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The Nurburgring..

dave boulder

Forum Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
19
Location
Yorkshire, UK
First proper post so figured I'd go for doing a trip report...

I have been a visitor to the Green Hell for 3 years now...for those not in the know..google it, youtube it..it is an awesome place. The worlds longest race track, that for numerous days and evenings a year is open for Tourist Fahren...tourist driving. You pay about £20 for a lap of 13 miles and then drive the track/road where Niki Lauda had his infamous crash and lost half his face to fire. It is classed as a one way toll road with sections without any speed limit. I have been round a few times in my Forester XT and the softly sprung nature makes for interesting cornering. Sub 10 minutes seems to be most peoples goal as this was the time Jeremy Clarkson, a well known UK car journo and gobsh##e, tried to beat some years ago in a Jaguar S type diesel...
For those interested, the Scooby did a 9.30 at about 8mpg :ebiggrin:

This last weekend the circuit makes way for 2 wheels and about 600 teams of 4 cyclists ride it for 24 hours. It was my intention to compete so I got another 7 idiots to join me and then in Spring was diagnosed with a heart issue so got someone to cover and I acted as team manager and general dogsbody.
I got there and set up my tent at the local campsite...
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We all got together and I did the registration bits ready for a mass start at 1320hrs on the Saturday...why 1320 I'll never know
We had two teams of 4, these were the Northloop Slackers.....Northloop being the translation of the German track itself...the Nord Schleife...built by the german Governtment in the 20s/30s to create jobs for the depressed region of the Eifel....and the Northloop Masters.
Now known worldwide as the Nurburgring, centred on the village of Nurburg with its very own castle atop the highest hill in the area..

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The team Slacker....I had asked the 8 guys whether they wanted to ride steady or go for it, these were the 'lets ride steady' guys...who beat the master team by one full lap...

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I managed to navigate myself out of the car park throng of over 2000 vehicles/camps and cyclists and went with a mate; who was camping there with his family and was with his diesel X5, for a drive along green lanes to try to get to the most famous bend in motorsport. The Caroussel. A concrete banking that wears tyres at an alarming rate and catapults you out if you get it wrong..and the armcote is not that forgiving...
Parked near the track..

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A wider shot of the concrete bank...

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Found a muddy puddle and couldn't resist going for it...Nige's shiny new X5 looked a little worse for it afterwards...

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Managed some decent shots and watched our guys come past...a lap took them between 50 and 80 minutes. Some lunatics even tried it by tandem and were awesome...faster downhill and still quite quick up the harder slopes..

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The race continued into the night and I tried to get shots of the lights with a 30 second exposure....OK in a very amateurish way...

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So we ended up with one guy in hospital having been stung then falling from his bike and banging his head...4 stitches later we were down to a team of 3 and one of 4. They finished in 393 and 396 out of over 500 finishing teams and all have vowed to do it again...
The scooby off road..?? well its totally stock, Geolander 900 tyres etc. It was great, greenlaning is what it does well. Back there on a family holiday in 10 days so no doubt we will explore more of the myirad of hill trails and track viewpoints.....oh and the far left guy in our 4 man team holds the unofficial lap record of the 'ring at 7 minutes 17 seconds...he will no doubt be on youtube,,a very quiet unassuming guy but when you look into his eyes, he has that focused expression and is a special motorcycle rider

Hope you enjoyed the read, a little different to proper expedition stuff but in overcrowed GB, we are struggling to 'get away from it all' and it really was an amazing weekend.
Dave
 
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Very nice! 9:30 is a very good lap time for a stock Forester, hats down. Congrats. I'd love to make it out there sometimes soon, been dreaming to ever since Grand Turismo came out :ebiggrin: My racing buddy just returned from Belgium, did a side trip to the Ring. He rented a mildly prepped Suzuki Swift Sport from Rent4Ring and had a blast. Good stuff with the bikes too, looks pretty interesting!
 
The rent4ring Suzukis are simply superb for the money..the companys round there also do GT3 RS and Ultimas.....serious track weapons. I enjoy the ring but preferred the off road lanes and getting to hard to find viewing spots and a bit of photography...but ssshh...don't tell them over at the 'Ring forum where we are all manly and drive fast....:lildevil:
 
I used a BMW 120d until last Autumn. Standard except a remap to 205 bhp and 300ft/lb. It was a surprise for 'faster' petrol powered metal to get overtaken by a diesel..but the key to the places 100 plus bends/curves is track knowledge that only comes after 50 or 60 laps....
 
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