Nurburgring the other weekend
Discussion
We took a bunch of cars out first to Goodyear's test track at Colmar-Berg, then on a bunch of road routes through the Mosel and Rhine valleys and finally out to the Ring. Here are some pictures. Hope you like.
Cars are Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR FQ-340, Honda NSX, Vauxhall VXR220 and Lotus Exige. We also had a Mercedes CL65 AMG along, just for shits and giggles and to find out what 612bhp felt like when unleashed around the Nurburgring.
In the vineyards above the Rhine valley town of Bacharach
Colmar-Berg was a blast. The track was basically a series of variable radius bends linked by a mile long straight and then a 210-degree banked turn. The guy who was hosting us at Goodyear managed to punt the VXR220 clean off the track into the infield, spinning it so many times he lost where the track went. The good thing about CB was that there was great surfaces and plenty of run off for this sort of action...
The NSX gets a bit sideways through Turn One.
From Colmar-Berg we decamped to Cochem in Germany where we were hosted by Dr No, the representative from the local tourist office who hated the French, the East Germans, the Americans, the Italians and the Spanish. He probably hated the English too. At least he should after being ribbed solidly for an hour over dinner. Cochem itself was a pretty scenic place and has a castle that's fun to storm at night. We got a day tour from a guy who also looked like a throwback from the Third Reich and seemed entirely too fascinated by the medieval torture instruments.
That's the River Mosel in the background. The Evo almost went in.
A snapshot outside the hotel of the Exige and the VXR220.
From Braubach we drove up the Mosel valley to Koblenz to pick up another toy. A brand spanking new Porsche 997 Carrera S was ours to play with, so I took it up to the German Corner - where the Rhein and Mosel meet - and organised a photo shoot there. I had great fun yelling off the top of a huge-ass statue with a loud hailer.
The new shape of 911.
From there it was a fast road route down to Braubach and more castles. The local one was considerately shrouded in scaffold for me to clamber up. Braubach's a great place to grab a few atmos shots of the cars...
The road routes on the flanks of the Rhine Valley are Das Scheisse. Winding their way into the hills near Bacharach and Boppard are some screaming bends to plunder. The Exige was the daddy here although 420bhp worth of 911 Turbo wasn't too shabby either.
Then it was on to the Ring. Friday was rocking. The standard of driving was very good and it wasn't too busy. In the morning we got to watch the industry drivers giving the shakedown to some vehicles debuting at the Paris Show. I got to see the new Mercedes R Class, the Range Rover Sport and a few other newbs as well as some tyre and stability control tuning for the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Saturday was interesting with plenty of accidents caused by bikers who didn't have a clue as to what they were doing. We had camera permits and rigged the Evo up with video cameras for a couple of laps. I swooped in on a 911 GT3 RS in the Foxhole and figured it'd make great video to put the number plate camera of the Evo inches from his rear bumper going through Adenauer Forst chicane. Unfortunately he got so flustered he almost left the circuit! I overtook him and looked for someone quicker to chase.
Like this nicely prepped GT2
Or this guy lifting wheels through Flugplatz
Unfortunately the test was getting to some of the cars. The NSX did a rear suspension bush, the VXR's engine resorted to a safe ignition map, the Evo brake discs warped catastrophically and the 911 Turbo munched through a set of front pads in pretty short order. Only the Exige felt as fresh as a daisy.
The Exige in the Karusell
The Evo leaps into Pflanzgarten four up on a recce for the camera laps.
Chasing Jags.
The Jaguars above were filming a piece for Top Gear TV. Jeremy Clarkson was trying to set a 10 minute lap in the S-TYPE 2.7 diesel. Most of the actual driving was undertaken by Sabine Schmitz, a local racing driver and, until she recently crashed it, a BMW M5 RingTaxi driver. There's no way Clarkson would set a ten minute lap although I think maybe the finished article's going to be edited to make it look as if he did.
The Mercedes CL65AMG.
The Merc was just bonkers. Unleashing all that torque just overwhelms the rear tyres and I had an interesting oversteer moment in the Pflanzgarten at 125mph. Given that the car costs £145,000 I didn't want to be the one who crashed it. After a couple of laps I left it in the paddock.
Cars are Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR FQ-340, Honda NSX, Vauxhall VXR220 and Lotus Exige. We also had a Mercedes CL65 AMG along, just for shits and giggles and to find out what 612bhp felt like when unleashed around the Nurburgring.
In the vineyards above the Rhine valley town of Bacharach
Colmar-Berg was a blast. The track was basically a series of variable radius bends linked by a mile long straight and then a 210-degree banked turn. The guy who was hosting us at Goodyear managed to punt the VXR220 clean off the track into the infield, spinning it so many times he lost where the track went. The good thing about CB was that there was great surfaces and plenty of run off for this sort of action...
