Pics from last week's Nurburgring trip

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scotth_uk

MB Enthusiast
Joined
May 16, 2003
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Location
Sydney
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Renault
Here's some of the first day's pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hammo_abroad/sets/72057594110708116

[Installment #1]

The loose plan was always to meet up somewhere with my mate Tim and head to the Nürburgring Nordschleife for some pi55ing about in rental cars. We discussed it for months and eventually a ticket was booked, and the dates were set. April 2006 was to be the month.

It's because of Tim that I know about the Nordschleife. He visited 6 years ago with some friends, but didn't know enough and came all this way to find it closed in the middle of winter. Luckily he had plenty of other things to do and places to be. He knew that he'd return some day.

We invited the regulars along - those who I normally attend with - but for some reason Aussies living in London always seem to head home around April. Alas, both of my local mates couldn't make it, as they were going to Brisbane . Even the ring in from Innisfail (Anthony, a good friend and last year's hero of the trip - long story) couldn't attend. That cyclone ruined his car, helicopter and plane and all required his undivided attention.

We managed to meet up in Frankfurt airport on Wednesday morning around 11am. Both of our flights were delayed - his from Paris and mine from London ity. We jumped a taxi into Frankfurt and got dropped off outside the main train station where the car rental company's office was.

Finding the Avis counter was hard work. Frankfurt train station isn't exactly well signposted. And the Germans aren't that good with English - at least when they think you are from Britain. Once we'd identified ourselves as Australian, we were given clear directions to the counter.

I'd previously booked something special for the trip, having read up on the more exotic rentals available in Germany. For this trip it was to be the newest of new - the Porsche 911. Or 997 Carrera S to be precise.

I presented myself and my Platinum American Express card (a requirement for renting this car - I got it especially!) to the lovely lady at the counter. A few minutes and some signatures later and I had myself the key to a very interesting sports car.

Giggling like small children (embarassing for a bloke of 32), we listened to the directions to the underground carpark. Got downstairs to find a perfect specimen - black with a leather interior. Proud as punch in the VIP row of the carpark with only 10,000 kilometres on the clock.

As you should always do, we studied it for 10 or 15 minutes ensuring that there were no discrepancies between the condition report and the actual car. Luggage was almost impossible to fit into the car, and the back seats proved to be suitable for midgets and garden gnomes.

Starting the car was a religious event. The noise inside the carpark was something to behold. A few movies and photos were taken and generally enjoyment was experienced by all. Before long it was time to hit the road.

We did however notice one small problem..... WINTER TYRES!

[Installment #2]

Typically, the presence of winter tyres on a European car goes hand in hand with a rather annoying sticker on the speedo – “210kmh limit”. I did not come all the way to Germany to be restricted to 210kmh on the famous German autobahn in a high performance car. There was to be no limit, even if it meant purchasing new tyres. Luckily for us, these tyres were not limited – Continental’s finest winter sport tyres had been fitted. Phenomenal grip, but more on that later.

Once out on the road, it was time to set the satellite navigation to Nürburg and just a few minutes later we were heading out of Frankfurt. Around this time, Tim and I agreed that neither of us knew what the sign was for “no speed limit” – it was decided that we’d just watch the other cars. We were sitting on about 150kmh, just behind a German Polizei car when another Porsche 997 screamed by. A quick glance at each other resulted in the right pedal being applied to the floor with all of the force my right leg could produce. They didn’t seem to mind as we got past at over 200kmh. We played in the traffic for about 20 kilometres before he hyperspaced into the distance somewhere.

Not long later, we were approaching the Nürburg and things were starting to look familiar. Tim was driving by this stage, and I suggested that some circle work was required in one of the many paddocks available by the side of the road. He didn’t need any more encouraging than that – before you could say “who’s house is this?”, Tim was drawing circles on their grass.

We arrived at the track around 12:30-13:00 and it wasn’t due to open until 17:45. As expected, many of the manufacturers were there testing new cars, tyres and suspension settings. Most notable was the ludicrously high speeds of Audi’s new R8 up the main straight – easily topping 300kmh as it passed the gates. Other interesting bits and pieces included the new BMW M3 and other smaller engined 2 door coupes, not to mention what we think was the new Skyline GTR V35.

A short drive up the road and we were at the hotel – the Dorint Novotel Nurburgring to be exact. We’d reserved a fourth floor room, overlooking the GP starting grid and straight. We checked in and opened the balcony doors to find some racing Porsches using the GP track. It really was awesome to sit and drink Bitburger beer with a bird’s eye view of the track as the sun went down.

