The Nurburgring

[Jipster]

Finally the day comes.... the following pics were taken on 17 May Saturday Leave the hotel bright and early.... in nice E-class wagon taxi on way to Siegburg train station to catch Intercity City Express (ICE) to Frankfurt airport...

seigburg train station...

ICE pulling into station

this train hauls ass.... 280+kmh (not my info)..... sure feels like it...

arrive in Terminal 1... take bus to Terminal 2...

rent car at T2.... Sixt Car Rental.... sought the cheapest car they had....

and here it is.... Opel Meriva 1.6....

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkk.... its a manual.... cant remember the last time I drove a manual.... left hand drive summore...

hit the road using Ben Lovejoy's route instructions http://nurburgring.org.uk/.... actually got lost twice but thats a different story.... anyway this is on the A3 headed towards Koln/Bonn

 

[Jipster]

sometimes on the autobahn even 120kmh is slow..... I was doing maybe 120-130 on the SLOW lane (right most)....

uuurrrmmm..... autobahn also got jam ah? Seriously there was this crawl at (???) I dont know where....

getting close...

made it to hotel .... the Ringhaus which is located 400m away from the main entrance .... check out the view from my itsy bitsy room (again the cheapest they had....)...

go down the street and ..... this scene emerges.....

we are close :rock:

main gate....

as you go in the Pit Stop restaurant is on your left...

BMW M5 Ring Taxi centre is also on the left...

amazing car park is on the right.... (there's also parking beyond the Ring Taxi hut)

you can buy track tickets (sold according to number of laps you want to do) from a number of places but this one is I suppose the main one...... its located by the gates to enter track...

the gates that control entry look like toll gates (which is what the Nurburgring is.... its actually a public tolled road used as a track.... again not my words).....

elsewhere around the track is the visitor centre (can also buy track tickets here)...

 

[Jipster]

Zoggee.... GWIST....


audi tt

mod idea for E36 drivers.... porsche brakes.... (movit BBK?)

lotus

porsches were everywhere..... dime a dozen actually.... check out the number plate on this one

TVR..... these guys are serious.... come with semi slicks etc .... the toyo proxes 888 seemed to be very popular among Ringers

the E36 M3s were amongst the hardest driven that I saw ....

E46 M3 with big wing..... euro trash...

nice one.... typr r

I have seen 3 Audi R8s in a space of one week.... they sound awesome...

 

[Jipster]

track was closed for some time probably due to a crash.... then it was suddenly time to go! Mad dash for the gates

the E30 looks like fabian's car only this one was a 2 door

everyone's favourite.... the E30 M3.... all hail the king!!

loads of bikers around too.... full suits, loud helmets.... attitude.... the works.... some rode pillion onto the track too

 

[Jipster]

TRACK ACTION!...

The are many observation or spectating points around this huge 20+km track....check out http://www.northloop.co.uk/photography.htm

I took these from the BREIDSCHEID...although open air, its actually very civilised this spot.... even has porta potties and beer stands (closed though...)

thats the village of Adenau in the background..... this place is beautiful.... a reason by itself to come....

These pics dont do justice..... the sound.... the smell (cooked brakes... clutch?).... and these guys drive hard.... no offence to all those who track their cars in Malaysia its just that these guys push it real good.... the best ones were the E36 M3s....

Thats all for now folks .... will attempt a ring taxi ride tomorrow (18 May) .... apparently Sabine is driving :love:

Hope you enjoyed the pics as much as I have taking and posting them....

 

[initialM]

Waw bro that was cool:top: Ur so lucky. Share more pic or video perhaps on yr taxi ride & send my regards to Sabine:love:


P/S: so far only can afford Nurburgring stickers on my car.

 

[macdude]

Wow... heaven :-D

 

[Jipster]

Waw bro that was cool:top: Ur so lucky. Share more pic or video perhaps on yr taxi ride & send my regards to Sabine:love:


P/S: so far only can afford Nurburgring stickers on my car.

will try and post videos later.... did 3 yesterday but settings were off so they didnt work...

 

[Jipster]

Wow... heaven :-D

Nirvana mate.... the machinery on show is awesome. Couldn't stop grinning the whole time I was there...

 

[maxkpp]

Walah wei! good one from you.

 

[Jipster]

7am 18 May Sunday - woke up today to an ominous sight...... fog....... apparently quite normal... track is open from 8am-7.30pm today...

 

[na993]

Bro, ur living my dream....keep the pics coming and cant wait for the video...
btw besides the taxi ride, could you rent car to drive at the ring??
Perhaps it would be good if you can ( if you dont mind ) share some of the relevant cost - hotel, ring taxi etc related for a trip to the ring - maybe it will help those who may one to plan a trip there....
Enjoy your trip....

 

[okow]

Jips..do they let the cars and bikes go at the same time? ...that would be awesome...like picking oysters with 'em 4 wheelers...porches & audi's along the way..

 

[loafer]

Jips..do they let the cars and bikes go at the same time? ...that would be awesome...like picking oysters with 'em 4 wheelers...porches & audi's along the way..

Yea they do. Most videos I've watched posted on Youtube the motorbikes can be seen mixing it up with the cars on track.

 

[loafer]

Bro, ur living my dream....keep the pics coming and cant wait for the video...
btw besides the taxi ride, could you rent car to drive at the ring??
Perhaps it would be good if you can ( if you dont mind ) share some of the relevant cost - hotel, ring taxi etc related for a trip to the ring - maybe it will help those who may one to plan a trip there....
Enjoy your trip....

