Nurburgring: The most fun I have had in a car!
Discussion
I have just got back from a short Euro trip that contained a couple of laps of the ring.. As the title says it was the most fun I've had in a car.
I have never driven on track before this and was amazed at the sheer amount of grip I seemed to have on a dry track in a standard road car. I was driving a Saab 93 Aero saloon which performed great other than me cooking the brakes which hampered things slightly!(But this was my fault for driving badly anyway)
My problem is that I think I might have to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering the ring!.. Anyone else feel the same? Will I get the same feeling from a regular UK track day?
I have never driven on track before this and was amazed at the sheer amount of grip I seemed to have on a dry track in a standard road car. I was driving a Saab 93 Aero saloon which performed great other than me cooking the brakes which hampered things slightly!(But this was my fault for driving badly anyway)
My problem is that I think I might have to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering the ring!.. Anyone else feel the same? Will I get the same feeling from a regular UK track day?
P4T said:
I have just got back from a short Euro trip that contained a couple of laps of the ring.. As the title says it was the most fun I've had in a car.
I have never driven on track before this and was amazed at the sheer amount of grip I seemed to have on a dry track in a standard road car. I was driving a Saab 93 Aero saloon which performed great other than me cooking the brakes which hampered things slightly!(But this was my fault for driving badly anyway)
My problem is that I think I might have to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering the ring!.. Anyone else feel the same? Will I get the same feeling from a regular UK track day?
Very happy for you. I love it too, I think it is unique.I have never driven on track before this and was amazed at the sheer amount of grip I seemed to have on a dry track in a standard road car. I was driving a Saab 93 Aero saloon which performed great other than me cooking the brakes which hampered things slightly!(But this was my fault for driving badly anyway)
My problem is that I think I might have to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering the ring!.. Anyone else feel the same? Will I get the same feeling from a regular UK track day?
It is normally grippy in the dry, the grip is unpredictable in the wet.
I recommend doing some limit handling training, and then taking your time learning the place. The enjoyment factor only gets better with familiarity.
As for brakes, good luck with that! My method for preserving brakes is to drive slower, especially in the downhill sections.
As said......... a unique place free from all the artificial chicanes that remove the dangerous corners from many UK tracks! Take for instance Oulton's "knicker brook" or Castle combe's old paddock these would be akin to the flugplatze if you didn't have the safety chicanes to ruin the flow.
Donington national has fantastic flow with the Craner curves and the Old hairpin being my personal favourites.
My current Nordshleife favourite is the awesome 'fflanzgarten II'..when you nail this complex with its totally blind turn in, believe me, it feels good! The beauty of the ring is the continuous onslaught of fast flowing corners and massive changes in elevation.....unfortunately I guess once you start chasing a time and prematurely testing your own limits and that of the car, the ring rapidly becomes a bit 'Russian Roulette'!
When you consider that Sabine's famous Ford Transit diesel was pushing a 77mph average you realise just how quick this road is.
I would suggest your SAAB is more suited to UK tracks like the Donington National!
Donington national has fantastic flow with the Craner curves and the Old hairpin being my personal favourites.
My current Nordshleife favourite is the awesome 'fflanzgarten II'..when you nail this complex with its totally blind turn in, believe me, it feels good! The beauty of the ring is the continuous onslaught of fast flowing corners and massive changes in elevation.....unfortunately I guess once you start chasing a time and prematurely testing your own limits and that of the car, the ring rapidly becomes a bit 'Russian Roulette'!
When you consider that Sabine's famous Ford Transit diesel was pushing a 77mph average you realise just how quick this road is.
I would suggest your SAAB is more suited to UK tracks like the Donington National!
I have done the Ring a few times on both bike and car, and yes it is a buzz, but on the tourist days now it is just a lottery. Crashes ,shut downs ,oil spills , all queueing up to part you with your hard eaned money. However it sounds like you just got a buzz from taking your car around a track and that I can understand ( and totally encourage of course ). As mentioned have done 5 or 6 visits to the Ring, very enjoyable , but recently did a normal trackday at Snetterton in my car ( only a little Almera gti ), and can honestly say that was more enjoyable as a track experience than all the Ring visits put together.
