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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:02 pm
by fine69
You guy may also want topop over to Spa on teh Saturday night for the 6 hours endurance race. If your interested I can copy you a tulip style road book for the return journey to the Ring. I did a great one day two circuits a couple of years ago.
Nick
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 11:48 pm
by g3ngs
too many people caught on camera making messes of their cars and so adding weight to those who argue that the ring is a bloody dangerous to be place to be and therefore should be closed
because as interfering do gooders thir opinions are naturally more valif than everyone elses
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 6:11 am
by k9handler
not really sure but Ben Lovejoy has an update about it on his site, that is where I heard about it.
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 9:54 am
by Luke
Right chaps, just 2 more hours at work then I'm off to Dover for my Nurburgring weekend.
I'll try to get as many pics as possible but as I've not got a passenger it may be a little tricky.
Wish me luck, lets hope the old girl doesn't break under the strain, and that my driving skills are as good as I think they are!
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 10:02 am
by hot66
lucky bugger
I expect a full report when you get back
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 2:14 pm
by MdR
hot66 wrote:lucky bugger
I expect a full report when you get back
I'll second that.
Reckon the 'ring will make my few 'parade' laps of Brands seem a bit tame
Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 8:13 pm
by k9handler
sorry I cant meet you up there this weekend...I just got my car back yesterday and I need to go over it before I take it up to the ring. My wife also went to the Octoberfest so I am watching the kids this weekend. Have fun and above all stay safe out there!
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:51 am
by Luke
Made it successfully back from a very enjoyable weekend at the Nurburgring, I'm in one piece, car is in one piece everybody's happy!
What a place! It's hard to describe really, the track is sooo long and the mixture of cars, bikes and coaches (yes they really do run sightseeing coaches around the ring) is amazing. I never knew there were so many GT3's built, it seemed like every other car was a GT3.
I went with a group of mixed cars, mini cooper, impreza estate, elise, M3 and my 911. After doing a few passenger laps in the scooby i really can appreciate how those things win rally's they are just soooo sure footed.
My car went really well, it was easily the oldest car on the track but once I'd worked out a few of the corners I was happily holding on to some of the slower Elise and BMW's. The track itself is pretty unforgiving not a lot of margin for error, and very little run off in parts, i had one very unsettling "moment" on a damp track on Sunday morning, full on fish-failing action but managed to hold it in the right direction, more than can be said of the Ferrari 355 that i passed facing the wrong way on the same lap!
All in all it was great, although I think they should limit the track to only cars or only bikes on it at the same time, gets a bit hairy at times. I'd thoroughly recommend a trip to one and all, but its not a place to test the limits of the car, it simply isn't forgiving enough (track was closed on no fewer than 6 occasions over the weekend due to accidents some of which looked pretty horrendous)
Oh and I met Jeremy Clarkson, he was filming a review for Top Gear and was trying to get a diesel Jag around the ring in 10 minutes (which he didn't do using our crude timing) so watch the next series of Top Gear and maybe they'll be a bit of DDK advertising!
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:52 am
by Luke
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:33 am
by hot66
the seats held you in place then
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:36 am
by hot66
looks busier than the A1
at least the bus drivers seem to be going for it
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:39 am
by impmad2000
Glad you enjoyed it and returned home safely. Pictures are great. Is the Blue BMW, seriously sideways with the stickers on it, one of the "Ring Taxi's" ?
How did the real thing compare with the GPL simulation ?
I must go someday.
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 11:24 am
by Luke
the blue BMW wasn't a ring taxi it was just some guy that was show boating, he was drifting around that corner every time he went around!
The simulation is nothing compared to the real thing, the mixture of fear and adrenaline was well worth the visit
My personal favourite photo is this:
Essex wide boy in our hotel spinning his Evo (he ends up ramming a barrier about 4km's further along the track, breaks his front splitter, under tray and intercooler, ouch!)
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 5:09 pm
by Luke
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 9:32 am
by hot66
was the ring as bad/busy as they make out on that website?
Luke, did you get my pm?