
Our driver swiped through the barrier and then started to described what his job was as he powered down the straight to the first corner (a lot faster than I did a few days before) with one hand on the wheel. Turns out he was a chassis design engineer who also trained BMW drivers/instructors at the various BMW driving schools around the world, so we were in good hands I hoped. Putting his hand back on the steering wheel he turning in to the first corner and the G force hit me. The sear pace he kept up through the lap was staggering and to be honest over some of the blind crest downright scary!!!!! and all this with a running commentary. On the approach to one corner he tells us “this is the Niki Louda corner where he had his near fatal crash" then turns on at nearly 100mph. About half way round he slows down quiet dramatically "there are only a few sections that have a speed limit; we're approaching Adenau where there’s a second exit and entrance on to the track". You read that right, half was round you can pull off the track then re-join!!!!! why might you do this, well on the track it takes 5mins to get there, going round it take 20. Its also something i missed on my first lap. The rest of the lap involved more extremely fast over taking, extremely fast cornering and an extremely fast final straight. Basically we'd been round in under 10mins and we were al exhausted but what an experience going round at race speed.
(Thats me, our driver, Hayley and Lee above right)
With my adrenalin still coursing through my veins after the taxi ride, my mates talked me down from taking the Scirocco out; in fact they said "you'd probably kill yourself or the car". To be honest they were probably right to stop me!!! on top of that the track was getting busy which leads me on the other reason to hang out at the car park, the cars. The mix of cars driving through and parked up, either waiting to do a lap or just hanging out was just fantastic. From 70's Porsches and BMW's, modern Ferrari's and Mustangs, Lotus 7 replicas and every type of Volkswagen!!!!! Every time you turned round there was something else driving through or parking up.
We then headed back once again to Brunchenn about 11am to
find a car park full of cars and to see some of the cars we'd just left hitting
the track. What you also noticed was the number of cars that would be on the
track and 15 minutes later would pull up into the car park. This seems to be
for two reasons, firstly to give the car some time to cool down after and fast
lap but secondly to come for a spot of spectating.
Next we headed over to Adenau, half way round the track and
that second entry point for some more viewing.
With this being our last full day here we decided that
another lap for all the cars was in order but we also wanted some action shots. This meant heading to yet another viewing spot, this one though was a little more challenging as neither the Golf VR6 nor my Scirocco could make it over the bump that lead to a winding country lane. What a spot though right on two tight turns, which was the same spot as the video we were watching on the first day off all the crashes. So we were in for some entertainment, well hopefully. As it turns out American vehicles don’t corner that well!!!!!
With me and Lee (my co-pilot) being left here the others
headed for their cars and some laps with us ready to capture the action.
It was then our turn to head back to Nurburg and our second
lap. Thankfully, due to a number of track closures by accidents, when we got to
the barrier it was gone 5pm and the track was quiet. Also I was more relaxed
about going out, so donning our racing goggles we headed out for our second and
final lap.
This one was much smoother and enjoyable, for a number of
reasons, I was less nervous, it was quieter out there and the cars that were on
the track seemed more tolerant of us foreigners. I even remembered to indicate
when cars were passing. With Lee waving to the last of
the spectators around the track, we got loads of waves and
cheers back, we were really enjoying ourselves.
Out of the whole lap my only issue was not with the car but
a damn Audi R8. On approaching the Karussel I'd noticed in the mirror that one
was coming up behind me so i decided to take the high route round rather than
drop in to let it pass me. Getting half way round the corner it hadn’t come past,
where was it? right behind me!!!!! It was the same R8 that had sent the day dawdling
round and I could have taken the corner properly. I was not a happy racer after
that i can tell you.
The highlight of the lap though was being followed for about
a kilometre by a new white Scirocco despite giving loads of room for ho to get
by, obviously was enjoying following a predecessor.
The lap ended on a high with a damn good blast down the main straight again with big smiles on our faces.
The lap ended on a high with a damn good blast down the main straight again with big smiles on our faces.
What a great day and once again ended with a beer and some dissection
of our laps, no dissection isn’t right, piss taking that’s much better.
The next morning and our time at the Nurburgring was coming
to an end. The track was closed to the public, so we headed back to see if any
development cars were out testing. After all thats the secnd thing the Nurburgring is famous for. We'd already seen a few driving about over the
last few days with their tell-tale "camo" livery. The best place for
spotting though has to be a the petrol station just outside Nurburg, close to
the entrance of the ring as well as the industrial estate where all the
manufacturers have units!!!!! This though it no normal petrol station, looking inside its has to be one of the best stockists of car models in the area and deserves a visit in its own right.
We didn’t have to wait long before three undercover Mercedes turned up before a Range Rover drove past.
We had also seen Peugeot's driving round. The best was still
to come when we went for a walk through Nurburg before heading for the ferry.
Nurburg is home to the BMW Test Facility, no hiding that then, and as we walked
past the roller shutter opened and what’s been reported in other press and new
M4 came driving out!!!!!!
With that bagged it was time for the 260mile drive to
Rotterdam and the ferry home overnight before the last 100 miles home.
In total my little VW had done 830miles trouble free and two
laps of the ring more than earning its freshly applied stickers. My trip had
been perfect and one of the things i had always wanted to do and now I felt strangely
fulfilled after my adventure.
So the what memory will I be taking from the trip, tough
one, seeing rare cars, doing a lap or two, ring taxi ride, development car spotting,
F1 complex we did so mush in 3 days. But it has to be the drive there and back,
partially because anyone who runs a older car knows the satisfaction of
actually getting to the destination and not on the back of a breakdown truck but also
back home again!!!!! But mainly because of my best mate Lee sat next to me for the whole
trip, we've known each other for over 30 years (we were described by the others
on the trip as the old married couple, cheeky gits) and these days with
families and living in different towns we don’t get together as much as we
should so having a 5 day run (3 days at the "Ring") to catch up and experience
it with someone as passionate about cars as me was the icing on the Nurburgring
cake,.Right that’s enough of that stuff did i mention there were Lamborghini’s
there!!!!
Lastly our "Little Dub Club" from the trip.

Tim and Donna (Mk3 Golf VR6), Hayley and Chris (Mk6 Golf R32) , Me (Heath) and Lee (Mk2 Scirocco)

Nurburgring done, what’s next? Hmmm. how about the Speed
Trails at Brighton for next year’s adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment