This winter I was determined to do something new, something I couldn't do here at the 'ring and something that didn't cost too much. Luckily for me I've been working with a European track day organiser called Skylimit Events. And the boss Andy Jaenen invited me to his home track of Zolder for the last track day of 2013.
Zolder lives up to its reputation...
Zolder is an old F1 circuit that's only a couple of hours north of the 'ring. So onto the company trailer goes the 328i, and we hit the autobahn. With my buddy Thorsten driving, I've got my head buried in my phone. Videos of racing the circuit, one after the other. Zolder's got a bit of a reputation as an old-school circuit - a take-no-prisoners track with unforgiving barriers and relatively high speeds. I can see why.
As we arrive there's already a silver, 4-door BMW 328i parked in the paddock. With its roof caved in and a wheel missing. Holy crap.
Because you pay by the hour and the circuit is stadium lit, my emphasis is on doing a couple of afternoon sessions and the final hour under darkness. The weather, thankfully enough for my perverse tastes, is a constant barrage of rain interspersed only by the occasional drizzle.
The night before I'd swapped the radiator, as the old one had split the very moment I decided to do a final fluid and spanner check. So I took to the track for my first laps and the last 20 minutes of the lunchtime stint, just to check everything is OK.
Well, my old BMW is still fine. And when the chequered flag comes out, I make the briefest of pit-stops while the session changes, just to check tyres, wheels and fluids. The next hour is a learning exercise. Missed apexes, unknown lines and random braking markers abound.
After a whole year of driving the slow car that's fast in the corners, I find that in the mostly 2.0-litre Belgian track day crowd my 328i is actually quite fast. But I suck.
Next stint, I'm not driving. I'm in pitlane chatting with Andy, hanging on his every word as he talks me around a fast lap. He's won enough races here over the decades, that I know I really need to listen. Braking markers, turning in points, they're all going in. Next, I sit in the car and try to visualise how a good lap looks in my head.
See the links for full day and night laps
The first corner is tricky, as it looks fast and wide, and it kind of is. Right until the end where the radius decreases. But a late turn-in yields a quicker exit. Then you're running on the flat out towards the canal, via a massive 180-degree right-hander that just gets faster and faster. Another fast right, not quite flat out and you're heading away from the canal and the flatness, towards a hilly wooded section. I won't go into too much detail when you can just watch
the video
And then the sun goes down. My last session is under stadium lighting between 5 and 6. It's so vivid. The yellow sodium lights through the forest, and the white halogens of the start-finish straight. Even with around two hours of track time under my belt, I still manage my fastest lap of the day in the dark. And, to quote that annoying TV advert, it feels epic.
328i will be off the road for the foreseeable
What feels less epic right now are the financial pressures of my family and our Christmas holidays. Despite my racing career here at the 'Ring actually starting to produce some silverware, I'm actually only just hanging on to my BMW 328i. By the very tips of my fingers. It's a luxury that I can't really afford or justify. A car just for going around race tracks.
"Didn't you race for that team VLN last season? Do you need your own old BMW for that?"
"Don't you work for a track car rental company? Can't you drive their cars?"
So the 328i has come off plates for now. That means I don't have to pay road tax or insurance, but I can't drive it on the roads or public sessions on the 'Ring. That saves me a whopping 200 euros a month here in Germany and I don't have the money yet for the 1,500 euro Nurburgring year card anyway. Maybe with the money I'm saving, I could start to look at the creeping rust and upgrade the radiator. Oh, right, I'm saving it for family stuff. Must remember that. Damn.
Fact sheet
Car: 1997 BMW 328i SE
Run by: Dale Lomas
Bought: September 2012
Purchase price: £950
Last month at a glance: Did a single track day, then took it off plates.