Public days at the Nurburgring are notorious. If it rains, shares in Armco suppliers go through the roof. If it’s dry, you just have to worry about the 13 miles of challenging track (blind crests and lack of run off a speciality) and your fellow ringers.
First you have the kamikazes on Kawasakis, getting a knee down as they undertake you around a tricky corner. Then there’s the fabled Ring Taxi, which is an M5 that rarely points in a straight line but seems to lap as quickly as the bikes. And don’t forget the coaches, crawling around like mobile chicanes with tourists admiring the carnage around them for 2 euros a piece.
So when Dazren organised a bit of a trip to the legendary Nordschleife, I knew that it would be less of a holiday for me as a Jane Fonda workout for my adrenal glands.
Squadron Leader Russe
Daz
picked me up on Thursday as my 964RS (‘The Red Baron’) was still being
fettled. Still, as taxis go, a 996 Turbo with X50 power upgrade (454bhp) is up
there with a silver M5 going around the ring sideways. Fast yet civilised, there
is no finer car for visiting the ring. Quiet, smooth and comfortable, on the
motorways. And then brutal, composed and fast on the track itself.
Meeting up with the rest of our group at the Eurostar tunnel - including Daz’s brother and Marcus (S3_MCD) - we nabbed a burger for breakfast and passed short range radios amongst the convoy for purposes of in-car communication. As the only person who really seemed to know where he was going, Daz led the convoy, although his role of Squadron Leader sometimes mutated into Muppet Master as he barked reprimands at the enthusiastic and mischievous vehicles following behind. As James in the Elise went to undertake a lorry using the hard shoulder, you could see that convoy moderation would swiftly become as honed a skill as Porsche forum moderation to the Big Fella…
Silver missile
The radios allowed us to spot police, report mechanical problems and request toilet or fuel stops. They also allowed the Muppet Master’s flock to continually pester Daz – clearly a sensible 85mph cruise wasn’t going to satisfy them. Resisting the temptation to let the 996TT off the leash for an hour or so, Daz finally found a suitable piece of blacktop and engaged the afterburners. Unless you drop down a gear, the thrust of the 996TT can be deceptively subtle. But when you get to 150, top gear is coming into its stride and charging hard.
As the digital speedo flickered larger and larger numbers, the tyre and wind roar increased and a mild vibration caused by the road surface became noticeable. No traffic, the convoy far behind, Daz pressed on until 275km/h (173mph) appeared on the read-out. A car in the far distance signalled the need to brake, and a firm press on the middle pedal slowed the silver missile down without drama. Then it was just a question of waiting for the convoy to reform in the rear mirror about five minutes later…
Arrival
We arrived at The Dorint hotel at the Nurburgring in the afternoon, and dropped off our luggage in time for the evening public session at the track. Without pausing to stop and chat in the car park, Daz – who had already checked tyre pressures – purchased a ticket and set straight off for a lap. As the barrier raised, we negotiated the coned section at the start and then – bang – Daz’s erstwhile calm persona evaporated and a wave of G-force signalled that the pedal was definitely to the metal.
Thrown into a series of twisty corners, the 996TT gripped and gripped, with the merest squeal of tyres from a four wheel drift. As the four wheel drive grabbed at the tarmac and transmitted 454bhp into the Flugplatz ‘straight’, we were catapulted forwards at a tremendous pace. My main thought as we approached a blind brow at 140mph was whether Daz had remembered the circuit, but luckily he had; and he had remembered it well. Daz didn’t just know the corners, he knew the lines and the turn-in points, and the car was ably doing the rest.
Technological Tour de Force
The
amazing thing about the 996TT is that it is a heavy, luxurious and easy to drive
car – yet it is capable of lapping a treacherous stretch of road like the ring
without drama or fuss, at extremely high speeds. When a mortal machine would be
oversteering, you feel a mere moment of imbalance when the processors think
about what to do, then drive is apportioned to the front wheels, individual
wheels are braked, and the engine is reigned in. Then you shoot off down the
road with you foot still flat to the floor.
When we got back to the car park, Daz did a few more passenger rides, and some of the others went out for an exploratory lap. Then it was back to the Dorint for rather a large amount of beers and some dinner. Jon (jonboysmart) found a great way of annoying the bar staff by turning up the hi-fi system remotely using his palm pilot. Funny to see, especially if watching through beer goggles.
Sliders
Awoken by Touring Car practice at 9am on the Friday morning, we nursed our hangovers as best we could and got ready to head over to our B&B, which would be our base for the next couple of days. The Dorint is great, with rooms overlooking the GP circuit, but it’s expensive and a bit corporate. Attaching a PistonHeads sticker to the Trabant on the first floor, we got some merchandise at the Nurburgring gift shop and left.
Sliders B&B is a great place to stay, despite being 20 mins from the ring. With prices of about 15GBP a night, and great hospitality from Brendan and Suzy (ex-pat bikers with a Westfield 11 in the huge garage!), you just can’t go wrong. Both host and hostess were recovering from injuries sustained in the course of fast biking, so it was a bit like being waited on by the extras in Casualty, but they were tremendous company.
Spy Shot City
We
arrived at the ring in the afternoon, just before 2pm public access. Some motor
manufacturers were using the ring for testing prototypes, so I did my best
effort to take shots of the new Bentley Coupe in light disguise. Looked good,
sounded GREAT. The new MG X-whatever batmobile was there as well, resembling an
Audi TT that had collided with a stealth bomber Airfix kit. Looked rubbish IMHO,
but again sounded GREAT. I am glad woofling V8s are as popular as ever with
British manufacturers (even if the MG does use the ubiquitous Chevy Small
Block).
