Thursday 23rd February 2012

German 'Ascari' nears completion

Fed up of the politics at the 'ring? Bilster Berg Drive Resort might be the answer

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It might be hard to imagine from this handful of mucky construction photos, but Germany's answer to the fabulous Ascari Race Resort is only a few months away from its first trackday. Despite a three-week delay caused by snow and Arctic temperatures, the Bilster Berg Drive Resort is already taking bookings for the first trackdays in July.

How it'll look by the summer, hopefully

Participants of the first trackdays will be able to see for themselves if the input of names such as Walter Rohrl and Hermann Tilke have really made us a mini-Nordschleife.

On paper it certainly looks intriguing. Over 70m of altitude change in 44 different places in a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) track is enough to make any trackday addict wince. Or salivate. And thanks to a tour of the still-muddy course on the back seat of an Audi Q5, we can tell you this track will be anything but simple.

At one point of the tour our driver has to give up. Even our Audi Q5's Quattro four-wheel drive isn't enough to navigate us around the eleventh turn, provisionally called Mausefalle (The Mousetrap). Still unsurfaced, it's a decreasing-radius hairpin preceded by a staggering 26 per cent (1 in 4) descent. We simply look down at the turn and then drive back the way we've come. And that's only one turn of 22...

Track is in place, yet to be surfaced

Sometime in April, depending on the weather, a team of two asphalt-laying machines will spend an estimated three to four continuous days laying up to a million tonnes of tarmac. And that's only a fraction of where the estimated 34 million euros of investment will be going. You might have already guessed from the photos, but the circuit is being built on an old British Army ammunition dump. Each of those double-walled warehouses will be renovated and converted into workshops, private garages and business premises.

While shareholders will have their own 'private' days each month, like Ascari, most days will be available to rent by driving experience companies, trackday organisers and manufacturers. Around 70 miles east of Dortmund and about 350 miles from Calais it's a bit more of a drive than the 'ring but the owners claim the track will be easily accessible for enthusiasts the world over. So maybe we're making the wrong comparison; this isn't a German Ascari but instead a Teutonic Bedford Autodrome with Nordschleife gradients.

For a full list of trackdays at the new circuit you can check this page by Renndays, a third-party German trackday calendar website. The main Bilster Berg website is here.

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[PascalBuyens]

Can't wait to go there

[Davey S2]

Looks like there will be a bit more run off than at the 'Ring!

[FWDRacer]

Will this be FIA spec and licenced for ahem, proper 'track dsays'?

[adsvx220]

Next years euro trip I think.

[rallye666]

er.... Blister 'ring?

[sinizter]

Wonder if they will sell insurance to cover any mishaps on track.

[paranha]

You are Not serious!!!!!--Are you? So if they close the IOM TT circuit, Donington will be offered as a replacement eh!!

[LukeBird]

Looks good.
Here's hoping it has the effect of giving the 'ring management a bit of a kick up the arse as well...

[Skater12]

Just watched the CG video of the track, and all i can say is i reckon there will be a lot of people going off around that steep drop hairpin. looks fecking leathal!
Still, want to have a go in somthing relatively basic, like a Cooper S or the new Suzuki Swift Sport.

[MrTappets]

This looks fantastic, and I wouldn't mind knowing how they made that video. Maybe they used a driving game engine to power the sim.

[jon-]

Ascari is petrol heads nirvana. If it gets to 90% of Ascari then it will be

[DanDC5]

I like the look of this. Just waiting to see how much they want to shaft you on cost now....

[tony993]

Davey S2 said:

Looks like there will be a bit more run off than at the 'Ring!

Yes, but still nowhere near enough. You'd have thought, with a brand new circuit, they'd have put more effort into this aspect of the design.

[VidalBaboon]

Trees look like a nice thing to crash into

[Pothole]

Fed up WITH. Fed with, Filled with, Fed up with.

[RenesisEvo]

Oh no.

It was going so well until the name Tilke was mentioned. Rather hoping he hasn't made it like most of his other circuits.

Still, going by the situation at the 'Ring, it will be great to have an alternative. Especially given that the competition might force the 'Ring owners to sort their ideas out or struggle even more.

[Some Gump]

Scary lack of run off, especially the downhill left hander.

[Turbo Harry]

The only thing this and the Nurburgring have in common is that they're race tracks and they're in Germany. Why the 'Ring is even mentioned here is beyond me. Apples and oranges.

[Streetrod]

Now that I like. As others have said that track looks like a challenge. Lots of blind apexes and that drop remind me of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. I suspect in real life a there will be a hell of a lot more barriers to prevent people wrapping themselves around those trees.

I hope they are able to offer membership at prices a lot lower than Ascari which is just insanely expensive.

Also is it likely to have noise restrictions?

[Monty Python]

Some say he's the Stig's digital cousin....