P4T said:
My problem is that I think I might have to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering the ring!.. Anyone else feel the same? Will I get the same feeling from a regular UK track day?
I recognise your symptoms my child.You have a bad case of Ringworm.
There is no known cure. It manifests itself in a constant itch. You can only scratch it by returning often.
In answer to your last question - no.
HTH!
Totally agree with you. I got to the Ring several times a year to test new parts on my car (building a Cupra racer). Love it out there and it really does consume your soul! There is also a centre Parcs just 20 mins down the road, so will be taking my family next summer (my sons 5 weeks old) and towing the Cupra over.
You go once, and all you want to do is go back! Then its Ringworm
You go once, and all you want to do is go back! Then its Ringworm
P4T said:
My problem is that I think I might have to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering the ring!.. Anyone else feel the same? Will I get the same feeling from a regular UK track day?
Cooked your brakes? Shame on you!LoL. As for the rest of your life,there are people who could help turn that into one day.http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/4.gifderektrimblitz said:
I'll be taking a cautious approach and minding the faster drivers...
This is where I would do things differently next time. We were very nervous about getting in someone's way so as soon as we caught sight of anything in the mirrors it was straight over to the right, off the line. Next time I'm going to hold the line a bit longer!.. As well as not braking as much and going a lot faster!P4T said:
This is where I would do things differently next time. We were very nervous about getting in someone's way so as soon as we caught sight of anything in the mirrors it was straight over to the right, off the line. Next time I'm going to hold the line a bit longer!.. As well as not braking as much and going a lot faster!
Hmmm.Just remind yourself that you have absolutely no insurance cover whatsoever on a tourist day - and that you're sharing the track with everything from locals going very quickly in race prepped hatches, via bikers on their first ever lap through to a bunch of tourists on a coach.
The bill for getting things wrong can ruin the rest of your life.
Before getting carried away, do some UK track days - I find it much more relaxing and therefore enjoyable knowing that it's a much more controlled, if less challenging, environment.
I went to the Nordschleife in 2009 and absolutely loved the place. I had "practiced" it on GT4 and Forza, but that doesn't prepare you for how busy it is, how the rises and dips are not represented properly in the computer world, or the sheer ferocity of the place. I found it rather intimidating, and that, combined with the knowledge that if I caused a crash, I would most likely lose my house as a consequence, I drove a few rather sedate 12 minute laps.
In the end, I only did 5 laps, but this was at the weekend, and so each lap was interspersed with periods of standing around while yet another accident was cleared up. However, in one of these periods, I found an awesome looking GT-R, and in 2009 these were quite rare. I discovered it was David Yu in his new Godzilla, and chatted to him for a short while. I sheepishly admit I didn't know who he was at the time, but he was a very pleasent gentleman, and talked enthusiastically about his new car, and about my E36 M3 Evo.
I would love to return, especially as I have now spent a LONG time driving the Nordschleife on GT5. The track feels far more "real" in that game than any other, the rises and dips seem to be properly represented, and I have compared my videoed laps with that of the game, and the similarities are very good. Of course, my imagined "familiarity" with the place would most likely result in a spectacular accident, so I would still drive carefully.
I think what makes the Nordschleife feel special is that it feels like a fast country road. Most tracks have massive run-off, and because they are based around the perimeter of an airfield, are predominantly flat. I find those sorts of tracks very boring.
Another track I feel is in the spirit of the Nordschleife, although much shorter, is the Brands Hatch full circuit. The most fun I have had in my M3 Evo was an open pitlane afternoon at Brands Hatch. It was only the indy track, and so quite short, but I absolutely loved that afternoon. Firing my M3 down Paddock Hill bend, almost losing it into the kitty-litter, recovering and blasting up the hill to the Druids hairpin, brakes fading on the approach, is a memory I will never forget. If you have never driven Brands, it's worth a try.