There's a new company now that rents track ready BMWs for runs around the ring.

http://www.rent-racecar.de/gb/

 

[Fireblade]

You lucky devil Jipster. Superb pictures & scenery. Cant wait to see you ride in the M5. Get that video downloaded quick.

 

[Jipster]

Bro, ur living my dream....keep the pics coming and cant wait for the video...
btw besides the taxi ride, could you rent car to drive at the ring??
Perhaps it would be good if you can ( if you dont mind ) share some of the relevant cost - hotel, ring taxi etc related for a trip to the ring - maybe it will help those who may one to plan a trip there....
Enjoy your trip....

I used Ben Lovejoy's site myself.... everything is there.... well most of it anyway. It was good fortuhe that he had directions provided specifcally for the Frankfurt airport route which I used.

Anyway, a rough guide to costs:

Car rental - I got it for EUR99 per day (all in)... there's probably cheaper companies around. I just walked up to one at T2 and asked for cheapest car. From my own checks, just under EUR100 is pretty much the cheapest. Even tried 535's DHL contacts in germany and corporate rate was similar. FYI taking a car from the airport is generally more expensive (apparently a surcharge of 19% or something like that) but it was convenient in my case as I leave for home from Frankfurt so can drive out and return to same place.... cuts out a few variables...;

UPDATE 1 - 19 May - just returned car and was pleasantly surprised to find out car cost cheaper than I thought. The EUR99 quoted earlier I guess was for a package price for the WHOLE DURATION! After taxes etc. it came up to EUR119 which is fcking better than EUR300 (at EUR99 a day).... check it out... covered 404km....

The Ringhaus -Altes Forsthaus single room (ultra tiny.... think MICRO) was EUR45 with breakfast. Generally, the rate is higher. EUR45 is pretty good already as its with breakfast (which is important coz no mamak stall to go out to in the morning....);

Petrol (so far)... EUR22 just ordinary unleaded.... may have to top up near Franfurt coz have to return with full tank... so dont know what final petrol cost will be;

UPDATE 2 - 19 May - final fill up at T2 Frankfurt Airport cost about EUR12, so total fuel bill was EUR34.

Makan - you can get away with under EUR10 for meals in most places....at the Ring, if you eat lunch at the Grune Holle Pit Stop Restaurant at the track itself you can get meals from around EUR8-9 or cheaper if you eat like an anorexic (buy stuff with frites or chips coz huge portions!). Or you can spend up to EUR15 if you eat at restaurants in the other hotels (Ringhaus doesnt really serve lunch). I ate at a place called the Tiergarten one day and it cost about EUR12 and thats for a buffet (apparently the place is owned by Sabine's mother or something according to the guys at the Ringhaus.... got a free autographed pic of Sabine too :love;

The Ring Taxi - this was PURE LUCK in my case. I came in blind.... no arrangements. As luck would have it, was sitting at the bar of the Ringhaus after checking in and overhead an Aussie dude saying he had a confirmed reservation - I approached him and got myself a passenger ride! The cost was eventually split 3 ways with a Spaniard (3 to a car). Cost became EUR60 each (I dont really know how much the Aussie paid but roundabouts EUR180 sounds about right);

Souvenirs... a must.... budget EUR50-60 at least to get T shirt, cap, sticker etc. wide range but not cheap (FYI cheapest T-Shirt was about EUR14.50).

This trip was do-able for me coz I was already in the area for work... otherwise would not have been possible.

The cost of the euro and general cost of things in Europe makes a holiday trip unlikely.

Other info you seek can be found here...

http://nurburgring.org.uk/

http://nurburgring.org.uk/directions/index.html

http://nurburgring.org.uk/where_to_stay.html

http://nurburgring.org.uk/taxi.html

http://nurburgring.org.uk/carhire.html

 

[Jipster]

There's a new company now that rents track ready BMWs for runs around the ring.

http://www.rent-racecar.de/gb/

Yes loaf.... some of the cars in my pics actually came from this company but unless you have money to burn or really really absolutely have to do this, most people will find it too expensive....

 

[Jipster]

Jips..do they let the cars and bikes go at the same time? ...that would be awesome...like picking oysters with 'em 4 wheelers...porches & audi's along the way..

Yes mate, they absolutely mix it up.... bikes enter the sme way cars do ... their entry lane at the toll gate is at the centre between 2 rows for cars.

Bikers you find here are absolutely HARDCORE! They ride in from all over Europe in full leathers or rain gear with panniers etc., some with pillions... they give an intersting mix to the circus that is the Ring car park.

Unfortunately they also suffer the most in terms of serious accidents.

And they are also the most resticted in terms of the type of conditions that allow riding.... most wont go out if its raining, or if the track is still wet etc.

Bikes range from huge trailie types like the BMW GS series (some aprilias etc) to Buells (way cool sound), jap sportbikes, ducatis etc.....

The bikers are well known to be a bit MENTAL in general .... not my words a guy at the Ringhaus said this..... and they are most mental when the track is dry and weather warm ie they go FASTER :burnout:

will post summore bike pics....

 

[na993]

Bro Loafer - ouch, it is quite expensive- guess it would be, as its rented out for Ring use.- you could do worse than being chauffered around by Sabine.
Bro Jipster - thanks for sharing and look forward to seeing more pics and hopefully your video of your ring taxi ride.
Closest i've been to the ring is a lap in my white e92 M3... in the comfort of my home via GTR 2 :wink: