Nurburgringing

[evanc]

Fellas,

All I can say is 'Wow'. I know that many of you have been to the Nurburgring to watch and drive so you know what I mean. It was an awesome weekend that started out after an all day meeting in Stuttgart in Frankfurt. Then drove up to the ring with one of my best friend's and one of his good friends who also has a V8 FD RX7. Its a 7 litre FD but thats a different story. I couldn't have asked for a better way to get to the ring either, a 1993 325is. Our friend Nate picked it up from a Turkish guy not too far away for €2600 and the car is mint. The car was basically stock with a H&R kit (springs and struts). So of course our ride starts off at 130MPH on the AutoBahn and gets us to the ring from Frankfurt in under two hours. Recaro Days was in full effect with the tuners out in serious force, too bad for them the weather was absolute crap. Luckily for us at 5:30PM when the track opened for us it was dry. Our friend Nate is working in Frankfurt for at least a year and has a season pass at the ring! €900 euro for as many laps as you want and you get your money out of it when you hit 60 laps.

Long story short, we drove 6 laps on Saturday night with Nate and got a feel for the track. We didn't see anyone stuff it into a corner except during the time trail that was running earlier. I have to admit that that spooked me a bit. I personally only have one track day at Laguna, theBMW Safety School and the 24 Hours of LeMons (which I dont know if you can really count). Then going back to the hotel they were showing a video of people crashing, not good for ones mind before going out on your own!

The laps with Nate really a big difference in how we drove on Sunday. My buddy and I shared a car which was a Renault Clio 197 with Six laps included for a mere price of €450. We almost didn't committ because of the rain, but in the end we both looked at each other and said when the hell are we going to be here again at the same time? Done.

Oh yeah and before our car was ready one of the guys who stores his 2004 GT3 took both my buddy and I out for a hot lap. WHOLLY CRAP! There is a moderate straight section somewhere on the 21km of track that he called 'boring' and we reached a mere speed of 158MPH.

Then it was our turn. It was me and my friend in the Clio following Nate in his 325is. We followed his line and even though I thought I was taking good mental notes when we were riding with Nate, there is no way to remember all those turns. Then it was my turn... SO FUN! The first lap was a bit slower than the first, but as the track dried it was on. We were both concerned about stacking so being careful was a must, but after one lap I had to get on it. We were both laughing and watching out for other cars and just had a fantastic time. Of course spent a lot of money but it was completely worth it. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't.

They say it takes about 100 laps to really get a decent feel for the track. I did 3 laps.

I'll post some photos after I download them. You arent suppose to take video or take photos because it promotes bad driving behavior, but I do have some footage and photos.

I'm going to the Oldtimers Grandprix August 7-9 so I hope I get to meet some of you guys. I've got my hotel all sorted and am good to go.

Happy Motoring,

[dubois]

definitely one for the bucket list... hey Laguna Seca is also one. Looking forward to see the pictures.

[Tommy]

I can second the "wow"! I visited the Ring just couple of weeks ago. Spent the day around the track watching bunch of Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos, BMW's etc. driving in a "Sport Auto" event. In the evening I did a lap with rental 116i. Should have taken two but there was just a bit of rain so I didn't. Also I was thinking that it can't be fun with that sluggish thing - but it was. Another thing was that my fiancee stopped screaming at about 2/3 of the lap so I could have pushed it a bit on the second;-)

The track is just unbelievable and the scenery around is beautiful!

Tommy

[4x2]

It's great fun, it's a 2 hour /130 mile drive for me.

Just try not to crash or spill any fluids, they can (and will) make you pay for the armco and the time they have to close the track (which adds up FAST !!)

And it's still a public toll road officially, so german traffic laws are in effect (keep right, overtake on the left and so on)

But if you ever get the chance to take a few laps, go for it, it's an amazing track.

[zane]

Sounds like great fun. A friend of mine just visited the Nordschleife a couple of weeks ago in his brand new E92 M3 he picked up via European delivery. Talk about a trip, he did the F1 race in Monaco, the Cannes Film Festival, Monza, and the Nurburgring to name a few of his stops.

[SteveJ]

I bet if you had mentioned your LeMons experience they would have barred you from the track, or at least cleared it for you.

[4x2]

Or, more likely, they would have said: was ? Lemons, nein, wir verkaufen keine zitronen.

[evanc]

[evanc]

I bet if you had mentioned your LeMons experience they would have barred you from the track, or at least cleared it for you.

Hey Steve! I think you are right. Those marshalls in the yellow jackets are always looking for something wrong to pull you off. Especially any kind of camera... but I managed to take a few. We got in trouble for driving close to our buddy Nate.

Can you email me with your email address? evan DOT Chong AT Gmail DOT com

[mattij]

They say it takes about 100 laps to really get a decent feel for the track. I did 3 laps.

Done three number amount, really experienced say thats the most dangerous stage, you start to think you know the track...

After four number amount you really know it.

I'm going to the Oldtimers Grandprix August 7-9 so I hope I get to meet some of you guys. I've got my hotel all sorted and am good to go.

So do I, 105min race with a green -75 Grp 2 2002 on Friday 7th.

[Gordon]

Anyone notice that the red Porsche in the pics had US license plates on it???

I've been twice to the Nurburgring Historics in 2004 & 2008 but since it was a race weekend, I didn't have chance to drive on the track (I had only a POS rental car). The car corrals at the ring were incredible for historics weekend (first or second week of August). You have to add a pilgrimage to Nurburgring Historics to your bucket list.

We always stopped off in a village on the Mosel for a QC test of the local Mosel wines and pick up a few cases of wine on our way to the ring, good times.

G-Man

[oz_tom]

Fantastic! I'm in London so will definitely head over to Germany for a few laps... Now all I need is a car... or the ring taxi?

[c.d.iesel]

anyone notice the towing BMW w/bike trailer ?

it's vortbotten to install trailer hitches here in US on

any BMW except X3 & X5

anyone notice this is a 3-year old thread?

but The RING is good anytime old or new news

[InkaSteve]

anyone notice this is a 3-year old thread?

but The RING is good anytime old or new news

Gordon has been in the sandbox serving our country the last few years, so now that he is back, I suspect he is getting caught up on the old FAQ threads. Thanks Gordon, and welcome back. Hope to see you this spring.

Yeah, this is a great thread, old or new...

[Beck180]

Holy crap it is a Milano!! (or a 75 in europe). That was my first car in high school. I gasped when I saw this photo. God I miss that car.