When people usually hit the Nurburgring, staying off the grass is high on their list of priorities. Then again, the 2021 Ram TRX attacking the Green Hell for this stunt isn’t your average road rig, nor is driver Dale Lomas the kind of guy to be easily intimidated, especially since his resume involves the position of a Ring Taxi driver.
Thirteen inches of suspension travel up front and 14 inches at the back, tires that can tackle any sort of terrain, these are all fine when you’re flying from one dune to another, but what happens when you’re trying to hit the apex while sharing the space with dozen of other speed-hungry drivers that find themselves behind the wheel of more fitting Ring tools, like, say, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or even a “normal” GT3?
Well, in the words of Dale Lomas, a pro driver who’s had more Ring laps than most and in vehicles ranging from overly nimble toys to supercharged luxobarges such as Range Rover SVRs—he’s also a biker— this was the craziest Ring stunt attended to date.
Sure, struggling to keep the behemoth on track or passing Miatas with the help of that 702 horsepower does bring plenty of emotions, but the braking abilities of the monster, or rather lack thereof, are also responsible for all the adrenaline.
The 15-inch front calipers aren’t nearly enough to keep the 6,400 lbs (2,900 kg) pickup in check when you’re throwing it at a racetrack, especially since the T-Rex was basically conceived as a trophy truck with license plates. So yes, the calipers went for a smoke.
“I’ve gone rather quiet, because, my word, that’s scary. My brake pedal is about halfway down to the floor at the moment, but it still has some functionality, a little bit,” Dale said mid-lap, as you’ll notice in the piece of footage below, which comes from his Bridge To Gantry YouTube channel—these are references to famous points of the German circuit, which even define the homonymous 19.1 km (11.9 mi) course skipping the track’s main straight, the one used for tourist driving sessions.
In the end, though, the whole experience was a blast, with the enthusiast leaving little doubt about how amazing the time spend manhandling the TRX on the Nurburgring was: “Can I condone taking a three-ton truck around the Nurburgring? Well, when it’s got 702 horserpower, then yes, yes I can. This was a great thing to do, I’m glad I did it!“
And, before you ask, we’ve done the math: sadly, the Autobianchi Abarth (the little yellow thing the TRX met in its adventure) wouldn’t fit in the bed.