So the Geneva motorshow has shown some spectacular cars from hot hatches like the Honda Civic Tyre R to the supercar looks of the Maserati to challenge the Jag F-Type.

                                                                   Maserati Concept

However all of this has been negatively impacted , in my opinion, by the constent back and forth of manufactureres on who has the fastest Nurburgring Time...

Is anyone else sick of this constant need for manufactueres to wave their male members in a display of machoism in relation to "Ring" times?

While I agree the Nurburgring is a fine place to test drive a car with some of the most technical and challenging corners of any course and the potential for the weather to be different depending on the location on the track due to its 20832m length. However there is no ruling body in relation to the lap times at the Nurburgring, no official timing method and even debate about where the start and finish line is!! This along with the factors such as weather, track temperature, tyres, driver.... the list goes on; has a major effect on the validiy of the times.

If the above wasnt enought there have been many stories of manufacturers "tuning" their cars specifically for the "Ring" so as to get the best possible time, a particular journalist isn't allowed driver their cars after speaking out about it ;) This type of testing is not indecative of the final production car a customer can get. Its easy to make a car quick around a specific circuit but making it work around a variety of tracks, while also being usable on public roads is far more important and applicable to the end consumer.

So to end this ramble.... I am hoping that manufactures and the motoring community move away from this "Ring" time mentality and look at trying to find the best car in all situations. Plus if your gonna picka  track to get the best time around how about we pick Spa Francorchamps :)