Watch a Blindfolded Man Direct a Driver Around the 154-Turn Nürburgring From Memory
Misha Charoudin laps the 12.9-mile ‘Ring nearly 1,000 times per year for work, making him quite the expert.
The Nürburgring Nordschleife hosts a long-standing reputation as the world’s most difficult racetrack. It’s so challenging that it even puts the pros to the ultimate test when it comes to the world’s biggest motorsports events. But one man claims that he’s on the ‘Ring so frequently, he knows how to drive the track blindly. Huh?
That man is Misha Charoudin, an experienced race car driver and instructor who’s basically “lived” at the ‘Ring for the past five years. Because of his line of work, he claims that he laps the "The Green Hell" nearly 1,000 times per year, leading some to wonder if he knows the track so well that he could lap it without being able to see a thing, both figuratively and literally.
Obviously, driving the racetrack without being able to see, albeit one as challenging as the ‘Ring is just a fatal accident waiting to happen. However, in an attempt to answer the question, Charoudin teamed up with Andy Guelden of the Nürburgring Driving Academy for one lap of the Nordschleife in a Mercedes-AMG GT R.
In the 12-minute-long video, Charoudin sits shotgun completely blindfolded in the AMG GT R while Guelden drives around the track. Charoudin verbally announces each of its 154 corners and obstacles over the nearly 13-mile loop through its 1,000 feet of elevation change from the highest to lowest point, all by memory.
It’s quite exciting to watch, and knowing the track just by the g-forces felt through the car is hugely impressive. Watch the whole thing below:
h/t: Jalopnik