometime soon.
“A Nürburgring record doesn’t just happen. In a piece expressing our disappointment with developments last year, I glibly wrote “We…. only need about 7 minutes of their time and we will do our best to not use all of it.” The truth is it takes a lot more than 7 minutes to achieve a good lap at this track. We were ready to go when that piece was written last year. This year, we’re starting over again and it takes months of planning and preparation,” Koenigsegg’s Steven Wade wrote.
He further explained, “While we foresee this taking several months, those months comprise only one or two days at the track each month. We will not be testing on public days when the track is full of ‘public’ drivers. We will be testing on private days that we can gain access to.”
Koenigsegg’s regular factory driver, Robert Serwanski, will be supporting their preparation with plenty of time in the car at the ‘Ring working on vehicle setup. He will most likely not be at the wheel at the time a record is attempted, however. Steven went on to say that intimate knowledge of the track takes a long, long time to build and they are aiming to secure a driver with maximum experience at this most demanding of tracks.
There is a lot for any prospective driver to learn about the car, too. They will be testing updated systems on the car, gaining intelligence on vehicle setup to optimize the car’s performance and providing valuable wheel-time for our driver. As a Koenigsegg is far more powerful than most rear-wheel-drive cars, the driver really has to become accustomed with how to push so much power to the limits, especially on a demanding track like the Nürburgring.
Attempting a track record also depends on many, sometimes mundane, factors such as track access/availability, driver availability, the weather and other commitments that may pose a conflict in terms of timing.
“So yes, you may see photos of us at the Nürburgring later this month. Don’t get too excited, however. This is a long road we’re on (pardon the pun) and it ain’t over ’til it’s over,” the blog concludes.
Source: Koenigsegg