Over the next couple of days, I had the chance to view the track action from some impressive viewing points at Pflanzgarten (a wiggly downhill section) and Brunnchen (a double right hander inviting oversteering – or overcooking – antics, depending on your skill level), chat to a number of fast car enthusiasts in the car park and enjoy a number of passenger rides. Memorable moments included:
Riding with SFV (Ewan) in a Porsche 968 Club Sport
Ewan
is a Demi-God, it’s as simple as that. With 240bhp, he was lapping the ring as
fast, or faster, than Daz in his 454bhp four wheel drive weapon. Drifting from
apex to apex, the last time I had been driven this well was by the late Will Hoy
around Donington in an Alfa SZ.
Daz was good, but Ewan could have done the Nurburgring 24hr and come home with some silverware. The most memorable lap of the ring, and a real lesson that a £10K car is all you need to humiliate expensive cars and rapid superbikes.
Testing Porsche cupholders at 1g
Porsche put slide out cupholders in their cars these days, and to be honest, I was expecting the drinks to fly out once we were in full flow. Not so. In fact they made a handy G-meter. According to my calculations, 45 degrees equals 1g. As you can see from the pics, Daz was working that 996TT!
Meeting some American GT3 owners collecting their new car
Gary
and Alan were a couple of amiable Americans who saw Daz’s car and came over to
ask us a question about export plates. Problem solved, we ended up chatting to
them for ages and even lapping with them on a highly enjoyable sortie.
They flew to the factory, picked up their new GT3 Mk2, lapped the ring for a week, then were going to hand the car back for export back to their dealer in the States. That’s the way to do it, boys!
Watching Daz try and gain on a local nutter in a tuned Suzuki Swift Gti.
Daz got undertaken dangerously by a local idiot in a Suzuki Swift 1.3 Gti when he was held up by a slower car. The Suzuki undertook us both and then bolted off into the distance while Daz waited for the next opportunity to get past the ‘backmarker’. When he finally got through, we couldn’t gain on the Suzuki an inch. In fact, it probably got away from the 996TT. That’s what local knowledge, a stripped out supermini and a tuned engine and suspension package can do for you.
If you go to the ring in a fancy car, remember those words…
Experience a C36 AMG out of its depth and on the limit
Daz’s brother Lee did a fine job of keeping the C36 AMG on the blacktop, despite it being far too heavy for the ring. As it rolled from side to side in a series of rear wheel drifts, Lee kept it balanced – although his mate Hendy had apparently shown an even more lurid technique the day before. Real seat of the pants stuff, but huge fun. Errr, knackered discs and tyres meant the abuse would be paid for later though.
A final mention to all those we met and travelled with (apologies if I’ve missed anyone out).
The convoy muppets
Lee – Daz’s ickle brother and a stickler for good service; Mike – who managed to laugh heartily at all those times I wanted to, but didn’t dare; Rocket – who took the Pflanzgarten corner flat out because his brakes faded; James – the reckless young daredevil who earned the sobriquet Graham Hill for his old fashioned English swashbuckling driving style; Hendy – obviously a good driver, but sadly no passenger ride for me… bagsy the passenger seat next time; Sandy – who has an XJS that does 8mpg so sensibly didn’t cruise there; and Marcus (S3_MCD) – again, I missed out on some fast laps by the sounds of it. The Clio V6 boys. Jonathan (jonboysmart) – a voice of reason in those Porsche discussions; and Deano – who came out with the line of the trip when he’d had a bit to drink… ‘I like lesbians, me’. Excellent.
PHers we knew
Guillotine – the Griff owner with ‘kin eck as a reg plate; Peter964RS – who was giving Scaramanga a bit of an airing, Pikey – top pics on the website, sir (anyone who wants to see more pics should go to www.pikeynet.com) … look forward to seeing you at PistonFest; SFV – for becoming a legend in a laptime; and JH280774 (Jens) from the Ferrari forum – who had a nice sounding Tubi’d 348 thanks to our man Manu. Shame we had to leave so quickly on the Sunday, Jens.
The Sliders
Brendan & Suzy – superb accommodation and a surefire recommendation from me, enough said; JW – get those brakes sorted JW or that wall chart will run out of space; Ross – opinionated as only a Scottish South African could be, this bloke was hilarious company… as he would say himself ‘highly entertaining’; and Ian and Ian – all round good guys and bikers who Daz took for some hot laps in one of those four wheeled thingummies that used to seem quite slow.
The American GT3 guys
Keep
in touch on PH chaps, and have fun in the GT3. If you can keep up with a 996TT
X50 with just 7000 rpm, imagine what 8000 rpm will be like!
All the other petrolheads we met
From the guy in the silver Ultima Sports to the easytrackers in the Caterhams, and the owner of silver 964RS number 772 who we diced with on the way home.
So all in all, great company, exciting fun on the ring – and everyone back in one piece. Superb. I’m looking forward to the next trip out there already, and if you’re a PHer it is your duty to pay homage to the Nurburgring by lapping it at least once before you grow too old and boring to drive anymore. A petrolheads’ circuit, well worthy of a visit by PistonHeads regulars.
[member]Domster[/member], 27.05.03
[links]Nurburgring|ring[/links]