Autocar Magazine - "Lord of the Ring"

Not a long time ago in a far away lands of Germania, under the shadow of Adenau Castle, a brave man with white hair achieved something legendary in a car call a Radical: he destroyed the lap record for the Nüburgring.

RECORD BREAKING AT THE NÜRBURGRING

"A sub-eight-minute lap of the 'Ring is like a four-minute mile: not just anyone can do it"

The way I see it, there are just three truly epic arenas left in motor sport: Pikes Peak, the Isle of Man TT and the Nürburgring - the original old 12.8-mile Nordschleife, buried deep in the Eiffel mountains.

All three are courses that challenge even the greatest champions and turn their performance into legends. Ari Vatanen's masterful drive at Pikes Peak in a Peugeot 405 T16 in 1988; the late David Jeffries' 127mph lap of the TT course in 2002; Stefan Belof's incredible 1985 qualifying lap of 6min 11sec around the Nordschleife in a Porsche 956.

Of these, Belof's lap of the'Ring in the 956 is probably the most emotive because it is easiest for us mortals to appreciate. Turn up on a public day at the Nürburgring, slot €14 into the ticket machine and off you go: it really is as simple as that. And if you drive something rapid, like a BMW M3, and you've never been to the 'Ring before, you'll probably complete a lap in around 10 or 11 minutes at an average speed of around 80mph.

Nothing wrong with that. Until you're told that, at the edge of the envelope, a BMW test driver will shave between two and three minutes off that time in the same car. And therein lies the true challenge as far as the notorious Nürburgring is concerned: because when it comes down to it, what matters more than anything is how fast you can get round.

Until recently an eight-minute lap of the Nürburgring was, as they say, everything. In the post-Roger Bannister days of international athletics a sub-four-minute mile means you are truly something. At the'Ring it's exactly the same with the sub-eight-minute lap. Anyone who can go under eight is more than just handy: they're a player.

Nearly five years ago Autocar travelled to Germany to break the road-car lap record with a Caterham R500, driven by Robert Nearn. Robert took the record with a ballistic 7min 55sec lap. But Britain didn't hold the record for long - a month or two later a 750bhp Toyota Supra beat the Caterham's time. And since then it's been lowered several more times, usually by monstrously tuned Porches. Today, it's held by a Porsche 911 Gemballa GTR600 with a blistering lap of 7min 32sec. The only rules to abide by concern the tyres and the legality of the car itself: both must be road legal, otherwise it's very much formula libre.

And today, hopefully, Britain is about to get that record back. We've brought with us a package that isn't going to trim a couple of tenths off the record. It's going to blow it apart. If all goes to plan over the next two days we'll have dropped the record so dramatically that even Germany's maddest tuners are going to be banging their heads against their dynos trying to work out how to beat it. Even Porsche, with its new Carrera BT, will have its work cut out. Unofficially, chief test driver Walter Rohl has done a 7min 25sec in a Carrera GT, but our aim is to go quicker than that.

How so? Because Autocar has brought together a pretty mean-looking package by anyone's standards: a Radical SR3 and our very own BTCC ace, Phil Bennett.

First the car. Last year we took a Radical SR3 1500 around the 'Ring in 7min 42sec in less than ideal track conditions. Its potential was obvious. Radical Sports Cars, however, has decided not to mess about and has put together a purpose-built 'Ring-burner. A turbo-charger has been added to the SR3's 1.5-litre Suzuki Hayabusa engine to give 260bhp and 200lb ft of torque. 'Is that all?' you ask. True, plenty of tuners have wrung 350bhp and more from the Suzuki lump, but this engine has to be reliable. "There's plenty of potential in the engine," says Radical's Phil Abbott "but most of those highly tuned engines are used for drag racing where the throttle is wide open for only seconds at a time. At the Nürburgring the motor will be at full boost for lengthy periods. Besides, we've only had the chance to run this car around Lotus's Hethel track for a few laps and then a short blast at Bruntingthorpe."