I hope the current uncertainties with the Nurburgring are resolved, and I get to return to the Nurburgring Nordschleife next year. I have been looking forward to it since i was there in 2009.
Cheers,
Steve
In the end, I only did 5 laps, but this was at the weekend, and so each lap was interspersed with periods of standing around while yet another accident was cleared up. However, in one of these periods, I found an awesome looking GT-R, and in 2009 these were quite rare. I discovered it was David Yu in his new Godzilla, and chatted to him for a short while. I sheepishly admit I didn't know who he was at the time, but he was a very pleasent gentleman, and talked enthusiastically about his new car, and about my E36 M3 Evo.
I would love to return, especially as I have now spent a LONG time driving the Nordschleife on GT5. The track feels far more "real" in that game than any other, the rises and dips seem to be properly represented, and I have compared my videoed laps with that of the game, and the similarities are very good. Of course, my imagined "familiarity" with the place would most likely result in a spectacular accident, so I would still drive carefully.
I think what makes the Nordschleife feel special is that it feels like a fast country road. Most tracks have massive run-off, and because they are based around the perimeter of an airfield, are predominantly flat. I find those sorts of tracks very boring.
Another track I feel is in the spirit of the Nordschleife, although much shorter, is the Brands Hatch full circuit. The most fun I have had in my M3 Evo was an open pitlane afternoon at Brands Hatch. It was only the indy track, and so quite short, but I absolutely loved that afternoon. Firing my M3 down Paddock Hill bend, almost losing it into the kitty-litter, recovering and blasting up the hill to the Druids hairpin, brakes fading on the approach, is a memory I will never forget. If you have never driven Brands, it's worth a try.
I hope the current uncertainties with the Nurburgring are resolved, and I get to return to the Nurburgring Nordschleife next year. I have been looking forward to it since i was there in 2009.
Cheers,
Steve
HeatonNorris said:
Hmmm.
Just remind yourself that you have absolutely no insurance cover whatsoever on a tourist day - and that you're sharing the track with everything from locals going very quickly in race prepped hatches, via bikers on their first ever lap through to a bunch of tourists on a coach.
The bill for getting things wrong can ruin the rest of your life.
Before getting carried away, do some UK track days - I find it much more relaxing and therefore enjoyable knowing that it's a much more controlled, if less challenging, environment.
This. It's an invitation by the germans to F*** things up to then be landed with the most enormous bill which is largely there to pay off the German deficit by selling everything you own. Just remind yourself that you have absolutely no insurance cover whatsoever on a tourist day - and that you're sharing the track with everything from locals going very quickly in race prepped hatches, via bikers on their first ever lap through to a bunch of tourists on a coach.
The bill for getting things wrong can ruin the rest of your life.
Before getting carried away, do some UK track days - I find it much more relaxing and therefore enjoyable knowing that it's a much more controlled, if less challenging, environment.
A bit like those strip joints you heard about when you were a lad that would charge you stupid amounts for drinks you bought for the girls that you hadn't actually realised you'd bought. I never went btw.
I will stick to local tracks where my insurance works...
P4T said:
This is where I would do things differently next time. We were very nervous about getting in someone's way so as soon as we caught sight of anything in the mirrors it was straight over to the right, off the line. Next time I'm going to hold the line a bit longer!.. As well as not braking as much and going a lot faster!
This can only end badly I'm afraid 
CAPP0 said:
Kawasicki said:
It is normally grippy in the dry, the grip is unpredictable entirely non-existent in the wet.
terryb said:
The Rong is a very special place, so much so that I am now racing there in the VLN in a Clio Cup. It's kind of the opposite of the GT3 in that you get overtaken by everything rather than the other way round 
Just try to imagine leaving the pits for your next VLN 2hr stint, pitch black, wet track, and getting up to race pace whilst being dazzled by the most powerful driving lights available, attached to VLN aero specials on a mission............... Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff