Updated >> Report :- Cal's ** 2008 *** Trip To The Nurburgring

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Cal’s Nurburgring Report 2008

Okay folks – not sure how long I’ll type for but I can assure you that I’ll make you laugh and certainly make your lust after some of the best and most powerful cars in the space of 30 minutes.

Disclaimer – I shall note be held responsible for any drooling on your keyboard or inducing any sense of disgust ( you’ll see why later !). I shall also not be responsible for kicking yourself when you realise you missed out on the trip of a lifetime.

If you are reading this then your likely a fan of the “motion lotion” so you’ll know all about the Nordschleife and what it’s famous for. If not then click here for an overview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEjk6yeRs1k

Also here is the old report from 2007 http://forums.sidc.co.uk/index.php?showtop...;hl=nurburgring

The Attendees – 3 cars with 2 men each :-

• Cal in Subaru WRX SL Wagon with PPP and co-pilot Fraser Shand ( my brother)

• Ali37 in his Subaru WRX STi8 with 350 bhp and co-pilot Russell Hulme ( a.k.a “WUZ”)

• Ian Baines in his Ford Focus RS with Remap /semi slicks and co-pilot James Monty ( a.k.a Hyde)

Statistics

• 1261 miles

• £231 on Petrol

• £128 on 8 laps ( 21 euro each)

• £217 on food, alcohol and souvenirs

• £80 for 3 nights @ the Ringhaus Hotel

• £385 for ferry

• Several kilo’s of dried euro bonnet magnets ( bugs !)

• +3000 man points for nailing two Nissan 350z on the notorious “Miss-hit-Miss” corner

• +6000 man points for Ian Baines who was sideways @ 90 mph on the infamous off-camber “Metzgesfeld” corner.....more later

• Numerous ounces of German teak, sausages and schnitzel = weight gain of 0.6 kg in 5 days !

Day 1 – Thursday 8th May

The 3 cars gathered in Aberdeen early on what was to be the start of a 5 day period of high pressure ( that means “taps-aff” weather to the meteorologically challenged) that spanned from Glasvegas to Gdansk Two of the cars were on semi-slick tyres so this was a great relief. Fuelled up with Shell finest tonic, we headed south for Stirling where we picked up my wingman Fraser. CBD radios were handed out which ensured that Convoy (the movie) patter was continually being broadcast over the A90. The burble from the teams exhausts was somewhat muffled because Ali removed his Afterburner backbox the night before after I advised him that he might be a victim of the trackside noise monitoring checks. We picked up Fraser en-route from his work and proceeded to Edinburgh at a steady pace.

Went to IKEA for some lunch which is when the party went downhill for me. Whilst diggin’ out the camera from my boot my brother managed the close the door of the wagon right on top of my Ayia Nappa. The ensuing graze/egg on my foreheid earned me the nickname Gorbachev. Not impressed and it was sometime after the the stars circling my head departed.

Fish and chips in Ikea proved to be the start of a horrific diet that would have guaranteed a man a dose of gout over a 10 day period.

After a dull drive on the A1 ..........

And an bio-leak

.......we headed over to see Alyn at AS Performance and bagged 10 bottles of Miller Octane Booster for “nice price”.

Already had my obligatory decal neatly affixed to the Stealth Daddy Wagon :-

Resisted blowing the budget on Scooby parts and headed for the Northshields terminal where we encountered lots of Minis heading to a eleven hundred strong Mini convention in Holland.

Ian Focii RS is at the back.

Check out the “shorties”

They had all manner of crazy car horns going off when they rocked up and the Scottish contingent had more flags than the garden of the UN. Bagpipes were also being belted out. This was a sign of the impending dance floor invasion ( more later)

Handbrakes on, alarms off and it was time for some beer..........

Ians Rig ( Northern producer a.k.a The Mortgage Reducer

After way too much beer + coke n’ voodoo we hit the dance floor......it was ugly. Hairy a***d Geordie with gawd awful tattoos parted as the Jockanese Pirouettes bounded around to the Proclaimers “500 miles” . Brass necks were thrown over board in The Pursuit of Happiness and tiles on the dance floor were lost. I have yet to receive a very embarassing pic of me busting more moves than Micky Jackson

It was very amusing until my brother started pole dancing ( curled leg round pole n’ all !)

