On this day in 1985 German GP was first time held on the new, shorter Nürburgring track, but the race will be remembered for the first time the onboard camera was used on one of the Renault cars.
The German Grand Prix temporarily returned to Nürburgring in 1985, but on the new 4.5 km long Grand Prix version that hosted European GP one year earlier. The winner was Michele Alboreto in Ferrari 156/85, which was his fifth and final victory in F1 career.
It was the first race in which the onboard camera was used in the race and the last time that a constructor performed with three cars on the race. Renault was the team with three cars with onboard camera that was on the Francois Hesnault’s car, and his car could not score points.
First pole position in his career was surprisingly won by Teo Fabi in Toleman Hart, with 1.187 seconds advantage over Stefan Johansson in Ferrari and 1.296 seconds ahead of Alain Prost in McLaren.
Michele Alboreto won for Ferrari for the fifth and last time in his career before he was killed in 2001 in Lausitz while testing the Audi LMP1 car at the age of 44.
It was also the last race for Manfred Winkelhock who died a week later at 1000km of Mosport in Canada at Porsche 962C. Just three weeks later, Stefan Bellof was killed in the Porsche 956B at 1000 km Spa Francorchamps, one of the greatest talents of the eighties.
First onboard race shots from the 1985 German GP can be seen here.
