Driving the Nurburgring?

It's on my bucket list, and I'm in Germany for a while. I'm planning to head out there when my studies are done, probably in early/mid July.

So, who has been out there? What do I need to know about spending a day lapping the Nurburgring? Any suggestions on what to do about a vehicle for taking around?

I'm figuring a weekday will probably be a better time for me to go. Although I'll be renting a car for a European tour, and could easily get something like a BMW 3 series with a stick from Avis. I'm leaning towards a cheap rental for just going around Europe, and then renting a nicely prepped car for a day at the ring, from an outfit like these guys: http://www.rsrnurburg.com/

Alternately, am I going to be so cautious if I go on a public lapping day that I won't really need to worry about using a rental car? Or, am I going to so want the opportunity to take this track at 9-10/10's, that I should look for an actual trackday?

Friend of mine that did it in `05 swears by Ben Lovejoy's Nurb website.
http://www.nurburgring.org/

From what I've heard, on your first visit you can get tired of lapping the ring after 3 or 4 times around just from how mentally demanding it can be, and I believe it after camping out and watching the racing last weekend.

I DO know that while it's technically a public road, it's a horrible idea to use a rental car on the ring. The companies have spy photographers out there taking tag numbers. If they find that you took one of theirs on the ring you get hit with some seriously hefty fines that make the track day rentals look cheap.

One of our regular posters drove the 'Ring and posted a thread about his experience, not terribly long ago.

Ransom, I'm pretty sure.

EDIT: Ha! Luke's right. I was typing this up as he posted that...

I was very happy with the Swift I rented from Rent4Ring, and the folks were nice, too.

Do read up on the experience. As FGC points out, Ben Lovejoy's site is very helpful.

I did an afternoon session, and I wasn't utterly cooked, but I had a couple of forced breaks from accident track closures. I ended up, IIRC, doing the six laps for which I got tickets as part of a R4R package deal.

I posted my experiences when I got back: My Nurburgring trip thread.

I know a guy who did it recently (hint: me, yesterday).

Here's what I would do:

1. Probably NOT use a regular rental car. I've heard too many horror stories about four-figure bills from Hertz/Avis/Sixt/etc. from driving their cars on the 'Ring. Yes, it is a public highway, but apparently some rental car companies specifically exclude it from their authorized areas. Again, not sure what's real and what's not, but all things considered, there are better options. A rental car is also going to have rental car brakes. 'Nuff said.)

2. I probably WOULD rent from one of the many local rental companies that will put you in a Suziki Swift or Golf or 3 Series all the way to a full-bang 911. The prices are reasonable, and the cars are seem to be prepped well. You also have the option of some personal instruction, which is pretty cool.

3. This was my third trip, and my first on a "short" day. The public opening time was only a two hour window from 5:30-7:30pm, which is pretty typical for weekdays. It was WAAAAAY better than when I was there on a day when it was open all day. Those long days are zoos. Buses, motorhomes, tourists, lines. Not much fun. The short days tend to just attract hardcores. If I had my druthers, I'd do a couple short days back to back. The GP circuit also opens for open lapping a couple times a week. One ticket gets you a 20-minute session.

4. DO spend lots of time on Gran Turismo or Forza learning the track. It will never teach you the nuances, but it will show you the rhythm and flow of the track, and minimize surprises. What it will never convey is the elevation changes and various forces that act on the car.

5. DO stay at the Tiergarten hotel in Nurburg and eat at the Pistenklause for dinner. If you don't already know why, I'll show you soon when I download my latest batch of photos.

6. DO IT. Seriously. It's the greatest track day you'll ever run. That entire region of Germany is beautiful, the people are cool, and it's a great place to spend a few days.

I'm compiling my notes and we'll probably run some sort of "how-to" story in one of the mags before long. Until then, if you have any specific questions, just ask.

jg

In reply to Salanis:

Just don't be "that guy" which becomes part of the compillation "Nurberging, 2012 Crashes".

Have a blast!

Thanks for the responses so far.

Hmm... the service Ransom linked above has a Caterham R300 as a rental car... color me interested. Or should I just save money and rent the Swift because the track will be so challenging I won't come close to making use of the performance of a Caterham? What is the difference between their "all included" and "just the car"?

I did focus a lot on logging as many Forza hours around the ring as I could before I left for Germany, but that was way back at the beginning of January. I will do my best to get some video time in before going.

I'm guessing I'm going to want more than 2 hours. Definitely more than 1. That puts my best day as something like a Friday or maybe Monday where the track is open 2-7:30. Although, I suppose I could do 2 hours on a Tuesday.

The trip will be part of a 10-14day tour my girlfriend and I will be doing together. Fortunately, she wants to ride along on the ring (although not drive), so I'm being encouraged to drive the track. I don't think I'll have the liberty to spend multiple days there, since we're going to be more focused on heading out to do other things like tour some of our favorite breweries in Belgium.

I had been planning to spend a night in Cologne (drinking Kolsch), day at the ring, then head up to Dusseldorf (to drink Altbier). Especially if I'm going to be done driving at 7:30, I think I'll take JG's suggestion for dinner and hotel.