Hangovers were not too far away although the 3 drivers held of the disco liquor !

The pillows got hit harder than Saddam bunker that night...........

Roger – over and out

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Bear with me if the Picture tags need sorted ! Still writing hence blank posts below

Edited May 18, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Day 2 – Friday 9th May

The morning after when we woke up in IJmuiden nr Amsterdam ( not “purdy” after the wingmen went to bed at 0430 hrs !)

We then trawled through the Gatso trigger happy Dutch country side and upped the man points with mair grub at Venlo near the Dutch border.

The temperature was glorious and it stayed that way for the entire trip :-

Unusually the traffic was very heavy so even the speeds on the autobahn were disappointing ( not the case on the way back ) ). It took us 6 hours to get there instead of 3 due to a combination of the German Bank Holiday and the steep roads approaching the Eifel Mountains were clogged with exceptionally slow crawling lorries. Finally, we manipulated the Tam Tam and peeled off onto a very very tasty country road. To say we were loving it was an understatement as 4 of the team had never been there before. CB radio traffic was heaving with keich banter. Not a pot hole in sight and every road had sweetly laid asphalt

Some great tunnels were uncovered en-route near Miel ( awaiting pictures from James). Eventually we pitched up at the accommodation. Ali and Russell were staying at the Tiergarten hotel which is owned by Sabine Schmitz’s Maw. 200 metres from the Nordschleife. We then checked in ............

( view from our room 500 metres from the Nordschleife entrance.....)

We knew the atmosphere would be electric when we checked in and it was. Even Frank who runs the joint replied..

" it's gonna be hot for the next 5 days weather-wise.........it's gonna be the best fvcking weekend of the year" The newbies in the team thought this was hilarious that the owners was so Anglacised ( sp ?) with his English tongue /accent. We stuck out heads inside the hotel garage and twp Playstations with steering wheels were installed and a red stripped out Caterhams lay in wait..

Next we went to see some of the main bends on foot. This was an underhand tactic by me to show the more ballsy drivers ( cough Ian Baines) how the Ring was nothing like Gran Turismo and that to illustrate how the gradients were steeper than the cost of living :-

At Pflantzgartens Marshalls viewing point

It eerily quiet in the main car park before the main race the next day.......

But in true german style that had pitched up at Brunnchen to claim their spot. Check out the coolest trailer in the WORLD which has mobile viewing gallery, BBQ, water pistols, beers and champers. Mullets, waxed taches and vest were the order of the day

Entrance to the Norschleife was very quiet ( it was closed for the VLN race the next day)

It is an amazingly small and quiet place rightly described by Bainsey as Euro Disney for Petrolheads.It even has a castle !

Scratching round the gates champing at the bit

These two ( Wuz ( Russell) on LHS and Ali on the RHS) were reeking of fear by his time

And then we went to the PK or PistenKlause which can house hundreds of petrolheads for the consumption of the man-grub served by delightful female staff ( half of which have been selected for their looks and could have been mistaken for supermodels) It really is bloke heaven !

We went there twice but it was quiet on the first night. Four Japanese guys walked in when they were there – looked as if they had just dropped in from Tokyo for the racing or tyre testing. They had the Best Motoring DVD Series hair cuts and were built like Jocky’s whips. Deffo race drivers or mag journo’s or something of the like.

Outside some beasts lurked

Then it was back on the beers for the VLN race was on the next day between 12 & 4 pm so we were gonna have a small lie in...

( Ali, Fraser my brother and James Monty )

********************************************************************************

*************************

Next up - some VERY VERY tasty cars on track and driving round the village.

