planning my first trip to the Nürburgring.....advice sought

[y2blade]

I have just booked a long weekend off work in september so plenty of time to organise

starting with a totaly clean sheet for this trip...its ALL new to me

all help and info greatfully recieved


where do i start?

[grahamn]

y2blade said:

I have just booked a long weekend off work in september so plenty of time to organise

starting with a totaly clean sheet for this trip...its ALL new to me

all help and info greatfully recieved


where do i start?

Have you checked that the ring is open on the dates you have booked off

[Birdthom]

Ding. Not many weekend dates this year. Have a look on www.northloop.co.uk

[reaper668]

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/ for info.


http://www.ringhaus.com/calendar/month.php?date=20... for dates

[y2blade]

reaper668 said:

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/ for info.


http://www.ringhaus.com/calendar/month.php?date=20... for dates

yep it say "open to public" on our weekend we will be on the track on the sat eve and sunday...traveling home on the monday

Edited by y2blade on Wednesday 27th February 11:22

[flemke]

y2blade said:

I have just booked a long weekend off work in september so plenty of time to organise

starting with a totaly clean sheet for this trip...its ALL new to me

all help and info greatfully recieved


where do i start?

Bit of advice # 1:

Try doing a search for the tons of PH threads on this exact topic, such as:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

etc, etc.

[Fidgits]

Best advice.

At first - Take it easy - go at your own pace - keep an eye on your mirrors and indicate and move over to the right to let faster cars pass.

Treat Motorbikes like the suicidal idiots they are - trust them as much as you would Deano's mates girlfriend.


once you've got the hang of the circuit you can press on more - bear in mind the Ring expect you to have liability insurance, so if your normal insurance doesnt cover, you might want to think about that should the worst happens.


Oh, and let your car cool down - a few hot laps will have your brakes very hot - the last thing you want is to press the brakes and have nothing happen - it allows the engine to cool as well.

[y2blade]

i wont be going mad, me and g/f are treating it as a road trip i just want to "tick that box" to say ive been and done it

we will be going in my Volvo T5 unless ive changed it before then, i'm always on the lookout for my "next" car

[fergus]

Fidgits said:

Treat Motorbikes like the suicidal idiots they are

Bit of a myopic view their mate. Agreed, a large proportion of the UK guys are point and squirt merchants, however, several of the locals are very handy and have considerably more experience than most of the UK 'weekend' fraternity.

I think a better piece of advice is, however much the bikes *may* grate on you, you *must* give them room (whether you think they deserve it or not) as hitting the armco in a car is most likely to take the smile off your face, whilst hitting the armco on a bike is more likely to take the pulse out of your heart.

Personally I consider the ring surface (plus the inexperienced/arrogant car drivers) too dangerous to ride on now, so stick with the car. (7'58" so far (BTG) on video!!!)

Courtesy and concentration is the key to the Ring. Pretty simple really.

[Fidgits]

fergus said:

Fidgits said:

Treat Motorbikes like the suicidal idiots they are

Bit of a myopic view their mate. Agreed, a large proportion of the UK guys are point and squirt merchants, however, several of the locals are very handy and have considerably more experience than most of the UK 'weekend' fraternity.

I think a better piece of advice is, however much the bikes *may* grate on you, you *must* give them room (whether you think they deserve it or not) as hitting the armco in a car is most likely to take the smile off your face, whilst hitting the armco on a bike is more likely to take the pulse out of your heart.

Personally I consider the ring surface (plus the inexperienced/arrogant car drivers) too dangerous to ride on now, so stick with the car. (7'58" so far (BTG) on video!!!)

Courtesy and concentration is the key to the Ring. Pretty simple really.

Sorry - perhaps my point didnt come across - yes your right, the bad bikers all tend to have UK plates (sorry, sweeping generalisation - but an accurate one!)

My point was just give them all a wide berth, as you just dont know..

[fergus]

Fidgits said:

.... the bad bikers all tend to have UK plates (sorry, sweeping generalisation - but an accurate one!)

My point was just give them all a wide berth, as you just dont know..

Agreed. for the majority of them, their skill level falls well below their perceived skill level. For many, the phrase, "all the gear, no idea" springs to mind!

Giving them a wide berth also protects your car should they make a stupid decision, whilst hopefully ensuring you don't run over them *when* they come off. You've probably noticed that many of them ride very aggresively, but with little finesse (a massive generalisation I know)...

All IMHO of course...

[Fidgits]

fergus said:

You've probably noticed that many of them ride very aggresively, but with little finesse (a massive generalisation I know)...

Thats what i meant by treating them like suicidal idiots...

[y2blade]

thanks everyone...just found this video (same car as mine)

i cant wait
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QiWQl4Eb_jM

as i said before i will be taking it easy and am plaining on getting out on the track on the saturday evening from 17:30-19:30 then most of the Sunday too (sunday is open all day)

any hotels you guys recommend?

[fergus]

y2blade said:

any hotels you guys recommend?

book any that are still available NOW!

The locations nearest to the Ring get booked up almost as soon as the dates are finalised!

Try and get a pax lap in a car for your first 2 or 3 laps, it takes the shock factor away, and allows you to mentally judge how you would ride/drive for your first few laps.

[y2blade]

fergus said:

y2blade said:

any hotels you guys recommend?

book any that are still available NOW!

The locations nearest to the Ring get booked up almost as soon as the dates are finalised!

Try and get a pax lap in a car for your first 2 or 3 laps, it takes the shock factor away, and allows you to mentally judge how you would ride/drive for your first few laps.

yeah ok..thanks

i'll get a hotel booked before the end of this week

[flemke]

y2blade said:

thanks everyone...just found this video (same car as mine)

i cant wait
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QiWQl4Eb_jM

as i said before i will be taking it easy and am plaining on getting out on the track on the saturday evening from 17:30-19:30 then most of the Sunday too (sunday is open all day)

any hotels you guys recommend?

There are hundreds of in-car videos of 'ring laps. If you just wish to familiarise with the physical layout, the one to which you have linked is fine. For an example of how to drive the circuit, however, if I were you I'd look elsewhere.
Without getting into details of the lines and stuff, one thing on the video that you should avoid at all costs is undertaking another car (passing on the other car's right). It is absolutely forbidden, if you get caught you will get banned from the 'ring and may be banned from driving on German public roads, and worst of all it is quite dangerous and has caused many a shunt out there.
Similarly, if you're about to be overtaken, stay to the right with your right indicator flashing.

[y2blade]

flemke said:

y2blade said:

thanks everyone...just found this video (same car as mine)

i cant wait
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QiWQl4Eb_jM

as i said before i will be taking it easy and am plaining on getting out on the track on the saturday evening from 17:30-19:30 then most of the Sunday too (sunday is open all day)

any hotels you guys recommend?

There are hundreds of in-car videos of 'ring laps. If you just wish to familiarise with the physical layout, the one to which you have linked is fine. For an example of how to drive the circuit, however, if I were you I'd look elsewhere.
Without getting into details of the lines and stuff, one thing on the video that you should avoid at all costs is undertaking another car (passing on the other car's right). It is absolutely forbidden, if you get caught you will get banned from the 'ring and may be banned from driving on German public roads, and worst of all it is quite dangerous and has caused many a shunt out there.
Similarly, if you're about to be overtaken, stay to the right with your right indicator flashing.

ahh ok flemke,thanks alot for that advice (only pass on the left and keep right and indicate when caught buy a faster vehicle)

i only posted the vid up as i was amazed to see on with a Volvo T5 going around their...but from looking at various videos this afternoon you get all sorts of cars going around! i'd imagined it to be all porsche's and M3's

i'm really looking forward to getting over there now

Edited by y2blade on Wednesday 27th February 15:53

[Psychlist]

If you haven't much experience of the 'Ring itself you won't go far wrong by booking up with KHF performance, look them up at www.thenurburgringexperience.co.uk Keith does very reasonable rates for a long weekend (Fri-Mon) and you get the benefit of his experience and support the whole time you're there. I've been going for a few years now on the bike and got my first car trip there in mid-June, I hope to go back out a few times on the bike after that. I love riding their country roads, so well surfaced and traffic free with every bend set out so it's relatively easy to read, very few surprises!

...and yes! The standard of driving/riding improves substantially the further you get from the channel ferry ports

[fergus]

y2blade said:

only pass on the left and keep right and indicate when caught buy a faster vehicle

If you keep an eye in your mirrors, you will be able to move out of the way of faster vehicles in plenty of time, reducing the surprise for you having someone who has 'suddenly' appeared behind you, and removing some of the frustration for them.

As Flemke said, make sure you move over to the RIGHT only, and use your indicators to acknowledge that you've seen them.

It's worth looking in your mirrors just before entering the corners, as by the time you're approaching the exit, there may be something right up your exhaust pipe travelling a LOT faster!

As with all 'race circuits', it is up to the person behind to find a safe way psat, but you can assist in this. Remember it is a public road where German road law applies.

Have fun!

[Psychlist]

y2blade said:

you get all sorts of cars going around! i'd imagined it to be all porsche's and M3's

Wait 'til you come hurtling round a corner and end up burning your eyes out from the flashes of Japanese tourists hanging out the back of a bus taking your photograph! They get all sorts of vehicles on the track, it's effectively a one-way toll road, anything road legal can go on there on touristfahrten days, even top-gear Transit drivers