Definitely check ahead to make sure the track is open. Availability is (or used to be) spotty.

Don't look at it as a track day. You're not going to have that sort of knowledge of the track. Once you think you have all the corners nailed (about lap 3), that's when you'll have your accident :) Look at it as a fast road instead. It would be a fun place to experience a Caterham for the first time though. You're not going to set the all-time lap record, you're going there for fun. And the Cat will be more fun than a rental Swift.

Keith wrote: Definitely check ahead to make sure the track is open. Availability is (or used to be) spotty. Don't look at it as a track day. You're not going to have that sort of knowledge of the track. Once you think you have all the corners nailed (about lap 3), that's when you'll have your accident :) Look at it as a fast road instead. It would be a fun place to experience a Caterham for the first time though. You're not going to set the all-time lap record, you're going there for fun. And the Cat will be more fun than a rental Swift.

A good question- do they have a package where you do some laps with the Swift, and a few more with the Caterham? That way you have a decent idea of the track, and should get a better feel of the Caterham.

Yeah, I suspect I will enjoy the heck out of just driving a Caterham even if I'm not wringing out it's full potential. And the bragging rights of saying, "Yeah, I drove a Caterham around the Nurburgring" just sounds way cooler than, "Yeah, I drove a Swift around the Nurburgring".

It takes more than a few laps to get a feel for the Ring. It's a big place. It's once you start to think you have it figured out that you come piling into a corner sequence and you discover that no, that section comes later. It's the "filler corners" between the recognizable sections that will get you.

Although I have to say I can still recognize several corner sequences when I watch video based on driving it back in 1999 or so. I never did figure out the last third, but I got comfortable with the middle bit for some reason.

I would totally go for the Caterham. Great car and a great environment to play with it on. Just treat it like a fast closed road instead of a track and you'll get your damage deposit back.

The Caterham could be a lot of fun, but remember, the terrain is definitely three dimensional. Not just elevation changes, but surface irregularities that move the car around quite a bit. None of them are on the non-scary parts, either. Even at 7/10th, the bridge section leading up to pflugplatz gets real narrow as the car darts around over all the pavement heaves and seams.

So you have to ask yourself if you'd have more fun in a slower car you're more comfortable pushing harder, or a faster car with a learning curve of its own.

If I could pick my perfect 'Ring day car, the Cooper S JCW Coupe I used this time would come close. Maybe with some stickier tires and more aggressive brake pads. Or something like an E46 M3. The track really rewards a "friendly" car.

jg

Having just ridden in a Caterham (R500) on a race track, you should do the Caterham.

The thing about the Caterham is that it's going to do exactly what you tell it to do, about a half second before you do it.

I've driven it in a couple of Miatas. Like JG said, friendly. But I've never felt a Caterham to be unfriendly.

I've just figured out what I'm going to do when I win the lottery.

Buy a house with a massive garage near there. Then spend all my time buying and trading cool cars and driving them on the ring. Kind of like a real life version of GT5.

just wanna chime in that another great and very cool place to stay is "sliders" (google "sliders guesthouse nurburgring")

fridge full of beer, big tv playing lap videos, supertroopers, gran turismo, and basically, an indoor beer garden full of "petrolheads" talking about cars and bikes 24/7

for those who have done this... or will be doing this....

serious ENVY.......

for MY bucket list... I want to drive MY car on the Nordschleife

I spent a day there last fall in one of the track rental cars. I guess my only advice would be to try not to push yourself too hard. How much track experience do you have? It's a very high speed and complicated course. You could get in over your head very quickly if you push past your comfort level. Adenauer Forst was the most challenging to me because I would tend to come in fast enough to the blind right hander only to find myself driver side left to enter the left hander. I kept it on the track, but pucker inducing to say the least. This affected me enough to want to put some research into it for next time.

In reply to Canute:

I have a fair amount of track experience and have my NASA competition license. I'm most used to RWD momentum cars (Miata and 944). I do tend to err on the side of caution.

Keith wrote: Just treat it like a fast closed road instead of a track and you'll get your damage deposit back.

I think this is the target for me right here.

RSR rents alfa 75s right? I used to have one, and I would say one of those would be a pretty fun car for any track, including there Im sure. Thats what i would do if i was going to go there. They are really easy to drive fast, and not going to be too scary if you make a minor mistake.

Travis_K wrote: RSR rents alfa 75s right? I used to have one, and I would say one of those would be a pretty fun car for any track, including there Im sure. Thats what i would do if i was going to go there. They are really easy to drive fast, and not going to be too scary if you make a minor mistake.

They did not that long ago, but I'm not seeing the car listed there anymore. Which bums me out because that looked like it would have been a great car for the day, and pretty similar to the 944Spec I'm used to.

Dave Coleman did a great write-up on MotoIQ about his 'Ring driving adventure:

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/id/1534/technobabble--a-practical-guide-to-the-nurburgring.aspx

BMW at the ring vid here

Just made our reservations for this Friday afternoon for a Stage 2+ Suzuki Swift

I will update with pictures and impressions