SMACS TO THE NURBURGRING
sept/oct 2006
By Chris Wilkinson (cw42)
In 2005, with a massive group of other
petrolheads in an assortment of cars, I did a European tour, taking in the
French vineyards, the Swiss Alps, the German Autobahns and the mighty
Nurburgring as our final destination. The tour was over 2500 miles of driving on
some of the finest roads that part of the world has to offer, with the
Nurburgring thrown in for good measure. The only problem with such an awesome
trip was that I was knackered by the time we got there, and didn't fully
appreciate the track. So, I vowed to return, as soon as I could, to better learn
the circuit, and appreciate better the "Nordschleife ".
The opportunity arose early this year, when my partner informed
me that the family holiday was a no-go this year, due to a rather large and
important operation she was to undergo, and so a plan was hatched to get to
Nurburg. Plans started small at first, looking firstly into the logistics and
cost of the trip itself, hotels, fuel and the like were all taken into account,
to give a base figure to work on. Next came the date, if I was going for a few
days, I'd want some good time on the track, so the diary here:
http://www.ringhaus.com/calendar/month.php?date=20060301 was consulted, and
the best date of Saturday 30th September for travelling, and Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday for driving the ring, with the return trip on the Wednesday 4th October.
All this info was published to Amita, and the names of attendees started to
trickle in. Eventually, after some drop-outs, we had 10 people coming in 7 cars.
They were, from left to right below: Howard, Jamie, Justin, Ash, Adam, Pete,
Dai, Chris, Martin and Andy.

After some debate on our start time, to be at Dover for 11am on
the Saturday morning, we eventually agreed, well, told, Dai, that we'd be
heading off at 5am! So, an early start it was, and what a start, with an early
morning foggy run along the excellent Buxton to Chesterfield A road to set the
scene for the week ahead. Everyone was in high spirits, and the radios were
crackling with excited conversation, not least off Howard, who was doing an
excellent job as our resident train announcer, no-one could understand a word
you were saying! With my tank virtually empty, and the others a little way
behind, we eventually arrived in Dover, quickly refuelled and headed for the
ferry.
I had decided to book the journey from Dover to Dunkerque, as on
paper at least, it meant a slightly longer break on the boat, and a shorter trip
through the boring roads of France and into Belgium. It turned out to be a good
idea. The boat trip was excellent, with us all having a massive meal to keep us
going for the rest of the day, even Justin, who was threatening sea sickness
until he tucked into a huge plate of babies head and mash!
Once landed in Dunkerque, it barely seemed like 10 mins later,
and we were in Belgium, with everyone's sat-nav giving different directions to
Nurburg. I'd printed out the instructions from Ben Lovejoys site here:
http://nurburgring.org.uk/ and also a
similar route from the Northloop site here:
http://s8.invisionfree.com/Northloop/ then given them to Pete and Adam, who
were together (not in that way, don't get any funny ideas!) and were supposed to
guide us. This was working well, until somehow, they ended up at the back of the
convoy, radioing directions to the front! With only Dais' broken headlamp on the
way through Belgium to worry about, we made steady progress towards our hotel,
but not as quick as when we came back!
Finally, we'd arrived, at 9pm, 540+ miles later, dark, wet,
thunder storming and lightning and split up :) A well deserved beer was ordered
for myself and Dai, being the first into the hotel (good old sat-nav had seen me
right) The others turned up not long after, rooms were allocated, bags were
dumped, more beer was ordered,
WE WERE HERE!
Looking around the table that night, as we finished our late
meal, and supped yet another beer, I had a feeling of satisfaction with the
realisation that we'd all made it through without too much drama, and in one
piece, but the best was yet to come. And so to bed.
SUNDAY
Misty mornings are commonplace in the Nurburgring region, check
out the webcam on a daily basis here:
http://nurburgring.org.uk/webcams.html and you'll see for yourself. This
morning was no exception. I was up early, as usual, and down eating a typical
German breakfast of bread, butter, jam, cereal and meat! There wasn't a peep
from the others, so I headed for the ring, and by opening time at 9am, had my 15
lap ticket, and was readying my car in preparation for my first lap in over a
year, excited, you bet! Luckily, I'd brought a makeshift pair of driving gloves,
actually my full finger cycling ones, which stopped my sweaty hands slipping on
the wheel. Here we go then, upto the barriers, ticket in, pull it out, barrier
lifted........................and we're off.
Steady now, no need to what we now call, "do a higham" just nice
and easy for the first few laps, try vainly to learn some of this twisting,
turning, climbing, descending monster of a public toll road. PUBLIC TOLL ROAD!
