CLAAS 524hp tractor sets lap record at Nürburgring
Race car driver, Christian Menzel, drives a CLAAS XERION 5000 into the record books…in reverseAsk any race car enthusiast or fan of anything that goes fast and they’d be familiar with the famous Nürburgring race track in Germany.
Over the years, the track – more specifically the Nordschleife (North Loop) - has become the test site for many a car and motorbike or any vehicle for that matter, to test their speed and various functions.
It is also an infamously difficult course, so imagine trying to navigate it in a massive 17 tonne tractor.
To date, there hasn’t been a modern tractor put to the challenge of setting a lap record around the Nordschleife. The last attempt was by German racing legend, Walter Röhrl, on a 60 year old Porsche Junior diesel tractor in 2014, achieving a lap time of one hour, five minutes and 36 seconds, according to thedrive.com.
As a comparison, the fastest ever lap time set on the Nordschleife is six minutes and 45 seconds, achieved by the Lamborghini Aventador in 2018.
German automotive magazine, Auto Motor und sport, recently organised an attempt to break the tractor lap record with the help of farm machinery expert, CLAAS, and German race car driver, Christian Menzel.
CLAAS’ XERION 5000 TRAC VC (Variable Cab) tractor was selected to be the record breaking machine. The range topping tractor has an output of 524hp, weighs about 16.5 tonnes and is capable of reaching a top speed of 50km/h. The machine was put to the test as is without any modifications.
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Menzel was used to speed and driving in vehicles that are low to the ground, so to ‘race’ the CLAAS XERION 5000 around the track was a completely new experience for him.
Auto Motor und sport anticipated that it will take Menzel 24 minutes and 43 seconds to cover all 20.6km of the Nordschleife with the CLAAS XERION 5000, if he was driving at top speed the whole time. However, that was without considering bends in the road.
To set the new record, Menzel made use of a unique function on CLAAS’ XERION tractors – the rotating cab. On the XERION high horsepower tractors, the cab can be rotated 180 degrees towards the rear with the aim of allowing operators to monitor implements at the back of the tractor to make sure they are doing what they should.
On the day of the Nordschleife run, Menzel had the tractor cab facing backwards so he was in fact racing the tractor in reverse. This was so he gets full visibility of the track ahead without the nose of the tractor getting in the way.
Several times during the drive, Menzel admitted to feeling nervous which he said has never happened before in his racing career. After all, this is the first time he has driven such a tall and wide machine at speed.
He was spooked several times around the track where there were bends in the road and said he was afraid the tractor might tip over or slip and crash trying to navigate the curves.
At the end, Menzel achieved a lap time of 24 minutes, 50.57 seconds with the XERION 5000, completely smashing the Porsche Junior’s record.
While by no means matching the times notched up by the lighter and faster sports cars that have graced the Nordschleife, it is an impressive feat nevertheless considering the size, height and weight of the XERION 5000.
Menzel said the tractor lap record attempt was the most special thing he’s ever done in his entire career.
Perhaps UK’s Guy Martin should try to break that record in JCB’s souped up Fastrac Two, also currently known as the world’s fastest tractor. Now that would make for some incredible viewing!
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