OMG, Less Than 4 Weeks 'till My Ring Trip

[TheDetailDoctor]

Yes, finally I am getting to go to the 'ring.

Leaving on 1st Oct, back on 4th Oct in my little 500.

[Austin.J]

I'm not going till next year, lucky git.

[winshent]

TheDetailDoctor said:

Yes, finally I am getting to go to the 'ring.

Leaving on 1st Oct, back on 4th Oct in my little 500.

Good luck in that.. you might appear to be a moving obstacle to most others on track.

[8balls]

Hi,

I was there during August for the first time. First day weather was nice and on sunday it was raining like there is no tomorrow. I drove plenty on both days. One thing I noticed was generally cocky attitude of British people... And that all the cars that were in armco facing the wrong direction had UK plates.

I also talked with quite a few instructors and received piece of advice which was excellent - Drive so fast that you are having fun but not so fast it is scary. You (or I) are probably not professional racing drivers so the ring during TF is not place to try speed records. It can get pretty expensive if you do.

So drive safely and have fun! Also, Cochem is worth a visit if weather is good.

[CampDavid]

winshent said:

TheDetailDoctor said:

Yes, finally I am getting to go to the 'ring.

Leaving on 1st Oct, back on 4th Oct in my little 500.

Good luck in that.. you might appear to be a moving obstacle to most others on track.

You can drive anything round there, within reason, without holding people up. Just keep an eye on your mirrors, indicate and move out of the way.

I've been held up mainly by quick BMWs/Porsches etc at the ring as the owners don't see why a French hatch should be so much quicker than them. Can't recall a single problem with anyone in a slow car

[TheDetailDoctor]

The Crack Fox said:

I was there back in May, go most years, great fun if you treat the place with respect. You've probably already seen this website, but it not, check it out > http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

Ahem, insurance ?

No specific exclusions on my policy mentioning either the ring, or "derestricted toll roads"

[edo]

See if you can beat this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Qxic6qj3E

[McSam]

TheDetailDoctor said:

The Crack Fox said:

I was there back in May, go most years, great fun if you treat the place with respect. You've probably already seen this website, but it not, check it out > http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

Ahem, insurance ?

No specific exclusions on my policy mentioning either the ring, or "derestricted toll roads"

I have no personal experience in the matter, but I'd still treat it with extreme caution - I wouldn't expect any UK company to pay out on the Nordschleife. Perhaps the lack of an exclusion will be enough, though, someone in the know can step in here

But top man for going to do it, and we expect a photo review when you're back!

[stigmundfreud]

TheDetailDoctor said:

The Crack Fox said:

I was there back in May, go most years, great fun if you treat the place with respect. You've probably already seen this website, but it not, check it out > http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

Ahem, insurance ?

No specific exclusions on my policy mentioning either the ring, or "derestricted toll roads"

phone up, check before you go. I drove no problems just keep to the right to let the faster guys past and not get too cocky. Or hire a track car for 400 euros for the day which comes with insurance and an excess far less than if you were to hit the armco

You will love it

[RobM77]

I went twice in my own car before I came to the conclusion that it was far better to hire a track prepped car from one of the nearby companies and leave my pride and joy in the hotel car park. I used RSR, who I found completely professional. The Caterham I hired had off-centre steering from a front end knock, but other than that their service and instruction (a few laps were included in the price) were fantastic. Friends of mine have also used "rent a race car", who they found brilliant also.

edited to add: Obviously if you do hire, then book the car before you go. Tourist lapping weekends can get very busy.

Edited by RobM77 on Monday 6th September 11:22

[TheDetailDoctor]

stigmundfreud said:

TheDetailDoctor said:

The Crack Fox said:

I was there back in May, go most years, great fun if you treat the place with respect. You've probably already seen this website, but it not, check it out > http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

Ahem, insurance ?

No specific exclusions on my policy mentioning either the ring, or "derestricted toll roads"

phone up, check before you go. I drove no problems just keep to the right to let the faster guys past and not get too cocky. Or hire a track car for 400 euros for the day which comes with insurance and an excess far less than if you were to hit the armco

You will love it

I know somebody who did phone up as he had no exclusions on his policy, then come renewal time he found they added exclusions.

[winshent]

CampDavid said:

winshent said:

TheDetailDoctor said:

Yes, finally I am getting to go to the 'ring.

Leaving on 1st Oct, back on 4th Oct in my little 500.

Good luck in that.. you might appear to be a moving obstacle to most others on track.

You can drive anything round there, within reason, without holding people up. Just keep an eye on your mirrors, indicate and move out of the way.

I've been held up mainly by quick BMWs/Porsches etc at the ring as the owners don't see why a French hatch should be so much quicker than them. Can't recall a single problem with anyone in a slow car

I'll confess I haven't done the ring myself yet, but after watching numerous youtube videos I get the impression that the general pace is reasonably quick..

I just can't imagine a 1.2 litre Fiat 500 would be a good car to go around the nurburgring with..

[TheDetailDoctor]

winshent said:

I just can't imagine a 1.2 litre Fiat 500 would be a good car to go around the nurburgring with..

Persuading a slow car to go quickly can be just as much fun as persuading a quick car to go quickly.

[winshent]

TheDetailDoctor said:

winshent said:

I just can't imagine a 1.2 litre Fiat 500 would be a good car to go around the nurburgring with..

Persuading a slow car to go quickly can be just as much fun as persuading a quick car to go quickly.

Fully agree with that.. I took my old 306 dTurbo out on a hoon once and a really good time with it..

[hesnotthemessiah]

winshent said:

TheDetailDoctor said:

Yes, finally I am getting to go to the 'ring.

Leaving on 1st Oct, back on 4th Oct in my little 500.

Good luck in that.. you might appear to be a moving obstacle to most others on track.

No S**t! I thought I was going backwards. I was overtaken at one point by a GT2 and it nearly sucked me out of the window.

It is very very exciting! Can't wait for my next trip.

[mk1matt]

See pic below for proof of the slowest lap ever to be done by a BMW 330! this was taken last Sunday (29th Aug)I've now got a measly 6 laps under my belt, but I'm hooked. Next year I'll be there in something slower, and more expendable, as I found my fear of binning the BMW tempered the fun somewhat.

It was still awesome though. OP - have fun. It's brilliant. Don't forget to check out the various photographers sites for pics of your car on track.

[Superdry]

stigmundfreud said:

phone up, check before you go. I drove no problems just keep to the right to let the faster guys past and not get too cocky. Or hire a track car for 400 euros for the day which comes with insurance and an excess far less than if you were to hit the armco

You will love it

Which hire company is that with then? I rented a Clio 200 Cup from RSR and it cost over 600 Euro for the whole day and came with a 8,000 Euro Excess, with an additional 5,000 Euro excess for third party claims.

So if I crashed the car into a biker, killed the biker and totalled the car then I would have needed to pay 13,000 Euro worst case.

The Clio also had a 10 lap limit, with each additional lap costing 70 Euro.

TF is a risk, no matter what you are driving. A hire car is an option but could still be financially troubling so always make sure you know what you are getting into.

However, it isn't as troubling as crashing an uninsured car into a biker, killing the biker and totalling your own car and then facing all sorts of nasty bills.

[monthefish]

stigmundfreud said:

TheDetailDoctor said:

The Crack Fox said:

I was there back in May, go most years, great fun if you treat the place with respect. You've probably already seen this website, but it not, check it out > http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

Ahem, insurance ?

No specific exclusions on my policy mentioning either the ring, or "derestricted toll roads"

phone up, check before you go.

and record the conversation. (If they say are happy, please PM me as I will take out insurance with them next year.)


It's a great place, you'll have a fantactic time.

[winshent]

The Crack Fox said:

winshent said:

I just can't imagine a 1.2 litre Fiat 500 would be a good car to go around the nurburgring with..

Really ? I rekcon it would be a hoot

If you enjoy crapping your pants continuously for 10 minutes or so then i'm sure you would have a great time..

If it was a little Abarth on the other hand then it would be good..

I'm not knocking the OP's car btw way.. I'm sure they are good honest fun.. I just dont think a slow car like that would be safe on the ring..

[HereBeMonsters]

winshent said:

I'm not knocking the OP's car btw way.. I'm sure they are good honest fun.. I just dont think a slow car like that would be safe on the ring..

I did it last year in my brother's 1.1 Saxo (as my 205 developed ring-itis again) and it was great fun. Had to slow down a couple of times as the solid front discs started to fade, and the temp gauge soared as we climbed from Bergwerk, but it was a good laugh. We even overtook a couple of things.

It was when my brother took over that it got a little dangerous. He'd never driven on a track before, so had no idea why the brakes were getting worse corner to corner, and didn't do anything about it until he boiled the brake fluid. Luckily I was able to slow the car with the handbrake (without locking the rear wheels) and we made it round the corner. He was a bit slower after that.