Oh yes, did no-one tell you, the Nurburgring is a toll road, like the FORTH
BRIDGE or the M6 TOLL ROAD, open to any vehicle that is fully taxed and insured
for German road rules. So my first scalp of the day was a transit van, wondered
briefly if it was the hamster trying to beat Sabines time, but after his
accident, I figured not. Then the big one loomed into view, my first coach! Oh
yes, last time I was here, these things kept ruining my laps, meaning I only
ever managed a measly 11mins 40secs, but within my first lap, I'd whooped his
ass, and breezed past up the hill. It's at this point of the story you realise
how little you know the ring. Anoraks, and people that live here, know the name
of every corner on the place, and there are a few! So our whole time there was
spent telling stories about places that we had no clue to their names, and had
to describe in great detail where you were on the circuit miles before any
incident took place :) Coming to the end of my first lap now, and looking in the
mirror, I could see it was getting busy, how busy I was soon to learn. At the
best of times, Sundays at the ring are going to be busy, but this sunday was
especially busy. It seemed that everyone in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and
England were there, and all queuing to get into and onto the ring. It was very
very busy!
Eventually, after another steady lap, the others began emerging
from the hotel up the road, great choice of hotel, as it was within walking
distance of the start/finish. This came in handy later, as it was too busy to
actually drive up for dinner. When we were all assembled, I offered a pax lap to
anyone, and Pete, Adam and Justin jumped in, to be treated to a demonstration of
steady and safe lamp by me. No point rushing, as the track was beginning to
resemble the M25 at rush hour now! Time for some fuel for me, and off to the
almost as famous petrol station down the road, where all and sundry come to fill
up, and take a breather from the manic day over at the ring. In trying to get
back, I realised how busy, I couldn't get anywhere near the circuit, and so
resigned myself to turning around, and checking out some viewing spots instead:
Upon my eventual return to the start/finish, I heard of Petes'
misfortune, and his altercation with the armco and his bumper, unlucky Pete :(
Still, on the plus side, everyone was ok, and it was only body damage on the
car. In the meantime, Andy was out trying to launch his car at Adenau Forst
(see, I know one or two corners names!) which severely dented his confidence and
enthusiasm for the rest of the day. Everyone else meanwhile was soaking in the
atmosphere of the place, which is very easy to do. Everywhere you looked, there
were cars of all makes and models, tricked out or standard, ex racing drivers or
general Joes like us, all here for one thing, with one common purpose and goal,
to drive the ring to the best of our abilities, some better than others
obviously! :)
But what a first day. A very busy track, more Porches that you
can shake a stick at, BMW M3 CSL's coming out of our ears, and a carpark full of
scoobys from all corners of Europe, fantastiche!
Evening loomed large, and back to the hotel for a shower and a
beer, quick change and off for tea. Now, when we drove this road the night
before, it didn't seem so far, but it was probably about 2 miles from hotel to
Pistenklause, which was a bit further than I thought, especially as there was a
massive storm coming. No matter, my biggest worry was that I'd never had a
confirmation of the booking I'd made, and the place was heaving! To my mighty
relief, there was an empty table, just for our group thank god. Needless to say,
the meal was gorgeous, if you go, just order the Argentinean steak, that's all
you have to do, simple. The walk home after was a bit wet, as the storm had
finally reached Nurburg. A few more beers in the hotel, and off to bed, for
another early start on Monday.
MONDAY
Another misty start to the day, but this one with a bonus, in
that the track was open in the morning from 9am instead of the scheduled 1pm. Up
and about, watching the hotel maid tidy up, while I ate breakfast alone again,
with Martin Joining me later on just as I was finishing. Eventually, everyone
assembled, and made our way down to the track. Another busy day was developing,
with the news of the extra time not being much of a secret! No matter, as the
track was wet, which kept it fairly free of bikers. Andy, Jamie and Dai agreed
to let me have a go of their cars, which was a big privilege, and a big thanks
to them for that. I went out with Howard driving my car first, and boy can
Howard drive. I'd already been sat next to him earlier in the year at Oulton
Park, and had complete trust in his abilities. Even when he started chasing, and
catching, a local in a Porche! My turn next in the Exige :) I had a great lap,
nice and steady, as usual, but barely scratching the surface of what that car is
capable of.
After a break for lunch, it was time for Dais' car to get a
thrashing. I will eventually get me some AST's, as the control around the
circuit was so much better in that car than my own. Andys' car would have to
wait for Tuesday, as I had a passenger lap in an M3 CSL to enjoy first.
I was stood in the carpark, chatting with the guys around 4pm,
when this CSL drives by slowly in the queue for the ring, I take a glance in,
see no-one in the passenger seat, and tap lightly on the window, pointing to the
empty seat. The waving hand to beckon me in needed no second wave, I was sat
down, helmet on, car keys left with someone, before he could put his hand back
on the wheel! Upto the barrier, still fairly busy on track, but not as bad as
yesterday. Away from the barrier, and "do you mind if I film" I say, "ya, no
problem" he says, and whoooooosh!
Bloody hell! Like a rat out of an aqueduct, we shoot off under
the bridge and up the hill, to our first incident of the lap. Yellow flag, slow
for the grandstand corners, then, whoooooosh, we're off again,
left/right/left/right, the click, click of the paddle shifters the only sign
that he's doing anything with his hands, and the almighty shove in my gut
everytime he accelerates and the lunge forward as we brake so late into corners.