Note I am writing and then posting the next section after reserving some thread space by editing old blank posts

Edited May 14, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Day 3 – Saturday 10th May

It was VLN race day, an event that the Germans go nuts for so you can imagine our digust when we were rudely awakened by the race teams arriving at the Nordschleife. The ZakSpeed Dodge Viper could be audibly distinguished from 700 yards away and got us suitable excited. After a HUGE breakfast I assembled the troops and we fired on the sun cream and grabbed the SLR’s ready for some mega spectating. Col666 would have been in total heaven here. SO I used my Tom Tom which has the POI ( point of interest) installed with the best and most famous bends. We opted to go to “Adenau Forst” which involved an obscure drive to a school car park and then an 900 yard walk up a very, very steep hill. We were rewarded accordingly as we arrived 5 mins before the race as due to start. Russel was complaining of “ golfers erse” by this stage and looked like a burst baw. It was 30° C after all.

The calm before the storm at Adenau Forst ( I have become a bit of a “fan-boy” and know most of the names of the bends) was bizarre but we could soon hear the roar of straight 6’s, waste gates and V8’s in the distance. 3 classes of car then ran rampant for 4 hours.

And then some wild crash occurred in front of us. The driver was trapped for 20 mins and they did even stop the race !

We then moved back dow the hill and headed to Plantzgarden. The car park was rammed with tourist but some immense cars were abound :-

Edited May 14, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

continued ............................................

Incase you haven't guessed I love Porsche and they are the scalpel of choice for the rich Brits and crazy locals

Race cars still grinding on throught the endurance race which ended with 1 second between the Dodge Viper and Schubert BMW Z4. Pure displacement against an incredibly wide track and chassis. The Viper “pitted” once more then the beemer yet the race was still very tight !

The race ended and we took the chance to park the cars in a strategic spot because the Norschleife “Tourist fahrten” session was due to open for 1.5 hours. A chance to get some laps in and let the newbies pop their cherry and chill their nerves.

It is a place that demands respect. The week before we arrived a British guy binned his white Clio Sport at 130 mpn after lifting off on the apex. Two guys hospitalised, one with a broken neck and two pins in his back. The Ringhuas staff are totak petrolheads and one is a marshall so he warned use of the latest dangers. Two weeks before we arrived many parts of the track were re-surfaced. A combination of old and new tarmac was deadly and many of the lumps and bumps I remembered were altered forever. This was when the lads started to see some real sexy metal !!!

Feast your on some of these which were rife round the car park ( some pics taken on different days)

Queing to get in :-

This BEAST got MASSIVE amounts of attention and rightly so. It was taken on track too which was nice to see

We wrapped up with a few beers after some nice laps :-

My first lap was very very scary after I encountered some major dobbers who had fast cars and little talent. Bikers and rapido Porsches coming at you at 140mph + is pretty scary.

It was evident that my Bridgestone Re050’s were going off after a quarter of a lap but the torque was immense out of the corners and up steep hills. Brakes faded a few times but nothing major. Despite all of this I did a 10 min 8 second lap on my first outing which was pretty good considering that the track was MOBBED and full of guys taking chances ( like the tube in a Celica that sat up m,y jacksi and then nearly crashed on the next bend after I let him past.

No doubt Ali and Wuz will add their own encounters to my thread but everyone had a ball on the fisrt night with all cars back in one piece. The next day was an all-dayer tourist session so I planned to go to bed early. However, a mate from the MLR turned up and the crack was braw. Turned in about 0100 hrs only to get up at 0615 hrs to ensure we got down the gates ready for more action. My brother hit the sauce hard which was to be the nail in the coffin for my pursuit of nailing a sub 10 minute lap. More to follow !

Edited May 14, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

So more pics to keep you going - dunno if I can type any more tonight although a belter of a story has yet to be told !

Edited May 14, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Day 4 – Sunday 11 th May

Okay, picture the scene................

You dive out of bed @ 0700 hrs ready for a full day of track action. The early morning mist has been burnt off already and the rumble of engine is apparent in the distance.

The WRX is primed to go and already squaring up to the ( mighty) competition.............a Murcielago LP640

You then look round into the bedroom and remember that the wingmen got completely pie-eyed the night before and crawled in at a very late hour. Not the best !

