badbaz vs the Nordschleife

[badbaz]

Here's my little story of one man and Midnight21,a Scoob, 14 other bodies, 9 other Scoobs and a lone Audi up against the Nordschleife.

Part 1 - Getting There

The journey down to Newcastle was relatively uneventful, one car had a slight technical issue which was quickly resolved and after brimming my car with Shell's finest, meeting everyone at the ferry terminal in North Shields, we checked in for the crossing.

A quick look in the boot by the customs people, a little frisk for Cathy and we then made our way into the belly of the ferry and then up to our cabins as passengers. DFDS cabins are adequate, walls are paper thin though and every word of neighbours can be clearly heard! A beer, dinner, a bit of Fast 5 in the cinema (a room with a projector screen) and it was off to bed to listen to the engines churn all night long. I was on Deck 4, outside cabin and sharing with three others. The bed was comfy, the cabin was flamin roastin and the noise from the engines was too much to allow a decent sleep. Up early doors and ready for breakfast, only to hear an announcement that the ferry was delayed by over an hour!! Fed and watered it was just a case of waiting to dock and then to get off the ferry.

Assembled outside, we decided to just get on our way to Nurburg. I led off but within about four junctions, had lost all but three of the others - lots of traffic lights Quick contact with those who went the wrong way and we pressed on. Drivers in the Netherlands are very well disciplined and return to the right immediately after overtaking, they stick to the limit (74mph) and so we made good time with little delay. As we progressed through Holland we then lost the other three who had their own sat nav and decided to take a shorter route ( I was on the fastest route) Into Germany and some higher speeds were in order on the Autobahn, running around 110-120mph but keeping an eye on the distance - from the ferry to Nurburg was 237miles as the fastest route, more direct routes were available saving 35miles but Tom Tom knows best On our route we passed through the 2km Roer Tunnel and roar we did - what a bloody hoot, full bore accelerations and lift of bangs sounded amazing - lots of laughter, how childish Unfortunately we eventually hit a large traffic jam and after 10 miles we left the designated route and headed towards Nurburg on a single track road (B257) - this was a great road but was compromised by ludicrously low speed limits The plus points were three or four tunnels on this road, downhill sections - much poppin and bangin Despite our delay we arrived straight to the hotel (past the entrance to the Nordschleife) 15 mins behind the other three.

Checked into rooms - nice, clean, adequate. Gagging for some 'Ring' action we hummed and hawed while we awaited the others. At this point we decided to go and buy some laps. Some of the group had bought some laps from the hotel owner who had a few cards with a few laps from previous customers. The hotel is literally next door to the track. It's about 700 metres to the car park which forms the entrance to the track. We headed down to find that GMac had hit the back of TPS Scoob at a T junction just outside the car park. We bought some tickets and headed back to the hotel to make some temporary repairs to Andy's car, Graeme's was relatively unscathed. Some pulling, pushing, banging and bending saw a car which would be ok for track use. Time to head on track......

[rig-pig]

good post m8 a good read to go with the vids that were posted up

[badbaz]

Part 2 - Going on track

After all the hullabaloo and our journey through four countries it was time to venture on track - THE reason for our trip! Laps are prepaid at the ticket office and these cost 24euros for 1, 89 for 4 and then there are other multiples beyond that. You get a credit card sized card which you hold up to the barrier and enter the track. There is a food credit on the cards bought for multiple laps at a restaurant across from the GP circuit - we didn't venture there on our trip. Having rained since we arrived it was up to the barrier for our first lap, a wet one.....

Corsa led and off we went (each time you hold your card to the barrier it tells you how many laps are left on the card - in German of course). To let you understand, since we decided to go to the Ring way back in February, I've been learning the track on GT5 and watching you tube vids and also races. The benefit to this is knowing what comes next. And what came next was a massive surprise! The corners are defo the same but the undulations, elevation changes are unbelievable. The corners also seem to come at you way quicker than in the game, running constantly into one another. As was said later in the weekend there are no straights on the lap (except for the finish straight where you are done and slowing/cooling car down for exiting the track) Other cars are way quicker too, those who are familiar with the track buzz by at what seems ludicrous for the conditions, and this is 1 series beemers and Golf GTIs Fear not, by the end of the weekend those passing you become much fewer and you are the one doing the passing.

Thoughts after my first ever lap? It's fast. Its incredibly steep in places. It was over too quickly. The locals are mental. Everything after the Karussell is tricky to remember. Most prominent thought - we survived!

German road law applies on track. You are obliged to keep right, especially if cars are coming behind you and looking to pass. You may only overtake on the left. If you pass on the right and there is an incident you will automatically carry the blame. I saw the discipline was almost completely adhered to, witnessing only one overtake on the right. There are comprehensive rules displayed at the track entrance car park and available on line and in leaflets. When being overtaken its good to keep well right and indicate right so those passing know for sure that its safe. Expect to see yellows (flags or lights) slow down and expect anything, buses full of kids, camper vans and barrier repair teams around any corner!

Having been and survived I'd say this. If you crash it could cost you dearly. Circuit closure costs a bomb and it was closed around 15 times over the four days I was there. I heard of one driver being charged 7500euros for an off, barrier damage and circuit closure. Not to mention loss of his vehicle! With this in mind, you drive within your limits, leaving a safe margin to make sure you drive home just as you arrived

Another lap anyone?

A wet track with the sun out

[badbaz]

Part 3 - The next lap

Ok, you've done a lap, you've made it around unscathed and you're gagging to get back out. I didn't - I took stock and thought about how it had just went, what we had seen and felt and how it could go pear-shaped very easily!

Over the weekend I found it very convenient to drive right out of the circuit car park and back to the hotel car park. It only took two minutes but it let the car cool down and meant you could just keep your helmet on until stopped. The car park(s) at the circuit are very small and when busy you aren't gonna easily find a space.

It was dry now and the track was also beginning to dry too. Be aware that it may be completely dry in one part and just around the corner it's soaking wet or worse - damp. When damp it's horrendous, very slippy just where you need grip and remember, the run off here is almost always non existent - you run wide and it's trip over I found later in the weekend when it's soaking wet it's not as slippy.

It was time to do another run before the track closed for the day. Helmet on and off we went. Down the hill to the roundabout and into the circuit car park, you drive straight in and when using a RHD car the left most barrier lane is the one you want as there is a machine on the left and right(always handy when you have only one functioning window ).

At this point I should mention, for those who don't know, videoing laps on the Ring is forbidden. Unless you have permission (journalists) or have hired a camera from them, you cannot be seen to have any visible camera equipment as you approach the barriers. It was at this point I discovered that Heir Flick and his compadres would hassle me at almost every entry I made to the track. I have a dummy camera pod on my car. Quite a good dummy pod as it would turn out as they wanted inside the car on more than one occassion to see where the cables went. I should have found out the word for dummy in German. Cathy eventually worked out the german for it's not real but my Scottish accent made it sound nothing like it should anyway so I just stuck to it's a dummy, you dummy!! Later in the weekend some of the marshalls at the gate would make picture taking gestures at me, remembering it's fake, whilst the gestapo at the barrier were on the radio, rubbing my fake lens and crawling in the passenger door.

So a drier lap materialised - not dry everywhere but pretty much a dry line all the way around. Fewer cars at this late stage of the day so a lesser hassled lap and happy to have been round twice I called it a day and headed back to the hotel. Clear that the track had loads to give and lots to learn, particularly everything from the Karussell onwards. First laps survived - this is a feeling I had after every single lap I completed throughout the whole visit. There is this kind of aura about the place that no matter what you do you'll crash! That is a ridiculous way to feel but the more you watch, read, see and hear, the more this is the way you feel. When was the last time you drove a road you didn't know and crashed? Probably never! If you drive sensibly you won't crash - red mist is very dangerous though! Don't be suckered into following faster cars - not until you're third lap at least And remember, a road which is used as a race circuit will have lower grip when wet than a normal road would.