Now the driver. You'll have seen Phil Bennett's regular reports from the driver's seat of his Proton BTCC racer in Autocar. Bennett is far more than a 'name' brought into the magazine. Autocar and Bennett go way back. In the mid '90s he used to write regularly to the mag' and would often ring at inconvenient times to natter about fast cars, driving and the Nürburgring in particular; just another mad-keen enthusiast. Then suddenly we saw his name in our sister mag', Autosport, driving an old Rover 220 saloon in club races. And then he appeared in the Renault Spider championship and was doing bloody well to boot. Eventually he scored a drive in an Egg-sponsored Astra in BTCC and won three races. Bennett has, together with a very big natural talent, incredible drive and determination. Not unlike fellow Brummie Nigel Mansell. "At one stage I was over 30 grand in debt," says Bennett "and it wasn't a tidy sort of debt. It was bank loans, numerous credit cards and any other method that would rustle up a bit extra." Yes. We like Bennett.

So, we have the man and we have the machine, but what we don't have is an abundance of time. We're gatecrashing a two-day driving course run by our German sister magazine Sport Auto. It's these guys who are unofficial guardians and record keepers of the production-car lap record. This afternoon we'll get the chance to shake the car down only once. The Sport Auto people and their readers have finished for the day at 5.30pm and the public are allowed onto the circuit for a two-and-a-half-hour session of pay-per-lap running. We won't be able to go for the record then, however, because in the public session you don't do a flying lap - you have to come in at the end of each lap and go through the ticket barrier again. Also, you get coaches going round in the public sessions and meeting a Wallace Arnold in the braking area for Aremberg is not ideal.

Tomorrow we will be able to go out at about 4pm to do some proper warm-up laps alongside the Sport Auto readers and then, just after 5pm, Bennett will get just one flying lap on a totally deserted track. Both he and the car will need to be on top form by then, perfectly precise and perfectly committed through every corner. Rather him than me.

There's a bit of a problem though. On a quick try-out blast on the public roads surrounding the 'Ring we discover the Radical has picked up a cough. It's fine on full throttle, but in the mid-range and on a trailing throttle it's misfiring. We can hear the scream, crackle and splutter from the paddock. We can also see that the SR3 Turbo accelerates at an obscene rate. The fault appears to be one of those problems that is elusive. A lap-top is attached, throttle sensors and various other bits swapped around but whatever is done the misfire won't go away.

It's frustrating. Bennett and I watch the Sport Auto readers in GT2s, RSs, M3s and other exotica being taught 'Ring craft. There's little else to do. We miss the public session, which is almost unbearably frustrating, and then retire to the Pistenclausen Hotel in Nürburgring for a few steins. It's hard to be down in the dumps in this place. The basement bar is full of memorabilia, signed photographs, posters and bits of racing cars.

Wednesday morning, and I'm confident. The weather is perfect, the Radical team has had most of the morning to sort the car and Bennett is revved up and ready to go. He's your typical racing driver. Average height; slim build; practically no arse and a lackadaisical swagger/walk.

Just before lunch the engine problem is solved. One of the team has spotted that the turbo motor runs fine with the laptop connected to the ECU and like a dog without it. Fortunately, all that's required is to plug a lead into the ECU. A few runs up the road confirm the car is now chipper. "It's so much stronger than the standard car. It's going to beat the record. The only question is, by how much?

Three-fifty pm. The Sport Auto people let us out early with their readers. PB is strapped into the black-and-gold Radical and fires up the motor. What a monster piece of kit. I've read about Radicals, seen them race on the telly, but this is the first time I've seen one in action. In about eight minutes Bennett is back in the paddock. "It's running a bit hot," he says, "especially uphill on the long, wide-open throttle sections. But f**k me, it's fast."

There's not much time. The team set to the Radical's nose and opens up the air-intake with a drill and hacksaw. It's not pretty, but it should help. We're all totally focused now, even if the record costs an engine. For the next run I slip into the passenger seat next to Bennett. The engine temperature is still too high in certain places on the lap, but it comes back down when the track flattens out or the motor is doing less work.

Five-ten pm. Timing beacon in place on the side of the track and 12.8 miles of warm, dry and clear racetrack. The Sport Auto staff and a gaggle of their readers gather round as Bennett waits for the barrier to raise and the lap to begin.

One lap, one chance.

We have watches but only PB will be able to know precisely how he's done by looking at the Pi system. When he's back we'll know exactly how fast he was going, what g-forces he generated and, most important, how long the lap has taken.

The tensions dissolve as soon as Bennett screams off. Now it's just a matter of waiting a short time before we see him emerge from the last corner onto the straight. We can't hear him or see him anywhere else, but somewhere out in the pine forests Bennett is jumping crests, catching little slides, doing everything to try and break that record.

Suddenly there's a glint of black at the end of the straight. It moves towards us quickly, the Suzuki screaming engine note following in its wake. The SR3 looks amazing as it howls past us at 160mph.

We have an agonising wait as PB does his slowing-down lap and then comes slowly into the paddock. He's grinning: the Pi system reads 7min 19.7sec - an incredible 12.8sec under the record. Which means it's over to you now Fritz to win it back. And the very best of luck: you'll need some to beat us this time…

The MASTERSHIP OF THE RING

IF YOU WANNA BE A RECORD BREAKER….

THE GIVEWAY that you're looking at the SR3 Turbo is the cut-out in the front bodywork above the splitter that lets air into the radiator. On a standard SR3 the radiator is in one of the side intakes at the back of the car: on the turbo that place is occupied by an air-to-air intercooler.

The heart of the car is a blown version of Radical's take on the Suzuki Hayabusa bike engine. The turbo motor uses the same stroked crankshaft as the stock SR3 to give a displacement of 1.5 litres. New pistons are fitted to give a compression ratio of 9.2:1 - high for a turbo lump. A standard exhaust cam is used as an inlet cam.

"We've found that using a pair of exhaust cams gives just the right amount of valve overlap," says chief engineer, Phil Abbott. Fitted to a custom exhaust is a Garrett GT250 turbocharger. It's a neat installation.

The brakes are by AP and are similar to those used in Formula 3. That the telemetry measured 1.65g of braking force into Bergwerk proves they work.

Radical is going to make 25 SR3 Turbos, each with a plaque signed by Phil Bennett commemorating the Nürburgring record. At £41,000+VAT they're not cheap, but then for this kind of performance you'd usually expect an extra digit attached to the price. Four have already been sold.

LAP OF A LIFETIME

I'VE NEVER ridden on a rollercoaster but I doubt very much the experience would hold a candle to a sub-eight minute passenger lap around the 'Ring. For starters, there's not the same element of risk.

I don't know if it's good or bad that I know the track pretty well having done a 24-hour race here in 2000. In a way it's bad because I thought I knew what to expect clearly, I didn't have a clue…

The Radical was on road-legal Dunlop Formula Rs to comply with the record's one and only regulation. If it was on slicks I think my head may have fallen off. I thought the harness was tight, but when Bennett turned in to the first truly quick left-hand bend. Schwedenkreuz, at a nadge over 160mph, I was thrown around like a rag doll.

A While later we hit 160mph again at the bottom of the famous Fuchsrohre, and it felt as though my backside was going to burst through the bottom of the car. Everywhere on the lap Bennett was smooth and accurate, but the sensation of speed from the 'other seat' was so violent and yes - so damn scary, I ended up just praying for the lap to end. When it did, I wanted to go again. But fortunately there wasn't time - even though the telemetry proved we needed only 7min 43sec to complete another lap. Mind boggling.

How the Radical beat the Gemballa 600 GTR's record

When we went to the 'Ring in '02 with a stock SR3 we knew it could out-corner and out-brake the Gemballa, but on the straights it was nowhere. Turbocharging was the key, allowing the Rad to stay in touch on the straights and leave the 911 for dead in the corners.
Conclusion: Radical creams Gemballa by 12.8sec and puts Phil Bennett into Nürburgring folklore.