Anyway, had a brekkie and were down at the gates for 0800 hrs. This was my last chance to crack 10 mins on a tourist session whilts the track was pretty quite. I had already done a 10 m 7 second lap in heavy traffic, slowing up for faster passing cars ( 911's and the like), bikers and yellow flags at crash sites. 10 mins was very achievable and there was distinct air of confidence on my part ( little did I know the wingman would mess things up !)

So we get onto the track and the conditions are perfect. I am really going for it to the point where my brother had gone quiet at some of the faster bends. Once again it was evident that the OEM fit RE050's were taking a pounding a going off. We flew into the Foxhole at my bravest speed and then passed a couple of 350z in a glorious maneovre at "miss-hit-miss"

Anyway, my brother announces about 4 miles into the 13 mile lap that he feels sick and that I ought to pull over. "No can do" I proclaimed as there was traffic behind me and the stopwatch was on and the lap time was looking promising.

( all "wannabee" Ringers must have such a device at the ready & they are often found in the cars of people who have crashed)

So i fire on the hazard warning lights and slow right down. 2 secs later there is complete silence from Fraser. In closer inpsection he looked like a hamster with loaded pooches. The baffoon had been sick

..................... but somehow managed to keep them in his mouth. He somehow negotiated his helmet off without disturbing said cheeks and sat patiently ( lokking seriously unhappy with a sweaty brow) whilst I gave him dawgs abuse. At least he never barfed into my car or footwell ! fairplay to him

In summary, he kept all this bile in his gub for the next 8 MILES and even then when we cruised into the carpark we sat for 5 mins before we could get out ! Finally after some 10 mins he was able to chunder liberally ( video evidence available on request !) at the side of road away from the public

So after the I finally got back into the queue for the car park by which time the track had closed after an Evo had broken down and this boy had binned his Porsche

So in summary, my selfish bro ruined my best chance to beat a 9.59 time. This only means I'll have to go back and try again. I fairness to Fraser he said I was staring to take chances and that he would have been sick even if he wasn't hungover. Who knows but perhaps he saved me from a crash.

Clarkson had the benefit of Sabine tuition, some 50 laps of practice ( I had done around 8 !) and a closed track. I reckon a 9.45 would be easily achievable in my car. A sub 9.30 would be do-able with R888's or RE070's and 6 pots or Brembo's from an STi

Anyway, we still had a braw time and the sweet cars kept on coming :-

This CSL is supercharged and VERY loud and VERY rapid

( watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t932WbJFIik and wait till nearer the end of the video to hear it on the over-run at Brunnchen ----soooooo good)

We then packed up for the day after some more spectating where we ssaw some real mental "everyday" cars at full tilt.

Then it was back to the PK restaurant for awesome grub and petrolhead heaven. It was rammed with about 300 guys all from various

clubs and forums.

This was outside

and this sums up German ingenuity.............

A great day all in all and all 3 cars were in once piece ! Ali did a 9.35 in his 350 bhp which was nae too shabby ( RE070 sublime supposedly)

Edited May 17, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Day 5 – Monday 12 th May

Left early after experiencing bad traffic on the Friday. So we headed off and 9am and went via some very long and tasty tunnels !

Russell was always on-hand for crazy SLR action

Much to our surprise the autobahns were dead so we hit 140 mph just cos it was legal and very safe. My car felt very relaxed at that speed.

Ali hit 160 mph ( indicated on speedo)

As a result we did the journey in 3 hrs !

And then we went to the ferry terminal via the Zaandvoort racetrack in Holland but moved on as there was a race on and it was MOBBED

We'll perhaps go there the next time as it's very twisty and nestled in the sand-dunes at the coast

Instead we hit the beach at IJMuiden and killed a few hours

Then onto the ferry for more beers and casino action .............

.............where I managed to turn a measily 10 Euros into 120 !!!!! paid for the petrol in blighty

Day 6 – Tuesday 13 th May

Got into Newcastle where the temperature had halfed to 15° C .............we'd arrived back at blighty with a thud

GAME OVER ! Bring on next year

Hope you enjoyed the jackanory and pictures

Cal

Edited May 17, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[jcscoob]

Cal, sounds class mate, looking forward to the rest off the (lord of the rings) report.

[RS Grant]

The self-inflicted shoeing has started... really wish I'd have been there mate, I say it every year, but I've seriously gotta get my finger out and set aside time/money for the next time.

Brilliant report, the next installments are just going to get better and better I'm sure.

Cheers,

Grant

[the squiggle]

Got some popcorn in ready for the updates

Good on ye Cal, for taking the wagon round the Ring

Was chatting to your old man at Knockers on Sunday, the likeness is in the eyes

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

new text added.........next comes the racing action

Edited May 14, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[nkwrx]

Pretty special mate. A real road trip with the ultimate punchline...

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Another SIDC chaps report here :-

http://forums.sidc.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=116075

Cheers

Cal

[bmwhere?]

Nice write up Cal and nice to meet you all on the Saturday!

Great to finally get some pictures of my car on an SIDC post

Edited May 14, 2008 by BMWhere?

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

I was so busy eyeing up your car I never even clocked the foreign regi plate ! Have now emailed you the original pics from my SLR ( some 5 Mb in size)

Very jealous of your close proximity to the track in Germany. I am very badly smitten and shall return in 2009 with more power & stickier tyres with any luck ( trying not to modify with some stealthy upgrades is virtually impossible)

Going there in 29° C with standard OEM factory WRX tyres is not ideal. They weren't bad but they dent the confidence when firing into SX ( that's Schwedenkreuz) @ 125 mph ! It was evident that they were badly goosed by Brunnchen where you wash out wide at the second bend. Ho- hum

Kallenhard and the fast series of bends after Plantzgarden are very intimidating but the left hander immediately after the Foxhole and Flugplatz are a major adrenalin rush !

My funniest story is still to come - let's just say that a sibling passenger plus hangover plus helmet plus committed brother at the wheel can be a stomach churning experience !

Edited May 14, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[micra_wrc]

another quality cal post

was laughing out loud at the commentary and that was only on the 2nd post.

really need to sit and read this properly when i have time.

good report as usual Cal, pleased you enjoyed the trip

[Boyakasha]

:lol:

[euan_r]

epic report as ever cal

looking forward to further updates

[fai17]

Thanks for a brilliant Cal....welldone

[bmwhere?]

I was so busy eyeing up your car I never even clocked the foreign regi plate ! Have now emailed you the original pics from my SLR ( some 5 Mb in size)

Lol, yeah the plates are often the last thing you notice! Glad you liked it Cheers for the pics!

Very jealous of your close proximity to the track in Germany.

I'm not really that close in the very south of Germany - about 6 hours for me - Probably closer for the Southern English Still, a long way for you boys to travel so I feel for ye!

Going there in 29° C with standard OEM factory WRX tyres is not ideal. They weren't bad but they dent the confidence when firing into SX ( that's Schwedenkreuz) @ 125 mph ! It was evident that they were badly goosed by Brunnchen where you wash out wide at the second bend. Ho- hum

Have to say the 245 Dunlops on the 08 gripped extremely well round there, was very impressed with the levels of grip and control they gave. Also very impressed with the Brembo's - 2 laps and no fade

[eurosti]

Cracking report Cal and some excellent pics! I was too busy bumping my gums to take any decent ones lol.

[pmacFTO]

Great read m8 Excellent as always!

Just wondered why Mark Viduka was with u tho

I assume that R35 GTR was a test car for journos or something? Or was it privately owned.

I have to say tho the black GTR behind it with CF bonnet etc looked very nice too.

There's always some awesome machinery in that place tho - really want to do a Europe drive and end at The 'ring too

[PHM]

Top pics Cal!! good seeing you all and what a trip!!!!

[wilky]

Top pics Cal!! good seeing you all and what a trip!!!!

Great write up Cal. Looks like you all had a ball!

Callum W

[marky.t.s]

excellent report Cal and top pics too,dont forget True Grip mag are always looking for articles/storys like this.