We stayed at the Burgstube Hotel. A perfectly adequate place in a great close location as I mentioned. There is a main building, an annex just behind and another property with rooms lower down the hill. The owners were pleasant and helpful, Martin is an Englishman and an instructor on the Nordschleife. He's been round over two thousand times ( and crashed twice according to him) and moved there after visiting the place just like us and his wife/partner (unsure) is a German girl. He can give plenty good advice and I think, despite his manner, that he is trying to give us the best info and guidance. Put it this way, if I go back, I would be happy to stay there again.

The bar/eating area is ideal for sitting down and discussing your experience with the others. There's also a wall mounted tv screen which shows the webcam of the circuit barrier entry. When the circuit is closed, it's a great place to sit and wait for the track to reopen.

Martin had a bbq for us on the Friday night, too cold to eat outside but the food was good and plentiful, the waffles even better and after a long day and piss poor sleep the night before I headed off to bed. The track would still be there tomorrow........

[thebigfelly]

great write ups baz, enjoying reading them and the photo's with them , very imformative, and detailed, enjoying how your describing the thoughts and feelings of it too , rather than just a plain old story about some race circuit ,

hope theres more parts to come keep up the good write up :thumbup:

[rig-pig]

ace write up m8

[Midnight21]

Baz your write up is fab (except telling the whole world I was frisked LOL) really enjoying reading it .....its like being there all over again

Brill

[ali37]

Nice write up Baz.

We are already talking about getting next years trip arranged.

[frenchy]

I'm really enjoying your write up Baz, is there more to come?

[marky.t.s]

Top job Baz,good pics as well,Dave(Corsa)? where can we see the rest?

[badbaz]

Thanks guys, more to come in due course (if I can remember what happened next)

Cathy - the frisk was your weekend highlight

[badbaz]

Part 4 - Day Two

The forecast for our visit was mixed for all days. Being in the Eifel Forest the weather can be very unpredictable - a lot like Spa if you follow F1. The days tended to start wet, then dry a bit then just when it was all nicely dried up it would piss down again. With the rain, almost invariably, came track closures as someone new ran out of talent and luck! The track wasn't due to open till the afternoon on the Saturday, as there was a national race series using the Nordschleife in the morning - this gave us a chance to explore. The locals said it was a bit cool for the time of year, but at 12-15C it was better for the car

It's good to know where the petrol stations are. Scoobs don't much like being low on fuel when used on track as a fair few peeps found out mid lap Adjacent to the gantry on the finish straight (on the left hand side if completing a lap) is a petrol station on a road running parallel which sells 98ron fuel. This is OK if you're using octane booster There's also a gift shop attached which has a LOT of model cars for sale. They also sell some other stuff, stickers, clothes etc but there are bigger shops at the GP circuit. The other 'better' petrol station is in a place called Adenau. This is an amusing name for us Scots. 'I don't know' is at the halfway point on the circuit and this village was the butt of many 'adunknow' jokes throughout the weekend. It's an Aral petrol station - I think equivalent to BP - and sold 102ron fuel. This was better for those 'tuned' beasties - I still used octane booster to help things along It should be noted that they ran out of 102 on the Sunday - still selling 98 though.

The road from Nurburg to Adenau is very good fun(about 6km from memory), a fair few hairpins, superb surface and I think it's used in the German WRC round (not sure). There is also a supermarket and beer/spirit cash & carry place which was visited a few times - in particular before heading home Just be aware of oncoming bikers attempting to highside and crash into you head on I didn't find out until later on that there is an exit from the circuit at Adenau, ideal if you have an issue or if you are a season ticket holder, 1350euros I believe, you can leave the track here, refuel and rejoin to complete a lap. On the normal card you'd lose out leaving here.

Anyway, top tip is fuel up when about half empty as a lap uses more than an 1/8th of a tank - in my case at least.

So, with time to kill we paid a visit to the GP circuit. There are some huge buildings here which I think are used for concerts and such like. It contains a cinema, eating places, a museum, a kart track (indoor), a fair few Ring souvenier shops, a Ferrari shop and so on. It's worth a visit to kill time but don't hold your breath. The most novel feature for me was that I think Avatars built it. The doors are bloody huge! They must be 10feet tall or more!! I've no idea why, I didn't see any giants when I was there. The gifts shops have some nice stuff for sale - none of which is cheap!

