If you've been keeping up with my
liveblog
on the subject, you'll know I've just spent an eventful weekend out at the Nurburgring, enjoying my first N24 as well as my first ever lap of the circuit as part of the Aston Martin parade - more on which later on in the week. But with the race over, and after an evening spent putting pedal to metal to get home, it's time to reflect.
First and foremost, a special word for my travelling companion: the
Rapide S
. What a tremendous thing it’s been for the trip; effortless and serene on the motorway, and yet raging and exhilarating when shown a set of corners. I’m going to have to give it back tomorrow, and I’m not looking forward to it.
But the Rapide was just one part of a spectacular weekend. N24 has been a superb experience – even with the weather as it was – and I’d highly recommend making the trip out next year if you’re a fan of 24-hour races. If you’ve been to Le Mans, you’ll have some idea of what to expect; add into the mix copious amounts of bratwurst and weissbier, countless crazy Germans, mad self-built scaffold towers overlooking the track and the plunging, verdant scenery of the Eifel hills, and you’ll be some way toward imagining it. The fans are superb – ever-enthusiastic and hardcore, and unwilling to let the small matter of night-long torrential rain affect their enjoyment of the event. The camaraderie in the campsites is legendary, even more so in these circumstances. And then there are the cars. Where else will you get to see a Manta going wheel-to-wheel with an R8 LMS, or an E36 BMW 3 Series hastily moving out of the way of a 911 GT3 RSR while trying not to fall off into the shrubbery? The cocktail that the N24 serves up is truly unique in that respect.
It might have been a tad damp...
Back in grey old Blighty, the noise and passion of the last few days feels like a bit of a surreal dream. But
Le Mans
is only a few weeks away, and while it’s a different spectacle entirely, it’ll have its own highs and lows to look forward to. I can’t wait. In the meantime, enjoy this final selection of pics from the weekend – the ones I simply couldn’t find space for at the time, but which were worth sharing anyway. Enjoy.
DBR1 still looks sensational
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Two Aston icons together
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CC100 looks awesome in the flesh
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Monkey woz 'ere?
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Parade lap was a real highlight
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007 in DB5. Amazing
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Dr Bez in DB5. Also pretty cool.
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Want. All of them.
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