After the 1,000-kilometre race in June, when Siffert set the fastest lap of the Nürburgring in practice at 8min 00.2sec with a Porsche 908, and Amon did 8min 00.3sec with the Ferrari 312P, I remarked that no self-respecting Grand Prix driver would be content with a lap sit over 8 minutes if practice for the Grand Prix would be held in dry weather.
The weather on Friday and Saturday before the Grand Prix was superb and the Nürburgring and the Eifel were at their best. When the Nürburgring is at its best it is terrific, when it is at its worst, like last year, it is awful. I fully expected the top Grand Prix driver to rise to the challenge of achieving a lap in under 8 minutes, but in my wildest dreams I did not anticipate anyone getting nearly 20 seconds under bogey time, nor did I expect so many drivers to excel themselves.
The German Grand Prix is much more than another race in the World Championship series in which to gain more points for the Championship, it is the Nürburgring, and that is a driving challenge that is hard to equal anywhere.
