The original Nürburgring that ran for a whopping 22.5 km (14 miles) till today is recounted as the one of the most feared and revered versions of the historic circuit. Made of 172 corners and combination of two circuits - the Nordschleife and the Sudschleif, the old Nürburgring’s intricacy and length was a considerable worry for the memory of several drivers. Popularly nicknamed as ‘The Ring’ the circuit was opened in 1928. It became the home for the German Grand Prix from 1950 for quite some decades (with the exception of 1959 and 1970). Since the start of the Drivers’ Championship, it built a repute of staging breathtaking encounters. Be it Juan Manuel Fangio’s victory in 1957 or Sir Stirling Moss’ stellar win in his last race in 1961. Jackie Stewart sketched yet another remarkable race in 1968 when he won by a full four minutes in wet conditions despite a plastered wrist. All this while, safety was a crucial issue as many fatal accidents were witnessed on the track. As a result, more safety measures were adopted - in 1970 barriers were built and the track was broadened. Soon in 1976, Niki Lauda recommended other drivers that they should boycott the circuit. But the drivers did not agree and the race was staged in August that year. Coincidentally, Lauda had a horrific duel with his fate at the race – his car crashed and he sustained profound burns even after being rescued by fellow drivers instead of fire marshals. And thus, Nürburgring’s F1 license was withdrawn. In 1984, the fiery paced sport returned to the circuit after several reformations. However, at this occasion it was the venue for the European Grand Prix which was won by Alain Prost. The next year it hosted the German Grand Prix. Yet again, for almost a decade it had no place on the F1 calendar due to commercial issues. In the nineties the ascending popularity of Schumacher could not keep the sport away from Nürburgring and it arrived once again as a site for the European Grand Prix. It would be interesting to note that the 1997 and 1998 editions of the F1 races held here were renamed as Luxembourg GP to shun flak that Germany was dominating the European GP. Nonetheless, the following year it got back its European label. The modernized Ring was shrunk to 2.822 miles with much fewer corners. The latest version is 3.2 (5.148km) miles long. If mechanical nitty-gritty is considered, weather is one of the most influencing factors. After a downpour on the track it really takes time to dry up. Also, as the circuit requires high downforce, the understeer caused is yet another challenge. Although the new-fangled version of the circuit has not matched up to the thrills of the old one it does still offer the same degree of interest in its own unique Nürburgring-esque manner. The Luxembourg edition of ’97 saw Ralf Schumacher colliding with his brother Michael forcing both of them out of the race. Both Mclaren-Mercedes cars were ruled out too due to engine failures. Jacques Villeneuve finally stole the thunder and won the race. It was also at Nürburgring that Rubens Barrichello dominated over his Ferrari teammate Schumacher, who had started out as the favourite, to clinch victory in 2002. In a similar fashion, Ralf Schumacher took over Williams-BMW teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in the following year to get past the chequered flag. In 2005, it was race leader Kimi Raikonnen’s retirement in last lap which that flanked everything else. By and large Michael Schumacher has dominated the proceedings with six European GP victories at the modern circuit. 2009 season will witness Nürburgring hosting the German Grand Prix as a replacement for Hockenheim which has been withdrawn due to financial reasons.