I glance across from my video screen, trying at once to fathom how fast we're
going, where we are, what I'm filming exactly! But it's all a blur, we hit
around 240 km/h (149mph) on a bit of road I struggled to do 110mph! Blimey! We
eventually make it to the final 2 corners of the circuit, and there, on the
first of the two, is a bad scene indeed. A biker had come off just after mini
carousel, and was lay on the grass, motionless, with a number of people in
attendance. We trundle back to the pits, me sweating buckets, trying to
comprehend how slow I really am around this place against what has just
happened, yet still mindful of the biker behind us. A big thanks to my mystery
CSL driver, that was truly the ride of my life so far, thankyou.
Unfortunately, the biker turned out to be a fatal, and the
circuit was not opened after we'd got in. We headed once again for the
pistenklause, walking again, for yet more Argentinean steak all round, and a few
beers. We were joined this time by a lovely couple who'd followed us through
Belgium on the Saturday, and also met the mad chaps who are:
http://www.justgofaster.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx justgofaster.
TUESDAY
Our final day at the ring, the last chance to spend all those
laps we'd bought. Once again, another early start, however this time, the track
was quiet first thing. The very wet track had a lot to do with it, as it had
only just stopped raining, so no bikers on track then. Today was a German bank
holiday, and we were expecting it to be busy, but it wasn't. I set off straight
away, getting a number of laps in first thing while the track was wet and quiet.
Reassuringly, I was being overtaken a lot less by now, as the track clicked into
place, and corners that were a complete mystery to me, became almost well known.
Didn't want to get over confident though, and was still taking it easy in the
damp conditions. These were drying quickly though as the day wore on, and by the
time Andy let me have a go in his car, there was a definite dry line to follow.
Andys' car is something else, and should have been the car I'd got back in
November 2005, but I had to get a UK spec sti, not a JDM. Well, now was my
chance to see what I'd been missing. The power delivery was so much more brutal
than my own, and I must have posted the best lap of my time their by far,
hitting a good 120 on sections where I'd struggle to hit 110 in my own. The
brakes were awesome too, with just new discs to bring me down a lot closer to
turn ins that I'd do in mine, great fun, and thanks again Andy. The offer to
drive my car was not taken, and I don't blame him, as there'd be no point.
We were all a little tired by now, but had loads of laps to get
in. So I personally went out as often as I could, without putting too much
stress on the car. I got some excellent laps in, with very little traffic by the
middle of the day. A break for lunch saw us regroup, and see how many laps we
had left between us. I was down to none, while Andy and others had a good few
laps to get rid of. I'd already bought some off Andy for fuel, and then the boys
from justgofaster gave me a ticket with 5 laps on! Nice one chaps, thankyou.
By this time, I was getting tired, and heeding the guidelines
from all I'd read over the preceding months, I didn't want to go out with a
bang. One more lap then. So off I trot, no passengers, just me, the car and the
ring, very quiet by now. A nice steady lap, I was getting really good at the
racing line, and because it was quiet, no need to keep dropping off it to let
cars pass. As I came to the end of the lap, I just couldn't bring myself to go
right in, this was after all the last time I'd be here for a while, so against
my better judgement, I went out for just one more lap. Halfway round, I realised
that although not a big mistake, it wasn't going to be my best lap time that's
for sure, so I just enjoyed my last lap of around 28 in total over the holiday.
Back to the start/finish, helmet off, gloves off, and I'm spent! :)
A final trip back up to the hotel, a few beers, a simple hotel
evening meal, and off to bed, for the monster trek back to sunny Stockport in
the morning.
WEDNESDAY
We had a navigator with us today, Simon needed a lift back to
Milton Keynes, and I was happy to oblige as long as he knew the way. Which he
did, sort of! We only got lost once, on the Belgium equivalent of the Birmingham
ring road. After our little detour, it was a blast down to Dunkerque, with just
a stop off for a speeding ticket for me, and some booze from the wholesalers
near the port. The crossing was again excellent, with a lovely meal to contend
with, and a welcome break from driving.
We thought we'd hit bad traffic along the M25, but it wasn't too
bad, and apart from losing Justin along the way, and all getting split up at one
point, we made it back together to go our separate ways after heading through
Buxton. I was carrying Howard's wine in my boot, so they didn't want to lose me,
and we exchanged goodbyes and booze in my village around 9pm that night.
Finally home, wife and kids out at Scouts, house to myself, nice
and quiet. Unpacked the car, put it away, patting it gently and thanking it for
getting me there and back safe and sound. Bath time.
And now, weeks after the trip, what is the overriding impression
of the trip? For sure the camaraderie of the group, the way we all stuck
together and helped out, the piss taking of each other, the way we shared one
another's motors. But overall, the ring, the best bit of tarmac in the world,
surely? And the people that frequent it, the locals, the tourists, the coach
loads of OAP's!
Here's to next year, see you soon,
Chris.
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