Nurburgring 2017
Discussion
Its been playing on my mind for the last couple months and I've decided to get myself down there and get a few laps round there
Its more for the experience but if anyone has done this in the last year I would like any advise, tips etc
Did you drive there and put the bike in the van? Its 400 miles for me which could be done on the bike but I'll have a square supercorsa after! Anyone stay over local to the circuit and if so where? Any tips appreciated
Its more for the experience but if anyone has done this in the last year I would like any advise, tips etc
Did you drive there and put the bike in the van? Its 400 miles for me which could be done on the bike but I'll have a square supercorsa after! Anyone stay over local to the circuit and if so where? Any tips appreciated
Biker's Nemesis said:
CAPP0 said:
I used to go a lot (around 15 years ago) and I have a lot of laps under my belt (hundreds, 99% on bikes) plus I've had circuit-specific tuition there on a closed track.
I fear you've missed the boat. I wouldn't ride a bike round there again now on a TF (public) day; in fact I probably wouldn't drive a car round there now either.
Probably the best advice I can offer if you're committed to doing it is:
1. Speak to Neil Leigh of AE Aventures and ask him whether he will be running english-language groups on any of the Motorrad days, and whether you can get a place (you'll get tuition and a closed circuit, it'll be 2-3 days and well north of £1000 though).
2. See whether there are any TDOs running bike-only days. I don't know whether they do.
3. If you can only go on a public session, look for one of the midweek evening sessions, usually 1700 - 2000 in the summer. There will still be VERY fast cars there (and bikes) who will come out of nowhere and over/undertake you when you think you have the sector to yourself, but they will at least in the main be locals who know the track and know what they are doing, so they risk is slightly diminished.
If you go on an open weekend, I can guarantee you that (a) you won't get anywhere near the car parks, (b) the place will be full of Brits determined to beat Clarkson's mythical 9 minutes, and (c) several of those will stuff their cars trying, resulting in often-lengthy full closure of the track. During those closures, the aforementioned champion drivers get very frustrated, which means that when they go back out, they try even harder to make the lap time, because they need to do it before heading back for the ferry, and guess what happens then?
On top of all that, it used to be about €5 a lap, I think it's more like €25 now?
And finally, despite all the people on here who will quote legal caveats to the contrary, you almost certainly won't be insured. Your insurer may well pay out against a 3rd party, but will pursue you for the full cost. Remember also that of you damage the track or track furniture (Armco etc), you WILL be billed for it. I've seen (physically set eyes on) horrendous bills for thousands of euros for a small low-speed slide into the Armco. You can get cover per day but last time a mate checked (maybe 12-15 years ago) it was around £150 per day, and I expect that's gone up considerably given the points I made above about Brits vs 9 minutes.
Apologies for the doom & gloom but that's how it is, certainly IMO.
Enjoy!
I couldn't agree more with the above post, in fact I'd say this was a "gospel post" for anyone with any sense of self preservation wanting to go to the Nurburgring on a bike.I fear you've missed the boat. I wouldn't ride a bike round there again now on a TF (public) day; in fact I probably wouldn't drive a car round there now either.
Probably the best advice I can offer if you're committed to doing it is:
1. Speak to Neil Leigh of AE Aventures and ask him whether he will be running english-language groups on any of the Motorrad days, and whether you can get a place (you'll get tuition and a closed circuit, it'll be 2-3 days and well north of £1000 though).
2. See whether there are any TDOs running bike-only days. I don't know whether they do.
3. If you can only go on a public session, look for one of the midweek evening sessions, usually 1700 - 2000 in the summer. There will still be VERY fast cars there (and bikes) who will come out of nowhere and over/undertake you when you think you have the sector to yourself, but they will at least in the main be locals who know the track and know what they are doing, so they risk is slightly diminished.
If you go on an open weekend, I can guarantee you that (a) you won't get anywhere near the car parks, (b) the place will be full of Brits determined to beat Clarkson's mythical 9 minutes, and (c) several of those will stuff their cars trying, resulting in often-lengthy full closure of the track. During those closures, the aforementioned champion drivers get very frustrated, which means that when they go back out, they try even harder to make the lap time, because they need to do it before heading back for the ferry, and guess what happens then?
