Nürburgring Northern Loop

[Adam43]

I've checked out the website http://www.nuerburgring.de/ but I wondered if anyone out there had any person experience of doing this.

Next year we are going to have a trip to the Nurburgring and have a few arrive and drive laps. How easy is this to do. I've heard you just go up to a machine (like a car park ticket machine) and buy some laps. Presumably you then get to the start point show the ticket and off you go!

I would appreciate any stories of seeing this wonderful circuit.

Also (a small thing) I see the 2004 opening dates aren't on the website yet, do we know when they will be updated?

And the museum, I presume this is worth a visit. How close to the circuit is it?

[Truckosaurus]

Adam,

Have you found http://www.nurburgring.org.uk yet? If not, it should answer most, if not all, of your questions.

[Stephen Green]

Why not time your trip to coincide with the 24 hour saloon car race Adam? Myself and several other Ten-Tenthers will be marshalling at the Carouselle.

[Adam43]

That would be fun. At the moment the plan is on the way back from Le Mans. Well it is sort of on the way...

Cheers Guy

[gfm]

Adam - this will be one of the greatest experiences you will enjoy in your car. So do take care about planning and ensuring the circuit availability as there are a bunch of closed to manufacturer circuit test days.
There's are phone numbers for the circuit and most of the folk on the other end speak reasonable enough English.
There's a well organised cafe/gateway onto the circuit now about a mile away from the museum. But it's all quite a sizeable business and developed area. Hotels, garages, and services are all around.
I would always recommend going on something like an RMA visit because there's a wealth of experience and though not cheap, your unlikely to have serious interruptions.
During the summer, there are traffic jams getting on the circuit and alsorts of untidy mad folk doing stupid things. Motorcylcist spreading themselves like jam all over the place etc. So they do have to close the circuit quite often. Yes, you do indeed visit a ticket office or machine and get your ticket. Even when the circuit is shut for manufacturers, they try and open it in the evening, but it is a long way to go without checking this.
And there's no way you won't go back for another shot. It's quite fun to watch people's/driver's reaction to the place. Most seem to arrive buzzing and excited; most come off at the end of their initial lap MUCH MORE SOBERLY with the wise cracking well in check; it really is THAT daunting. And in the rain, it is EVIL. The cambers and undulations send you all over the place and there seems like NO GRIP.

[GVK]

Usually the opening times for the NS are announced end of Jan/Feb

As Guy says, Ben Lovejoys site tells you more than you'll ever need to know about it.

I've been over 3 times and there's nothing else quite like it [ thumbs up ]

Yes it is daunting and oh boy is it slippery in the wet

I locked up going into Aremberg in the wet last year, 1st lap of the trip as well !

Some pics and info on my site

www.gvk-motorsport.co.uk

[Fiorentina 1]

Zakspeed offers good racing school at the Nordschleife. I did it last year and don't speak a word of German, so don't worry if don't either. Check www.zakspeed.de

[kruse]

http://www.scuderia-hanseat.de/ run a 3 days racing school on Nurburgring twice a year, track is both Nordschleife and the F1 track. On each school there is around 300 cars, split into different groups, there is always several English speaking groups. The best driving education I have ever tried. I know some people who has participated 50 times.
Lars

[kruse]

From http://www.activedriving.dk/Download.html You can download a complete Nurburgring track guide in english. Just right click on Nurburgring guide and "save target as"
By the way try the page "Banedage" (Trackdays) from www.activedriving.dk the sound is nice, but text in Danish.

Lars

[kevhl]

Be careful, driving on the Nurburgring is like a drug, once you're hooked you'll not stop thinking about it, talking about it, or wishing you were there...

...However it is alot of fun

There are loads of places to stay locally, and numerous car clubs make annual pilgrimages to the Ring. As GVK says Ben Lovejoy's site has loads of info on there and the opening times are normally out in Jan/Feb... these do occasionally get changed throughout the year though.

