Nurburgring August 2006

Anders a friend from Lillehammer, Norway and I joined together for a trip to the Nurburgring in August in 2006. This is my account of that trip.

We left Dover on the 10am Norfolk Lines Ferry to Dunkerque. Service on the boat was excellent and we partook of the cooked breakfast as is traditional.

We rendezvoused at the first service station outside of Dunkerque, amidst the largest collection of Porsches that I've personally ever seen. The station had V-Power Fuel and we all filled up for the blast to the 'Ring. The drive down was uneventful and we managed some respectable speeds, without any interference from the boys in blue. Which given all of our recent experiences in Europe was a blessed relief. Some excitement was building about our first stretch of unlimited Autobahn, the A1, but when we hit it there were road works for almost the whole length of it, which was very disappointing.

I arrived at the Ring in good time and jumped straight out of the car and bought my 8 lap ticket. I then went straight out onto the track with Anders in the passenger seat and did a quick sighting lap. The first time you go out on the Ring each visit it really takes your breath away. The scale and overall shape and sheer gradients of the place just knocks you for six, and you find it difficult to believe you will ever remember even 10% of it never mind the whole thing!

That night we had a great dinner at our Hotel. The Hotel Rieder is our home whenever we go to the ring and the fact that a hotel with over 100 rooms manages to maintain such a nice small family run feel, is a testament to Mr. Rieder and his staff! We pushed our luck on the Friday night when after a lovely dinner with a 20 strong table we ended up staying up till 3am drinking beer and playing cards. By the end of the night only three of us were still in the game and the swings of fortune were as much as 400 Euros. Great fun and only poor old Daz, ended up out of pocket by any significant amount!

The following morning we overslept and didn't arrive in the breakfast room, till 11.15 am. (Having forgotten to wind our watches forward an hour, we thought it was 10.15am!) Mr. Rieder very kindly laid on a belated breakfast for us and we hit the track about midday. I managed about another 6 laps during the day and finished with a best time of 09:15 BTG. Timed lap with 3 people on board and with 2 stops for accidents came in at 09:38 BTG. (Video of that to follow!)

Saturday evening we managed an even bigger table for dinner with a few late arrivals from Friday joining in the fun and festivities. An attempt was made to get into mischief in town, but being in the heart of the Eiffel Mountains we failed miserably and were in bed in good order and not too bent out of shape.

Sunday we managed to hit breakfast early and were at the track by 9am. First person I saw was Andre in his superb banana yellow 993 GT2 (RSR?). It's a really wicked looking car. I'd begged a lap on Saturday night and he was very quick to say "JUMP IN! I'M GOING OUT NOW!" So without a chance to even think about it, I was strapped in and went out with Andre on his warm up lap! Well what an eye opener that was, no dramatic acceleration, no squealing tyres, no sliding it around, just smooth and very fast. What struck me was the momentum he was carrying through the corners! It was very educational and showed me just what the benefit of 1000s of laps and a lot of race driving experience can do for you. Not to mention an undoubted talent and a great car!

The morning for me was now about smoothing my driving out and learning the circuit. Discovering the location of the "white dots" helped enormously and this led to me getting a better idea of the circuit. The threat of rain soon dampened my ardour and I curtailed the day's activities then. Other people weren't so lucky and there was a steady stream of motorbikes suffering at the hands of a now very greasy Nordschleife.

The journey back to the ferry was a nerve wracking one, cut slicks and standing water on most of the Belgium Motorway system had me on the edge of my seat the whole way home. The ferry crossing was uneventful as was the journey home in England and I'm only hoping that the camera on a tripod above the A12 wasn't a speed camera and was in fact an amateur photographer doing night/delayed exposure shots!!

Yet again the fantastic Porsche 996 Turbo didn't skip a beat all weekend, and but for a quick litre of oil on Sunday morning was maintenance and trouble free!! I love this car, but I'm starting to hanker after a dedicated track-car so watch this space!!!

Cheers
David