Timo Bernhard lapped the 20.832 kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife race circuit in 5 minutes and 19.55 seconds. This results in an average speed of 233.8 km/h on what is revered by race drivers, engineers and enthusiasts alike as the world’s most difficult track. Driving the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo, Bernhard beat the previous lap record, set by Stefan Bellof, by 51.58 seconds. For 35 years and 31 days Bellof’s 6:11.13 minutes record remained uncontested. The German driver who tragically died at Spa-Francorchamps in 1985, counted as the biggest racing talent of his time. He drove his record on May 28 in 1983 at the wheel of a powerful 620 bhp Rothmans Porsche 956 C.

A proud and relieved Timo Bernhard, five-time overall winner of the Nürburgring 24 hour, two time outright winner of the Le Mans 24-hours and reigning World Endurance Champion with the Porsche 919 Hybrid, clambered out of the tight Le Mans prototype cockpit and said “This is a great moment for me and for the entire team, the 919 programme’s icing on the cake. The Evo was perfectly prepared and I have done my best on this lap. Thanks to the aerodynamic downforce, at sections I never imagined you can stay on full throttle. I’m pretty familiar with the Nordschleife. But today I got to learn it in a new way”, said the 37-year old.

He is a huge admirer of Stefan Bellof. In 2015, on the thirtieth anniversary of Bellof’s fatal accident, Timo raced at the Spa-Francorchamps 6-hour race of the FIA World Endurance Championship with a helmet carrying the famous black-red-gold design of the 1980s star. “For me Stefan Bellof is and remains a giant”, he emphasises. “Today my respect for his achievement with the technology available back then increased even more.”

The Evo version of the Porsche 919 Hybrid is based on the car that took outright victory at the Le Mans 24-Hours and won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2015, 2016 and 2017. ts hybrid power train now develops a system output of 1160 hp. The car weighs only 849 kilograms and its modified with active aerodynamics to generate over 50 per cent more downforce compared to the WEC model. Top speed at the Nürburgring was 369.4 km/h. Since last winter Porsche engineers were preparing for this task together with their tyre partner Michelin who also have a great deal of respect for this track. They have shown the full potential of the 919 Evo. Congratulations to Timo for his sensational drive. Being a record winner at the Nürburgring.