So with the morning suitably killed, we headed back to the circuit car park and due to the amount of vehicles there parked on the opposite side of the road in a large gravel car park behind the small one off the roundabout. We queued to buy more laps, I bought two more sets of 4 laps meaning 12 in total for the weekend. We then headed into the Devil's Diner, a restaurant within the circuit carpark. You can't pay for food with cash so you need to load the ring card (same one as laps are on) with the value of your food - we clubbed together outside and one person put through the order. It's a busy place, not awfully big, but the burger was good. While we ate the circuit opened and we watched the madness as every man and his 911 GT3 battled to get on the track. According to the hotel owner it was particularly busy over the weekend, as there had not been many TF days at weekends in the past few weeks.

Eating over, laps paid up we headed for the cars to get ready to go. The track was dry at this point and I'm almost sure it remained that way for the whole of Saturday. Note that dry conditions do not mean less accidents, I think they just become bigger. We spent a bit of time sealing up the rear of Andy's car. The Badger was letting fumes into the cabin so using duct tape we sealed up any gaps caused by the ill fitting boot lid and split floor. Good to go we headed off to the track, to find it closed

Divert to the hotel and watch the web cam for it opening. It's never closed for long. And so it opened and we headed out for some dry laps. After the usual camera shenanigans we were off. Nothing can prepare you for the madness that ensues. The locals are flamin mental, especially in the 911s, coming at you quick and not being very courteous when passing you. With slower cars like Suzukis on track and trying to pass them and watch for bikes and 911s its quite hectic. Be prepared to feel intimidated. The best solution for me was to get the finger out and get moving. Bikes are so fast on the straight and totally pathetic on the bends, this can lead to frustration as they fly past you on the straights only to become an extra nuisance in the next corner. The more you move over the more difficult it becomes to get 'out of the bit' - you end up spending more time moving over and making slow progress. The only solution for avoiding this would be to go mid week I think.

So, having followed some similarly powered cars through various sections you start to get a feel for where you can press on, where to be on the track and the times start to drop. A big fear for me was cold rear tyres. Braking was not a problem but the layout of the first few kms and the nature of the turns had me paranoid that the back end was magnetically attracted to the barriers. I didn't get over that feeling by the end of the trip and so could have been quicker through the first quarter to third. It was purely psychological, having seen many you tube crashes here and the fact that a lot of the corners are combinations which successively become tighter and tighter leading you to be changing direction while the rear is unweighted. A lot of crashes happen from the old pits on, these corners are tight and have no run off to save you. After those corners there is a very high speed section which again left me leaving a large safety margin, these bits are fast, building to 140mph(in mine) before you have to brake hard through to a blind left hander over a crest where again many people get it wrong and lose the rear end. More laps there would improve things a great deal - it's a confidence thing.

Remember it's always on your mind the cost if things go wrong. Apart from not wanting to lose my Scoob, an 8000euro bill is a very daunting prospect

The day was good though, every lap that passed leaving you both happy to have survived and desperate for more! I did around three laps with a rest in between and then went to look for viewing points. Even watching track side gives you an amazing view of the inclines this track has. When driving on it some of the places don't seem as steep as when viewing from the side! Watching the cars go by, the near misses, the almost offs, it just made me want to go for more!

A bit of advice: a competent passenger is a good thing. It's hard to keep your eyes on the road and the mirror all the time while trying to learn the track. Having someone who can give you info on whats behind allows you to focus more on what's ahead. Be very careful not to drift off the track while looking in your mirrors. It'll suck you in and probably spit you out in a very second hand state. Saw it happen more than once!

I can't remember how many laps I did on the Saturday, four or five I think. You could do a lot more but as I said before, it's good to take a breather. 13 miles hard on it takes a fair bit out of you mentally. The car also likes a wee rest

I'd say by the end of Saturday I could confidently tell you every corner on the track. Having worked out everything after the Karussell. Left or right that is, not cambers, undulations, speeds or such like. I never had a clear or dry lap at any point throughout the weekend. We were down to 9 minutes on Saturday afternoon but that was with three separate incidents to pass at reduced speed. Each lap doesn't seem anything like as long as that though. It's over almost as soon as it's begun!

