From two wheels to four - Tom Pidcock's "mind-blowing" Porsche pace stuns former racing driver at Nurburgring

Tom Pidcock has left former professional racing driver Jorg Bergmeister astonished by his speed behind the wheel of a Porsche at the Nurburgring, with the German admitting that the double Olympic mountain bike champion is already quicker than many drivers who regularly tackle the famous circuit.

The 27-year-old joined Bergmeister, now a Porsche development driver, for a track day on the Nordschleife in his own 911 GT3 RS with Manthey Kit. Pidcock had already recorded a bridge-to-gantry lap time of 6 minutes 52.37 seconds earlier in 2026, but his latest appearance gave Bergmeister the chance to see his driving ability first-hand.

"For someone who isn't here regularly, Tom's pace is pretty mind-blowing. There are people on the Ring every day who go slower," Bergmeister said in a Porsche press release published on Wednesday.

The former racing driver was particularly struck by Pidcock's ability to judge corners and maintain his speed through them, drawing a direct comparison with the skills that have made the Brit one of the peloton's most accomplished descenders.

"The advice I could give him is to simply focus on hitting the marks: braking points, turn-in points. But you can see it all comes naturally. I guess there's a reason why he's so good on the descents in cycle racing!"

Bergmeister has seen similar qualities in other professional cyclists who have ventured onto the racetrack, although Pidcock's pace was evidently something else. "I know a couple of pro and ex-pro cyclists, and the line and flow that it takes to do a smooth, quick lap comes naturally to these guys," he said. "Tom gets in and knows exactly what he's doing and has great feel for the car - and also no fear!"

The outing had initially been threatened by heavy rain, forcing the pair to spend the morning at Manthey's nearby facilities before conditions improved enough for them to get onto the circuit. Bergmeister led the way as Pidcock followed, with the former professional offering advice on braking points and cornering techniques.

As the track dried, they switched to dry-weather tyres and made adjustments to the Porsche's suspension. Pidcock, meanwhile, was gradually increasing his pace, preferring to build confidence in the car rather than immediately pushing its limits.

It is an approach that will be familiar to anyone who has followed Pidcock's career, although his motivation for spending time at the Nurburgring is rather different from what drives him in professional cycling.

"I guess it's because it's about 'high performance', just like cycling is for me. It's the same mindset," he explained. "Driving, in general, is a pursuit of improvement, which is constant in what I do daily. But here there's no pressure - I can also enjoy the fact that I don't need to push it to the extreme limit. When I'm competing [in my career], there's always so much pressure, so on track it's nice that I can simply just compete with myself."

Those comments come after another significant season for Pidcock, who pushed Tadej Pogacar all the way to the line at Milano-Sanremo, recorded his first Tour de France top 10 and claimed another mountain bike world title. He finished 2026 fifth in the UCI individual road rankings, continuing the progress he has made since leaving INEOS at the end of 2024.

During his time at Manthey, Pidcock was also interested in how much of the development process still depends on the driver's judgement, despite the extensive data available to engineers.

"What I've learned from Manthey is that, if you're developing a car at the Nurburgring, the data doesn't tell you everything. You have to use feeling," he said. "And personally, I think feeling is even more valuable than data when I'm trying to develop a bike."

Pidcock had earlier recognised something familiar in the organisation of Manthey's workshop, comparing its equipment storage and preparation to the service course of a professional cycling team. The machinery may be rather different, but the attention to detail behind it is something he knows well from his day job.