On top of all that, it used to be about €5 a lap, I think it's more like €25 now?
And finally, despite all the people on here who will quote legal caveats to the contrary, you almost certainly won't be insured. Your insurer may well pay out against a 3rd party, but will pursue you for the full cost. Remember also that of you damage the track or track furniture (Armco etc), you WILL be billed for it. I've seen (physically set eyes on) horrendous bills for thousands of euros for a small low-speed slide into the Armco. You can get cover per day but last time a mate checked (maybe 12-15 years ago) it was around £150 per day, and I expect that's gone up considerably given the points I made above about Brits vs 9 minutes.
Apologies for the doom & gloom but that's how it is, certainly IMO.
Enjoy!
I've had the same said with isle of man tt though and I went last summer and loved it so now Im in two minds
CAPP0 said:
NAS said:
http://www.motorradonline.de/actionteam/motorrad-p...
Contact details:
http://www.motorradonline.de/actionteam/sixcms/det...
I would do this if I were you.
That's what I was on about above. In the morning they section the track off and you get given a section which you can ride, ride the wrong way, walk, run, basically do what you like.Contact details:
http://www.motorradonline.de/actionteam/sixcms/det...
I would do this if I were you.
In the afternoon it's open lapping sessions.
However, almost all the groups (except 1 or 2) are German-speaking, so unless you're fluent you won't know where you need to be and when, hence why you need to speak to Neil. He is one of the few Englishmen who is an authorised Nordschleife instructor and who Motorrad will (usually but not always) allow to run a group. Max group size is about 8-10 so you need to get in quick.
Neil's website is http://www.aeaventures.com .
It was more a case of get there, make sure certain things are done and checked then go out and ride a few laps at the 25 euro a lap
But going by some of whats been said I think for my own safety it maybe better I skip this one and just appreciate Nurburgring for what it with a few good YouTube videos
doogalman said:
I instruct at the Ring on trackdays and Tourist sessions(Albeit in cars) but am a biker at heart that has been riding the ring since 1998. Lots of usefull advice has already been offered.
If you are interested in somewhere to stay my wife and I have guest accomodation in our house 10 miles south of the track. Ping me a message if you want more info.
Thats really appreciated and I will doIf you are interested in somewhere to stay my wife and I have guest accomodation in our house 10 miles south of the track. Ping me a message if you want more info.
Dr Jekyll said:
A lot of bikers seem to be riding steadily across the grass run off at Adenauer Forst then suddenly lose control. Is it a rougher surface than it looks or just slippery?
It looks slippy not rough and fronts beginning to tuck so they stand it up. If you've ever been pushing on at a track day and the front goes it looks like what they were doing. You sit it up then try lean again but normally heading towards the grass so you are forced to sit up and take the grassCAPP0 said:
What often happens is, you bend a bit of Armco and think, hmm, that's not too bad, but when they come along to estimate, they run a straight-line view along it and you'd be surprised how many more sections will be bent.
The one I clearly remember was a couple of young Brits mucking about in the wet in an old Skyline. They were drifting/skidding on purpose, and slid sideways into the Armco at <10mph (we were watching, around Hatzenbach, far too wet (read:slippery) for bikes). The guys got out of the car grinning and playing to the crowd but went strangely quiet when the marshalls turned up. Caught up with them later in the Grunholle and they showed us the Armco bill: 3500 Euro. And you have to pay on the spot, there's none of this "send me a bill, I'll fk off back to Blighty in the meantime" malarkey.
That would just write me off completely. Seriously could not afford to be hit with a 1000+euro bill when Im out there just to enjoy the circuitThe one I clearly remember was a couple of young Brits mucking about in the wet in an old Skyline. They were drifting/skidding on purpose, and slid sideways into the Armco at <10mph (we were watching, around Hatzenbach, far too wet (read:slippery) for bikes). The guys got out of the car grinning and playing to the crowd but went strangely quiet when the marshalls turned up. Caught up with them later in the Grunholle and they showed us the Armco bill: 3500 Euro. And you have to pay on the spot, there's none of this "send me a bill, I'll fk off back to Blighty in the meantime" malarkey.