I apologise if this is a bit disjointed, it's hard to recall the events and then you remember something else.

I finished my day's driving, having picked up a lot of pace and kept it shiny side up - that was a relief!!

The driving was over but we still had to be fed!

Going on recommendations we had long since booked a table at the famous Pistenklause restaurant. This is the steak on a stone place. My honest opinion is don't bother - it's not a very nice place, the woman on the desk was the most ignorant person we encountered whilst away - by a long way. The place is cramped, we couldn't even all get on the same table. Other people queued amongst the other tables whilst folk were eating. We were in the corner and luckily didn't have to eat with an arse in our face. The steak came raw on a stone and you cooked it yourself, as did the prawns which I shared with Andy. Couldn't fault those two items and you had the entertainment of cooking it while you ate your way through it! A token serving of chips, no veg, no salad and served on a broken plate - I've eaten much better and wouldn't even give the place a second visit. It was expensive, smelled badly and poor Kenny is still waiting for his main course. Sad but true - avoid would be my opinion!

Back to our hotel for a drink and then a well earned fall into bed finished a good, hard day. More to come.....

[MarkJHarris]

Sorry you didn't enjoy the restaurant at the Tiergarten! We had a couple of really nice nights there when I went.

Defo recomend mid week closed track day trips. Open pit lane makes all the difference- you keep the speed up passed the tolls on the straight and through the kink at full speed into teirgarten corner complex before the gantry- fantastic and impossible to appreciate when you pull out of the toll area.

I must get back one day....

[thebigfelly]

Part 4 - Day Two

it's good to take a breather. 13 miles hard on takes a fair bit out of you mentally. The car also likes a wee rest

- 13mile hard on, was that due o cathy sitting in the passenger seat stroking your thigh or was it the ring

kiddin baz , another good write up , keep em coming

[badbaz]

Tut tut Paul

[graeme_mcfarlane]

Reasonably comprehensive write up there Barry .

Sorry you didnt enjoy your meal at the Pistenklause, my brother and I must have been lucky as we thought ours was excellent. It was a shame Kenny didnt get his

Managed one run on track with the group only as I spied them queing up to go on just as I was coming off, so I just had to re-join

Unfortunately the GPS wasnt working for that run

anyway heres a wee vid of my last run, as posted up in the Scottish section

Graeme

Edited September 27, 2011 by G.Mac

[siwilkie]

Awesome track video loads better than mine taken with phone can't wait to get round next year

[gigsy]

Was there the same w/e I think (16th/17th/18th Sepember?) - I wondered whether your were SIDC members.

Was there with my brother-in-law and father-in-law plus a few friends who had come down from Sweden.

I had my DBM bugeye wagon with me but didn't take it on track as I got hit by a lorry tyre in Belgium at 2am on the 16th whilst on the way there and didn't want to take the risk of patched up bits of my car coming off and causing an accident. Ended up hiring a Clio Cup RS 200 which was actually pretty good fun... disappointed not to drive my car on the track though (but then there's always next time) and it was at least good to see / hear a few Imprezas tearing around the place!

Good write up and photos BTW!!!

[badbaz]

I can't much remember what the details of the next two or three days were to be honest.

It was pretty laid back, trying to time it to get dry running and avoid the many track closures. With each lap a little more detail is absorbed and you can improve through various sections. The Sunday was a full day and started quietly, busy mid day and then quieter before closing. Again I can't recall the amount of laps completed but the amount of times I was overtaken on a lap was down to 2 or 3, this makes things much easier to focus on going forward and feels much less intimidating.

The driving survived, we just stayed in our accommodation for eats and a couple of drinks and many, many stories. The food at the Burgstube is very good, no problems with that or the drinks. If you've had a few laps pushing on it's mentally tiring - that combined with the poor sleep on the ferry and an early start left me heading for an early night.

Monday was another early start, up and fed it was off to the track for a couple of very, very wet sighter laps. I had three or four laps left to do and there was no point waiting until the last minute to do them. The track was deserted but very wet and slippy. Andy came with me and then we had a play in the Badger before doing the last of my laps and surviving my visit to The Ring intact.