The NSX gets a bit sideways through Turn One.
From Colmar-Berg we decamped to Cochem in Germany where we were hosted by Dr No, the representative from the local tourist office who hated the French, the East Germans, the Americans, the Italians and the Spanish. He probably hated the English too. At least he should after being ribbed solidly for an hour over dinner. Cochem itself was a pretty scenic place and has a castle that's fun to storm at night. We got a day tour from a guy who also looked like a throwback from the Third Reich and seemed entirely too fascinated by the medieval torture instruments.
That's the River Mosel in the background. The Evo almost went in.
A snapshot outside the hotel of the Exige and the VXR220.
From Braubach we drove up the Mosel valley to Koblenz to pick up another toy. A brand spanking new Porsche 997 Carrera S was ours to play with, so I took it up to the German Corner - where the Rhein and Mosel meet - and organised a photo shoot there. I had great fun yelling off the top of a huge-ass statue with a loud hailer.
The new shape of 911.
From there it was a fast road route down to Braubach and more castles. The local one was considerately shrouded in scaffold for me to clamber up. Braubach's a great place to grab a few atmos shots of the cars...
The road routes on the flanks of the Rhine Valley are Das Scheisse. Winding their way into the hills near Bacharach and Boppard are some screaming bends to plunder. The Exige was the daddy here although 420bhp worth of 911 Turbo wasn't too shabby either.
Then it was on to the Ring. Friday was rocking. The standard of driving was very good and it wasn't too busy. In the morning we got to watch the industry drivers giving the shakedown to some vehicles debuting at the Paris Show. I got to see the new Mercedes R Class, the Range Rover Sport and a few other newbs as well as some tyre and stability control tuning for the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Saturday was interesting with plenty of accidents caused by bikers who didn't have a clue as to what they were doing. We had camera permits and rigged the Evo up with video cameras for a couple of laps. I swooped in on a 911 GT3 RS in the Foxhole and figured it'd make great video to put the number plate camera of the Evo inches from his rear bumper going through Adenauer Forst chicane. Unfortunately he got so flustered he almost left the circuit! I overtook him and looked for someone quicker to chase.
Like this nicely prepped GT2
Or this guy lifting wheels through Flugplatz
Unfortunately the test was getting to some of the cars. The NSX did a rear suspension bush, the VXR's engine resorted to a safe ignition map, the Evo brake discs warped catastrophically and the 911 Turbo munched through a set of front pads in pretty short order. Only the Exige felt as fresh as a daisy.
The Exige in the Karusell
The Evo leaps into Pflanzgarten four up on a recce for the camera laps.
Chasing Jags.
The Jaguars above were filming a piece for Top Gear TV. Jeremy Clarkson was trying to set a 10 minute lap in the S-TYPE 2.7 diesel. Most of the actual driving was undertaken by Sabine Schmitz, a local racing driver and, until she recently crashed it, a BMW M5 RingTaxi driver. There's no way Clarkson would set a ten minute lap although I think maybe the finished article's going to be edited to make it look as if he did.
The Mercedes CL65AMG.
The Merc was just bonkers. Unleashing all that torque just overwhelms the rear tyres and I had an interesting oversteer moment in the Pflanzgarten at 125mph. Given that the car costs £145,000 I didn't want to be the one who crashed it. After a couple of laps I left it in the paddock.
Rob P said:
Is it 7 or 8mins that is the "benchmark" for a good road car?
well its not 7 mins, even quick/good handlling cars & good driver would struggle to get much under 9mins for a full lap. Even just sub 8mins requires an empty track & a good pro in say a GT3 or R500.
Clicky-
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=127014&f=57&h=0
>> Edited by iguana on Tuesday 28th September 20:35
Sunday evening was very quiet and I managed an 8:39 BTG in the 911. I've only been to the Ring six times, so although I know the line reasonably well, I'm still learning how hard I can push on certain surfaces and kerbs, avoid bumps and so forth.
We had a filming permit so I should have some fun sideways video from the Evo to post as soon as a friend has finished editing it.
We had a filming permit so I should have some fun sideways video from the Evo to post as soon as a friend has finished editing it.
iguana said:
Is it 7 or 8mins that is the "benchmark" for a good road car?
Even just sub 8mins requires an empty track & a good pro in say a GT3 or R500.
Clicky-
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=127014&f=57&h=0
>> Edited by iguana on Tuesday 28th September 20:35
I seem to remember BMW talking about the fact the M3 managed 8 mins?
bad_roo said:
Sunday evening was very quiet and I managed an 8:39 BTG in the 911. I've only been to the Ring six times, so although I know the line reasonably well, I'm still learning how hard I can push on certain surfaces and kerbs, avoid bumps and so forth.