[Installment #3]

Knowing that the track was open and that we had a Porsche downstairs in the underground carpark meant one thing – it was time. We hightailed it down the circuit where things were starting to get a little busier – the locals had arrived with their cars. Germans are pretty serious about their track driving, and generally speaking their weapon of choice is a Porsche 911. More GT3’s with roll cages than you could poke a stick at. Tim thought that our 911 would be one of the better cars at the ring – he quickly worked out that this was not to be the case.
I called the track as “damp” rather than “wet” and decided that restraint still needed to be exercised. With only 170 kilometres of experience in this car and a complete lack of confidence in the tyres, I took the first lap lightly to say the least. It was impressive. The car was very well behaved – in fact it was almost disappointing that the 997 was so easy to drive. I’ve read storied and heard legends for years about what a difficult thing they are to drive and expected brown pants immediately. Not today. The 997 is an engineering marvel and I’d say almost completely idiot proof.

Tim was a little surprised by some of the speeds I was doing in some parts, but I assured him that I had a few laps under my belt in a few different cars and that everything was going to be ok. Don’t get me wrong – he wasn’t scared – just a little entertained by my confidence. As it turns out his concerns were very constructive as we noticed the ludicrous corner entry speeds that I was achieving. Again, the 997 was so quiet and capable that I hadn’t noticed the speedo reporting enormous numbers. We managed to get around the track in a reasonable time, noting the difficult and wet parts.

The time had come – Tim’s first lap of the ring. Let’s just take note here: the world’s most dangerous circuit, an unfamiliar and overpowered and rear wheel drive monster of a car, and some rain. At home Tim’s a very capable (modified) WRX driver - he tracks his car regularly, competes in hill climbs and even the odd rally and autokrosse event. My only concern was that he was going to kill us. To death. Caution was immediately thrown into the wind (or rain actually) and we set of on one of the more exciting ten-minute-periods of our lives.

“Incident free” is how I would describe the lap. Given the enormity of the track, the weather and the car, Tim put in a sterling effort. He asked for advice on the right lines to use and followed them where possible. Of course there were the usually annoyances of crazy local GT3 drivers trying to overtake every 10 seconds, but that just added to the fun. Again the car appeared to be difficult to crash, even when trying.

The afternoon’s weather didn’t improve, so we managed another lap each. My second lap was a little more eventful than Tim’s though – not only did I experience a twitchy rear-end-changing-direction-oh-shit-where-is-the-traction-control-there-it-is moment, we also came around a right hander to find a BMW M Roadster spread across 50 meters or so, with a very unhappy looking man sitting in the driver’s seat. Being the quick thinker that he is, Tim managed a happy snap of the car pointed towards the Armco.

As track rules require, we jumped out to assist the driver and more importantly, to head back up the track and flag oncoming traffic to the dangers ahead. As it was wet, my attempts to get up the hill were Benny Hill-ish at best, but I managed to get the job done until another well prepared regular arrived in his modified Mitsubishi FTO. He jumped out with his reflective vest and yellow flag and took over what I was doing.

In the meantime, Tim was sneaking in some photographs of the crash, which was probably a little cheeky. I asked the driver if everything was ok, and he seemed a little down. He specifically stated that no pictures where to be taken. Oops! Tim asked how things were and he said “I am very disappointed” in a Swedish accent. He had someone following, who had stopped to help and once things had settled down, we got back to the business at hand. We completed the lap with a new sense of respect for the dodgy conditions.

[More to come.....]
 
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Link not working Scott:(
 
Awseome - keep the write up coming!

(Pics work for me....which is not bad considering I have a line fault and my ADSL is working like a 33K modem!)
 
Nice pics !! :D Will there be a DVD ;)

S.
 
The Porsche was roughly 200 euros per day, including 200 kilometres. Got stung a little for excess kilo's and also 19% for collecting from a train station. :-(
 
that's it i'm going !

look forward to more info, so does the hotel look right onto the track?
 
50 pics but no sabine ?? :(

You must have had a blast..... can only drool.

bring on part 2.
 
As ever Scott your write ups and piccies are outstanding. :cool:

Quality! :bannana:

One of these days, I'll make it back to The 'Ring, maybe even with your goodself and others from MBClubUK. ;)

*EDIT* What on earth was the Pug 306 up to?
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S.
 
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The 350Z is a beauty enough of a car all round - the Skyline looks awesome. Exra seats, extra go and extra traction and it can't loose!
 
Great story ! You make a good point though - what is the sign for a destricted autobahn....?
 
saorbust said:
Great story ! You make a good point though - what is the sign for a destricted autobahn....?

I have been on 2 trips and still don't know. I did ask on the trip I was driving and was told "do you really want to know?". As in if you don't know, it must be ok! LOL.

I seem to remember MBenzNL refusing to tell Koolvin the speed limit in NL too.

It's unlimited whenever you see a clear stretch of road and you think "I can max out again here"!
 
Great pics, looks like a fantastic trip! I'd love to do that myself, but I think I'll have to content myself with PGR3 for a couple of years!
 
Nice pics, sounds like you had a good time which is what matters ! Would like to give something like this a go myself but im just too lazy ;)
 

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