Having had a few weeks to look back on the trip I'd say this to anyone considering it. Do it. Try not to go with any preconceived ideas. The track and it's twists, turns, ups and downs is like nothing you will have seen in videos or games, the camera does lie it would seem. The track is super fast when dry and I say this not to put you off, but as a warning: mega, mega dangerous. Think of your 'local' B road. Think of driving along 13 miles of this averaging 90mph and hitting 140mph plus in places. That is quick, most corners are blind and there is next to no warning of impending danger. You absolutely cannot stop in the distance you can see and if circumstances go the wrong way, a very big accident could be on the cards, almost all areas have three feet of run off - not enough. You have no third party cover if it goes tits up and heaven knows what a death or serious injury would cost you. That said, I did it, I knew the risk (90%) and I drove almost within those limits. I felt immense relief to get through my laps and have no incidents. The stories you hear of are very intimidating, it's as though this track is made from stuff never encountered whilst driving before. It's not. It is a track, a fantastic track to drive, but it has it's 'trick' corners and when wet is slippier than any road you drive on at home in the wet. You need to respect it.

I want to go back. I won't go back to a TF day though. The 'no insurance' thing is just too big a risk for me now. If there is affordable track days held there then I'd be up for another visit and combine it with a day at Spa Francorchamps which is only an hour or so away.

A few took a dim view of the Hotel owner's ways, remember though that the Ring is their source of income and we were just one of thousands who make up their annual income - I think, despite how it may have looked to us, they were trying to do the right thing and give the right advice for best possible outcome of any of the given situations. As for grassing little shits.....they'll find you wherever you are in the world.

If I go back I'd be happy to stay in the same place, it was ideal in every way.

The trip home began on the Monday around lunch time. A few of us decided to go back the way I had gone (no one else went there that way) We missed the small tunnels due to a road closure and diversion but the 2km tunnel was almost brought down with the roar of 5 or 6 Scoobs at full bore - absolutely priceless!! Deristricted autobahn saw me hit an actual 147mph, 160mph + indicated on the speedo. On a two lane motorway with trucks doing 56mph it feels very fast indeed. We averaged pretty high speeds on these sections and that made the journey back towards Holland pass very quickly. Tom Tom had one daft moment where we almost missed a tight 360 degree slip road, well I say almost - one car needed to engage reverse, eh Del? The other point to note is that my roof scoop and dummy camera stood up to the flat out running - I had visions of them ripping off and embedding themselves in the following Scoob's scoops

A quick stop for fuel and food at a Shell station and then onto the ferry terminal. All aboard and a pleasant crossing back to Newcastle with a much quieter cabin this time. Arriving back in Newcastle on the Tuesday morning, we said our goodbyes and set off for home.

All in all a great trip with a great bunch of guys and girl. I missed my gorgeous Ann badly though and would have loved for her to have been there, the great scenery and food would have suited her but alas the driving would have not!! Cathy was a fantastic passenger who never flinched at any point, graciously paid her way and loling a great deal through almost all of the trip. Despite the setbacks of a few I believe all of us had a ball and as I said, under the right circumstances I'd go back.....

[wasbo]

Excellent post, many thanks for taking the time to write this, it made a great read, I can't wait to get over there, fingers crossed sometime in 2012.

Maybe if a few are going next year I could meet up with you over there.

[StrikE]

Now complete & well worth the read.

Top review Barry, very informative

Yes i turned the air blue a little at that blasted sat nav, full bore emergency stop AND revering where i perhaps shouldn't have!

All made for better memories.

Del

[badbaz]

Thanks guys. Just wanted to share my experience so others can go armed with a little more detailed info

[Midnight21]

Now complete & well worth the read.

Top review Barry, very informative

Edited October 25, 2011 by Midnight21

[badbaz]

^^ That's a very bold statement - sorry Kenny, just beating you to it

Thanks Cathy

[BalliSTIc]

Video camera? WHAT video camera? *chuckle*

Nice write up mate! Pics and vids are truly inspiring... might need to manage along next time out...

Hmmmmm... now where'd I put that diary?