Molto testicoli

Somewhat further up the Seven ladder than my Roadsport-A comes this video from Caterham Italy, showing Dario Margutti hustling an R500 around the Nordschleife. There are some supreme displays of commitment, but it also shows fundamental physics at work as the comparatively modest 263bhp Seven monsters a Porsche 996 GT2 in the twisties. Scary stuff.

Fellowship of the ring

I don’t often bother with news type posts, but this one may well strike a chord with anyone who’s tried to arrange insurance for their own car on the ‘ring, for one simple reason: it’s virtually impossible to do. Despite internet mumblings to the contrary, most ordinary insurers are wise to the fact that a certain public toll road near Nurburg is more than it seems and won't cough up even if there's nothing in the policy schedule to say otherwise.

Now Nurburgmotorsport, a British owned company based at the ring, together with Allianz, is offering insurance for both drivers and motorcyclists tackling the Green Hell. Cover includes €10,000 of personal liability, rescue costs of €10,000 and, er, death cover of €30,000. There is, however, no compensation for stacking your own pride and joy, and the cost for one day and up to eight laps is a not-inconsiderable £99. In true Teutonic style the vehicle also has to undergo and engineer’s inspection at an approved local garage at additional cost and there’s a €300 excess to think about.

So does this represent good value for money? Well, peel back the details and it looks debatable; if you write off someone’s brand new F430 Scuderia in your accident (and at the ‘ring that’s more than possible) €10,000 is going to provide little comfort. However, there’s no getting round the fact that few companies even offer anything similar. It’s a credible first attempt, but what’s really tantalising here is the possibility it could open up the market for lower prices and greater cover in the future.