Im lost with the last couple comments (although the popcorn made me laugh) but Im sure I come out with enough crap to have people rip into me for years! Haha
Well from this post I am now sorting accomodation (doogalman) and a decent ride around the local roads, I've got a damn good understanding of how it all functions (Cappo) and Im just using good old google to work out the best way to get there which Im thinking Harwich to Hook of Holland. Ride to Harwich is only 55 miles but its over 220 miles once in Holland to Nurburgring so next bit is finding a decent route that'll make that ride fun. I cant stand motorways/freeways or anything else for long time if I can help it.
Lastly hows the law for speed once over there? I know of the autobahns and Im on an upright so 90-120mph will be cruising speed as it gets uncomfy if you go too much more after a while but are they hot on speed?
Well from this post I am now sorting accomodation (doogalman) and a decent ride around the local roads, I've got a damn good understanding of how it all functions (Cappo) and Im just using good old google to work out the best way to get there which Im thinking Harwich to Hook of Holland. Ride to Harwich is only 55 miles but its over 220 miles once in Holland to Nurburgring so next bit is finding a decent route that'll make that ride fun. I cant stand motorways/freeways or anything else for long time if I can help it.
Lastly hows the law for speed once over there? I know of the autobahns and Im on an upright so 90-120mph will be cruising speed as it gets uncomfy if you go too much more after a while but are they hot on speed?
Prof Prolapse said:
I drove to Nurburg from Berlin in the morning and it was light policing the whole way until I drove home from the track, then it was fairly well policed with some roads perhaps intentionally closed. Just get 10 miles out before you pin it.
I found policing in general pretty light across Germany but I could have been lucky. I'd rather not fall foul of that famous German sense of humour though.
My ex dad was German and a girl in our group came into England from Germany at 26 (36 now) so yep I know exactly what you mean about the 'sense of humour' bit ;-)I found policing in general pretty light across Germany but I could have been lucky. I'd rather not fall foul of that famous German sense of humour though.
Well... Having read all the scary stories and knowing alot of the facts... I'm booked to go end April, in fact about 6-7 of us are going
I'll try get pictures and videos as we start our journey to calais and ride to nurburgring
I'm sure I'll see what people mean by these GT3 drivers but it's an experience I want to try
I'll try get pictures and videos as we start our journey to calais and ride to nurburgring
I'm sure I'll see what people mean by these GT3 drivers but it's an experience I want to try
Well 4 days to go. I leave Saturday 5.30am so have the bike pretty much ready as I wont be on it before then
Few bits I still need to sort are;
I'll try to get some pics up as I go along while out there. Bit nervous about the 280 odd mile ride from Calais to the B&B as that'll be the longest Ive ever done in one go and Im told the first bit is motorway which is very boring. Anyone that owns a 'naked' type bike will know how this is going to feel...
Few bits I still need to sort are;
- USB cable stopped working - possibly sticky connector
- LED low beam conversion - on its way but wont have time to do the high beam
- Jumper mod on headlights so when full beam on the low beam stay on too. The standard lights on these bikes are garbage
I'll try to get some pics up as I go along while out there. Bit nervous about the 280 odd mile ride from Calais to the B&B as that'll be the longest Ive ever done in one go and Im told the first bit is motorway which is very boring. Anyone that owns a 'naked' type bike will know how this is going to feel...
spareparts said:
1100 Factory actually one of the more popular bikes amongst locals and seen at the Ring. To avoid some motorway tedium and the Brussels ring road, I highly recommend taking the 'southern' route south of Liege via the E42 > Namur > Huy > Hamoir > Stavelot > Malmedy (Spa is a stones throw from here) > Prum > then the 410 all the way to Nurburg.
Appreciate the heads up. I'll definitely take this route if I can. I try to avoid motorways like the plagueAdamLoewy said:
The motorways are dull and mean you end up missing some fun roads. I've done the same route that Spareparts posted a couple of times and definitely worth the extra time.
The marshals can be fussy over gopro mounting, so I'd recommend placing them somewhere less noticeable.
Enjoy!
I have it on the rightside of the fairing just under the indicator which passed at Snett last month and Im going to stick it on the tank if I can for a dash view...but I guess I will soon find out if thats no goodThe marshals can be fussy over gopro mounting, so I'd recommend placing them somewhere less noticeable.
Enjoy!