We had a filming permit so I should have some fun sideways video from the Evo to post as soon as a friend has finished editing it.
When people talk about 'ring times are they always talking about bridge to gantry?
Rob P said:
When people talk about 'ring times are they always talking about bridge to gantry?
Coz you can't do a full lap on a public day.
Dependant on car & top speed- as the car would normally be pulling top speed between the bridge & gantry, you can make an estimated guess at the full lap time give how many seconds it would take between the two.
iguana said:
When people talk about 'ring times are they always talking about bridge to gantry?
Coz you can't do a full lap on a public day.
Dependant on car & top speed- as the car would normally be pulling top speed between the bridge & gantry, you can make an estimated guess at the full lap time give how many seconds it would take between the two.
So on a public day you peel off at the end of the straight and the pit exit rejoins at the righthander a few corners further down the track?
bad_roo said:
You leave the straight halfway along it and enter the car park and re-enter the track through the barriers about fifty yards further up.
Blimey, it shows how long it's been since I last went. We used to get the full length of the straight and the lap ended after the right-left-right wiggle after Tiergarten, so you started the lap just before the first left-hander at Hatzenbach - more or less where the new circuit joins the old.
Next year, must try and go again next year...
We were there the sat and sunday 18/19th in 2 elises saw you lot along with millions of others.. Was the busiest I have ever seen the ring! Some of the driving and traffic on track was getting pretty dangerous on the saturday.. 
saw the vxr picked up a little front scrape... also saw a brit 355 and irish 911 conv getting on the tow truck. sunday late afternoon was so much better. But what a great weekend top weather for it too!
Clarkson was pushing the diesel jag pretty bloody hard, wouldn't be surprised if he got a 10 minute lap.
Much easier to push hard at the ring if you know you won't have to pick up the tab for the damage!
Must have a PH meet convoy over there I will be back at easter!
Absolutely fantastic pics of the weekend here, if you did a lap of the ring that weekend this guy will have taken your pic!
http://ringbunny.fotopic.net/c295649.html
Cheers J
saw the vxr picked up a little front scrape... also saw a brit 355 and irish 911 conv getting on the tow truck. sunday late afternoon was so much better. But what a great weekend top weather for it too! Clarkson was pushing the diesel jag pretty bloody hard, wouldn't be surprised if he got a 10 minute lap.
Much easier to push hard at the ring if you know you won't have to pick up the tab for the damage!
Must have a PH meet convoy over there I will be back at easter!
Absolutely fantastic pics of the weekend here, if you did a lap of the ring that weekend this guy will have taken your pic!
http://ringbunny.fotopic.net/c295649.html
Cheers J
I got nailed.
J - you're right about the VXR. One of our sponsors got a little enthusiastic on Sunday evening. Coming up on the tight right hander at T13, he decided not to brake for the corner. Pitching the VXR in and planting the throttle, the back end stepped out, he lifted off and the car spun, nerfing the armco on the inside of the bend. The worst part was that he was facing the oncoming on a blind corner. He nearly completed the job by turning round, just missing a Ford Focus RS that came by at about 65mph. That would have been interesting. The damage wasn't bad at all - just a few cracks in the nosecone but he was a bit shaken up by the whole affair.
You sure it was JC at the wheel? The times I saw the Jag diesel really moving it was Sabine in the driver's seat. Clarkson was going at a fair speed with her in the passenger seat talking him through the line but whenever he was in the car on his jack he just seemed to be bimbling around.
>> Edited by bad_roo on Wednesday 29th September 10:45
J - you're right about the VXR. One of our sponsors got a little enthusiastic on Sunday evening. Coming up on the tight right hander at T13, he decided not to brake for the corner. Pitching the VXR in and planting the throttle, the back end stepped out, he lifted off and the car spun, nerfing the armco on the inside of the bend. The worst part was that he was facing the oncoming on a blind corner. He nearly completed the job by turning round, just missing a Ford Focus RS that came by at about 65mph. That would have been interesting. The damage wasn't bad at all - just a few cracks in the nosecone but he was a bit shaken up by the whole affair.
You sure it was JC at the wheel? The times I saw the Jag diesel really moving it was Sabine in the driver's seat. Clarkson was going at a fair speed with her in the passenger seat talking him through the line but whenever he was in the car on his jack he just seemed to be bimbling around.
>> Edited by bad_roo on Wednesday 29th September 10:45
....I've done no work this morning and unlikely to do so.... great post and photos! Haven't been for a couple of years, but must make the effort... oh well, back to dreaming!!! Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff