My wife bought me a Nurburgring rental - help!

[LincolnLovin]

Hopefully this is the right place on PH.

So Father’s Day is here and my wonderful wife presented me with a ‘Rent4Ring’ voucher for a tricked out Suzuki Swift Sport turbo.

I don’t think she had quite realised how challenging the track was, I reminded her that the crash compilation videos I watch were all from the ‘ring

How should I prepare? I can watch videos etc but are any sims (Xbox?) + wheel and pedals any good?

The plan is to go safe & slow but other than that what tips do you recommend to keep me out the Armco.

[LincolnLovin]

I’ve just bought a steering wheel etc so I can try and “learn” the route. I have no desire to chase times, not crack and not die is the main objective here.

[LincolnLovin]

How can I ensure the best insurance? For like max coverage?

[LincolnLovin]

Also best game to use for practice?

[LincolnLovin]

Hi Roy!

I’d be looking at being in Germany in the middle of August. My steering wheel should arrive today if I’m lucky.

[LincolnLovin]

Dale Lomas said:

Worry not, I'll chuck you a lap of coaching on top. Any of the Gran Turismo games will illustrate lefts from rights, but it's not totally necessary. Voucher is redeemable any time, but book in advance so as not to be disappointed!

Dale
(Rent4Ring)
((DMSB Nat. instructor, FIA Int C, VLN class champ, n24 class winner, once got wordle in two attempts)

Looking at the track days there's one on my birthday in August - I assume that price is extra on top of the rental? Or is the start time (16:00) after the track day event has finished? Either way I've popped an enquiry in.

Edited by LincolnLovin on Wednesday 22 June 11:54

[LincolnLovin]

Luckily my campervan is a manual left hand drive so that isn't a major issue (and it will be my main vehicle in August).

As luck would have it assetto corsa competizione has just gone on sale for the xbox, my steering wheel & pedals (thrustmaster tx leather edition) and stand have arrived as well so will get cracking on the practice tonight.

[LincolnLovin]

annnd it turns out I have the wrong version of asseto corsa - refunded and bought the correct one for the ring.

[LincolnLovin]

I whacked Asseto Corsa onto expert mode and am using a fiat 500 as the test car and resetting the race every time i have a ding. So far I've made it about 2 mins in. It does help with learning the course though.

[LincolnLovin]

Big day is here! Just arriving at Rent 4 Ring!

[LincolnLovin]

Well that was utterly fantastic, a massive thanks to Tayler, Dale, Saskia and the Rent4Ring crew. A really chill but professional service, clear instruction and most importantly fun!



I did two laps and whilst the first was scary (for me, dull for Tayler) I felt much more confident by the second go around. The track was super busy on the first lap, but no major crashes or offs happened thankfully. I saw one drivers engine gave up the ghost and another bmw clipped into a Lexus RX, which seemed to be a pretty light amount of incidents.



Whilst I won’t be taking the LC 500 round there any time soon, I am 100% up for renting another swift next time, I think I’d have another coaching session and then try on my own.

I did see some unexpected metal on track: Audi A2, Opel Zafira and a T6 transporter. There was also you usual 911s & Caymans etc etc. The only downside was that my car didn’t have a go pro mount so I couldn’t record my laps, next time I’ll book one that does have one.

[LincolnLovin]

Luckily my camper van that I'm driving across Europe is a left hand manual so provided plenty of practice in the run up to the big event

[LincolnLovin]

Chunkychucky said:

LincolnLovin said:

Whilst I won’t be taking the LC 500 round there any time soon, I am 100% up for renting another swift next time, I think I’d have another coaching session and then try on my own.

Glad to hear it went well OP! When I went the cars were the older 1.6N/A Swifts, and can imagine the extra torque of those newer turbocharged models being useful at most points around the track. Having a RHD car was very useful as it removed at least one thing to worry about from the equation.

Yes it certainly helped when I entered the corners in too higher gear! Towards the mid point of the second lap I was getting somewhat better at the sequence/ordering of entering a corner (position, braking, gear, turn, power).

[LincolnLovin]

Added the sticker to the van, now it’s Track ready for next time:

[LincolnLovin]

Two years later and I’m making a last minute trip to Germany, might as well swing by the ring and luckily enough it’s open on Monday! Have sent in an enquiry to Rent4Ring, as they’ve since upgraded to Mini Cooper S, which should be an absolute riot round the ring.

[LincolnLovin]

I got back today. Had an absolute blast, even though it was raining hard and also snowed on the first day. The second day was still wet but not nearly as bad.

I also did my first ever solo laps!

The mini is a great upgrade from the swift, I kept it in auto as grip was tricky in the conditions.

Can’t wait to go back again, hopefully in the dry!