Nordschleife biker turns to crowdfunding to overturn bike ban
Following on from a petition that garnered more than 5k signatures, one Nordschleife bike fan is looking to crowdfunding to begin legal proceedings with the circuit operators.
It was around this time last year that the news broke that motorcycles would be banned from taking part in Touristenfahrten (tourist rides) around the legendary Nürburgring - also called the Nordschleife.
Since then, bikers have been given access to the venue, albeit via guided rides with instructors leading bikers in motorcycle-only sessions. For some, though, the move didn’t go far enough, and not long after the traditional Touristenfahrten laps were taken away, a petition to reverse the ruling was launched.
The petition gathered over 5,000 signatures and is still growing, but for Ralf Bollinger, who has ridden the Nordschleife for about thirty years (and is the man who started the petition), the case is far from closed.
At the centre of Bollinger’s case is a piece of Rhineland-Palatinate law, which relates to the “non-discriminatory” access to the venue. The legislation relating to the use of the circuit is set in "Nürburgring Law", which was agreed upon during the privatisation of the circuit.
Public access to the circuit dates back nearly 100 years, with the first Touristenfahrten laps, which are open to anyone with a road-legal car or motorcycle – and even tour buses and motor homes – going back as far as 1927. To make the sessions as safe as possible, passing other vehicles is restricted and heavily monitored, and certain areas of the track can be subject to speed limits.
With those points in mind, Bollinger believes that riding a motorcycle on the circuit in an open Touristenfahrten session, when cars and bikes are mixed, is already as ‘safe’ as it can be, going on to say it is down to “individual motorcyclists' personal decision whether or not to participate in tourist rides.”
Bollinger now believes he can use the legal system to help overturn the ban, and he’s approached a law firm which already has experience of winning cases such as this. The next steps will obviously cost money, with Ralf estimating that an expert report and a formal request to the operator set to cost in the region of €10,000 – around £8,700.
For Bollinger, the aim isn’t simply to reinstate mixed sessions, but to challenge what he views as an uneven application of access rights at one of motorsport’s most historic venues. Whether the crowdfunding effort gains enough traction to force a legal rethink remains to be seen, but the outcome should, at least, help to open up a dialogue with those making the rules
You can check out the petition page and the crowdfunding page on the links.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