First day done... Absolutely shattered
Left 5.30am ams had a good run and alot of laughs all the way to nurburgring. Not many 'scenic' pictures yet they are all too come probably tomorrow or Monday before I head home
We found the funniest poster on the way that had us laughing...
The last hour of roads are... Well... Simply amazing. I just can't get over how many decent roads there were
I did 2 laps, the first was with a guy 'Billy' that's moved out here with his wife and daughter and what a lovely family. Chatted with them all afternoon and he came out on my first lap. Was a bit daunting and shouldn't have timed it I know... But I did and ran 8.06
Did a second lap feeling much more fluent. There's a section (haven't a clue the name of it) which I took off a bit... That was funny before braking for the right. Managed 7.54 that lap then it was finished for the day
Got back to the very lovely Roy and Kim for a sausage fest (ahem) and now watching the boxing feeling very full
I was proud to show the size of my sausage compared to one of my old mates
Will get a gopro video of tomorrow. Reminding myself I'm on my road bike with road tyres
I can see why people say what they do about the ring but I found as long as you kept your witts about you and kept a decent pace you never really got any issues. Having a porsche rs3 pass me and that BMW ring taxi pass me made me see how much commitment some of them drivers have in some corners though... Wow
Anyways boxing is on and I'm tired. I'll update tomorrow
Left 5.30am ams had a good run and alot of laughs all the way to nurburgring. Not many 'scenic' pictures yet they are all too come probably tomorrow or Monday before I head home
We found the funniest poster on the way that had us laughing...
The last hour of roads are... Well... Simply amazing. I just can't get over how many decent roads there were
I did 2 laps, the first was with a guy 'Billy' that's moved out here with his wife and daughter and what a lovely family. Chatted with them all afternoon and he came out on my first lap. Was a bit daunting and shouldn't have timed it I know... But I did and ran 8.06
Did a second lap feeling much more fluent. There's a section (haven't a clue the name of it) which I took off a bit... That was funny before braking for the right. Managed 7.54 that lap then it was finished for the day
Got back to the very lovely Roy and Kim for a sausage fest (ahem) and now watching the boxing feeling very full
I was proud to show the size of my sausage compared to one of my old mates
Will get a gopro video of tomorrow. Reminding myself I'm on my road bike with road tyres
I can see why people say what they do about the ring but I found as long as you kept your witts about you and kept a decent pace you never really got any issues. Having a porsche rs3 pass me and that BMW ring taxi pass me made me see how much commitment some of them drivers have in some corners though... Wow
Anyways boxing is on and I'm tired. I'll update tomorrow
spareparts said:
Birky_41 said:
I did 2 laps, the first was with a guy 'Billy' that's moved out here with his wife and daughter and what a lovely family. Chatted with them all afternoon and he came out on my first lap. Was a bit daunting and shouldn't have timed it I know... But I did and ran 8.06
Did a second lap feeling much more fluent. There's a section (haven't a clue the name of it) which I took off a bit... That was funny before braking for the right. Managed 7.54 that lap then it was finished for the day
...
Will get a gopro video of tomorrow. Reminding myself I'm on my road bike with road tyres
I can see why people say what they do about the ring but I found as long as you kept your witts about you and kept a decent pace you never really got any issues. Having a porsche rs3 pass me and that BMW ring taxi pass me made me see how much commitment some of them drivers have in some corners though... Wow
Anyways boxing is on and I'm tired. I'll update tomorrow
Your first ever 2 laps: You're doing 8:06 and 7:54 and the Ring Taxi is passing you? Did a second lap feeling much more fluent. There's a section (haven't a clue the name of it) which I took off a bit... That was funny before braking for the right. Managed 7.54 that lap then it was finished for the day
...
Will get a gopro video of tomorrow. Reminding myself I'm on my road bike with road tyres
I can see why people say what they do about the ring but I found as long as you kept your witts about you and kept a decent pace you never really got any issues. Having a porsche rs3 pass me and that BMW ring taxi pass me made me see how much commitment some of them drivers have in some corners though... Wow
Anyways boxing is on and I'm tired. I'll update tomorrow
Turns out it's boosted Boris? He had a camo looking one and an orange one there about ten cars up from us. Nice guy, I think Russian
Two others did quite a few laps and got 8.26s and the old boy of our group on his multistrada was just under 11 minutes. He was nervous going out but was proper chuffed after
I'll get a video up tomorrow if weather stays good and there's no yellow flags (it's freezing here right now)
It's 4.45pm here and I've managed my first lap of the ring! I completely get why people on here say avoid Sundays... Absolute car crash fest.
I went out with Billy (YouTube Nurburgring biker blog) and he said it was just too much
My mate Joe as a madman hit 8.00 on the dot
I must've had to wait 9-10 times on cars. I'll try again in the next hour but it's rammed here and full of crashes
Very poor time and will look crap on the gopro just waiting for cars to check their mirrors
On a plus the roads around the ring just get better and better and eating a pizza looking at some of the scenery can't be beaten
Definitely anyone who decides to try it like me to during the week
I went out with Billy (YouTube Nurburgring biker blog) and he said it was just too much
My mate Joe as a madman hit 8.00 on the dot
I must've had to wait 9-10 times on cars. I'll try again in the next hour but it's rammed here and full of crashes
Very poor time and will look crap on the gopro just waiting for cars to check their mirrors
On a plus the roads around the ring just get better and better and eating a pizza looking at some of the scenery can't be beaten
Definitely anyone who decides to try it like me to during the week
eddd1e said:
I'm sorry, but you did a 8.06 and a 7.54 BTG in your first laps of the ring on a tourist day on a Tuono? Either you're timing it wrong or you run at the back end of MotoGp in your spare time.
I did a 8:02 last year and i've been going 7yrs and done 150 laps or so.
Haha I have to take that as a compliment then because I did and when today with immense traffic was 8.18I did a 8:02 last year and i've been going 7yrs and done 150 laps or so.
Edited by eddd1e on Sunday 30th April 17:36
Joe on his rsv4 using the same harry app did a 7.59. He's went last year and did 5 laps and did another 6 or so today
I did 5 laps including following my mate and I'm damn pleased with myself. I have a video of each lap today. One following Billy the instructor and one following boosted Boris in the mclarens. He will have videos of Tom and me up in the next day as he came over and videod chatting to us
Biggest issue I had was the metz m7rr moving about all over the place
Still in Germany so hard to upload videos on my phone. This is the last one following the mclarens. Apologise for the shaky camera. My fixing partially broke. It's unedited so I'll sort once at home
https://youtu.be/bn6j9Gmca44
A total of 4 red flags while I was there and yellow flags on the lap I just loaded. So so many crashes, lots of bikes off too
Having just come in almost straight away it was red flagged again and that was pretty much how Sunday went
Amazing scenary everywhere though. Enjoyed some lunch out when ring was closed for the first time
And none of us crashed, or had any bad moments. I'll leave the weekend stuff I think for the cars as it's a bit Russian roulette but ill definitely be back
https://youtu.be/bn6j9Gmca44
A total of 4 red flags while I was there and yellow flags on the lap I just loaded. So so many crashes, lots of bikes off too
Having just come in almost straight away it was red flagged again and that was pretty much how Sunday went
Amazing scenary everywhere though. Enjoyed some lunch out when ring was closed for the first time
And none of us crashed, or had any bad moments. I'll leave the weekend stuff I think for the cars as it's a bit Russian roulette but ill definitely be back
Chipchap said:
opcorn:I'll put on here and any doubters can time it. It was done while hugely busy after the third red flag
We are no 'moto gp' riders but merely guys that enjoy fast group track days and fast road rides.
It must suck knowing you've done over 150 laps and can't crack 8 minutes... Hehe
And I need to be clear it wasn't just about doing the ring. The whole experience has been amazing. I would recommend it to anyone
This one's just uploaded and is typical of the roads all around the ring
https://youtu.be/kdEscTulIGI
eddd1e said:
That's a 9min BTG lap with some silly overtakes by the guy in front. I look forward to the video where you're over 1 minute faster.
We leave to come home tomorrow at 11, it's a long old ride to calais and we hopefully should be back in Essex around 6-7pmThe video should be uploaded in the next day or two from that. When it's up and you see the time I'd like you to just wind that neck in a bit. Id be a very silly boy to put a time that I couldn't backup
And yes that video was purely following the mclarens and nurburgring biker blogs wife and daughter who work for them. Was just having fun on the last lap before we headed back
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