[Slippy Diff]

Only ever raced on the Nordschleife, never done a track day there. What I can say is that there is no circuit like it. It certainly keeps you on your toes. I used to love racing there in the wet, evened things up a little bit.

[JimW]

Originally posted by Slippy Diff
Only ever raced on the Nordschleife, never done a track day there. . . .

Well, there's one-up-manship for you.

I've only ever driven course cars round there for a track day and that scared me quite enough.

I have the short term memory of a goldfish so have to drive what I see. At several bits you don't see too much so it is either faith or foolhardyness which keeps you going. Great days which have, sadly, gone for me. hrug: hrug:

Regards

Jim

[Adam43]

Wow, I see this thread has returned. Well, we did our laps on teh way back from Le Mans. It was fantastic, we shall be going again...

[Mike_Wooshy]

Originally Posted by Stephen Green

Why not time your trip to coincide with the 24 hour saloon car race Adam? Myself and several other Ten-Tenthers will be marshalling at the Carouselle.

what are the dates for this magnificant event ??? As i might make a trip over .

[Stephen Green]

I will check and revert...

[Mike_Wooshy]

thanks stephen

[luke]

I think MotorsTv are doing a team, viewers can take part, driving, anything.

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by JimW

Well, there's one-up-manship for you.

I've only ever driven course cars round there for a track day and that scared me quite enough.

I have the short term memory of a goldfish so have to drive what I see. At several bits you don't see too much so it is either faith or foolhardyness which keeps you going. Great days which have, sadly, gone for me. hrug: hrug:

Regards

Jim

One thing I miss about now living in NZ is not being able to race on the Nordschleife.

Early Saturday morning waiting to go out for practice after having scraped ice of the cars windows. Drizzle hanging in the air and reports of fog and ice making the circuit tricky in places!! Here we go anyway, gates are opened and we are flagged off. Take the short cut to get in a couple of laps on the GP circuit to warm the brakes and tyres and then off we go. Come in after 3 laps of the old and new circuit linked together, hmmmm 10min 56 secs, not bad considering the conditions.

I loved that place. Daunting yes, but oh so satisfying when you put in a good lap or went by somebody in the foxhole.


Go there and do the laps and have fun, just be careful.

[tubthumped]

A few pics from my trip last year....

[Slippy Diff]

Heh heh, running a bit wide in that last pic, eh. It is a tricky corner though as you approach it very quickly and tend to turn in earlier than you should. Nice looking car as well.

[tubthumped]

Arenau Forst - always catches people out. Managed to crack the section by the time we headed home though, the compression through Foxhole is amazing

[Alex Hodgkinson]

nice pictures. Cant wait til I can get to the Nurby, hopefully the 24hours is still running for another few years...

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by tubthumped

Arenau Forst - always catches people out. Managed to crack the section by the time we headed home though, the compression through Foxhole is amazing

It does sort of creep up on you. The turn in point is very late though. If somebody backed off in the foxhole it was just possible to maybe nip up the inside of them at the left hander. You could brake when alongside knowing that the other car had nowhere to go except over those bloody big kerbs in front.
Looks like the weather was good for you?

[tubthumped]

Was raining heavily Saturday morning, sunny Saturday afternoon. Sunny all day Sunday and Monday - so a very good trip.

That photo probably shows the worst line i took all weekend! lol... i didn't hit the grass/gravel at all - so did better than most

Foxhole can be a pain to pass people through, some people let you pass as you approach the compression, of course you daren't pass as the car pushes out to the right after the compression, and you need to get over to the right to brake and turn in for the left aproaching Adenau.

And i did have a 540 degree spin through Wipperman - probably the tightest part of the circuit <cue change of trosers>

[Slippy Diff]

I would love to say that I had done a perfect lap of the Nordschleife, but I can't (at least I think so). I had the biggest shunt of my racing 'career' (cant believe I used that word) on the Nordschleife and my neck still aches 5 years later!!