The last Grand Prix races on the long and dangerous circuits took place in 1976 at the Isle of Man, and in 1980 at the Nürburgring. The German track was shortened from 22.8 to 20.8 km in 1983, and the modern 4.5 km GP track was opened in 1984, in order to host competitive racing in a safe environment. For enthusiasts still willing to ride the "Green Hell" of the Nordschleife, timed contests were offered as the Seriensport "Zuverlässigkeitsfahrten" ("Zuvi", reliability runs), which contained a single lap time trial run from standing start, thus eliminating at least the danger of riders colliding when racing for position. Also, street legal bikes and tyres were required to keep costs and speed down. He set the first of his record there in August 1988 with a Suzuki GSX-R at 7:55.07. Then, with a 750cc Honda RC30 VFR750R, he subsequently lowered it to 7:53.08 in July 1990, to 7:50.71 in June 1992, and on 23 May 1993, using Metzeler ME Z1 tyres, set yet another record, with 7:49.71. After the 1993 event, an onboard-video was produced in which Dähne did another lap, about 10 secs slower, carrying camera equipment on his back. On 2 July 1994, Dähne did not take part in the "Zuvi" (which was won by Herbert Mandelartz with 7:55.78 min) as he instead returned to the Isle of Man TT for his 24th, 25th and 26th TT races. He scored a personal best of 19:45, but then fell and shattered his lower leg, causing a one-year break. In 1994, not only Ayrton Senna was killed, but also riders were fatally wounded on the Nordschleife. No motorcycle contests on the Nordschleife were held after 1994, and with the track homologation for motorcycles not being renewed, no organizer can offer officially sanctioned contests there anymore. Thus, Dähne, holding the track record since 1988, will "forever" be the holder of the official record of 7:49.71 he had set in 1993. Dähne, while riding for a magazine report, crashed in 1996 at the fast Fuchsröhre section of the Nordschleife.