My first time at Nurburgring

[JohnC]

Hi all.

Flew to germany last week for a 4 day trip to the nurburgring with a friend.
This was my first visit to the ring. I live in Israel so taking my car,
the SX or an EVO , was not an option. at least not this time but next
time I will. A friend of ours that lives in germany and owns a 911 turbo
arranged a 911 Carerra S 6mt for us to drive. The first lap was very very slow

as it should be. It was a close to 11 minute lap. We also got a BMW 530Diesel
and used it to get fmiliar with the track.
I have been to many tracks but nothing prepared me
for what the ring has to offer. After the first lap I couldnt remember a thing about the track
and although I watched many vids and played
gt4 for hours to get ready for the trip nothing can really get you ready for it.
I started getting a little familiar with the track after about 5 or six laps and was
turning out lap times of very low 9's. Good thing I have a good memory :D .
I learned a lot in the first day by the time the track closed. the second day was dedicated to
learning the correct lines and learning where the "I can push it a little harder here"
corners are Thanks to my friend with the 911 turbo as I followed his lines. Filming was a bit of a problem
as the do not allow it and I did not bother to ask but I managed to mount the camera
on the passanger sun visor. The video I have here is of my 15th lap. I managed a 8:47 although
we got cought in a little traffic and I was off the gas way earlier then I should be but I can not complain.
The best lap I got was a 8:26 . You will hear some, actually very little, comments of mine in hebrew just so you know.;)
BTW, Koenigsegggg or whatever were there to try and brake the lap record
for a street legal car but ended up breaking down a couple of miles after the
start. I have a video of the parked on the side lines .
The video is here: 66MB version is also available but I uploaded it to google videos
so sorry for the quality.
Johns 10th lap on the Nurburgring (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3593986591750135758)

Some pics: (I have many more so if you want to see let me know).
The stupid grin I had on my face after the first day!! not a pretty sight!!!
http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/johnsmile.jpg

The koenigseggggg

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/kg.jpg

Sabine:
http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/sabine.jpg

[HKsilvia]

what can i say except im jealous?
seriouly... i do

[teinman]

Didn't mean to post in this thread, i've been a member here for a little while; just kinda browse for info. I'll go introduce myself in the introduction thread, had to type something sence it wouldn't let me delete my previous post.
I know a few members on here like spools14, Adrian, guys from Lynchburg, va.
Well, off to intro. Sorry about the random post.

[raz0rbladez909]

who's the hotty driving the bimmer??

[ONYX S-13]

Isn't that the ring taxi lady that drives the M5 for the people... I heard she knows that place like the back of her hand..

Anyways.. + 1 for the "I'm jealous" part.. I think my eyes automatically turned green..

(BTW) TEACH ME HEBREW ! :D

[JohnC]

raz0rbladez909, the hottie is Sabine schmidt and she is the official
ring taxi driver. she has over 20K, yes 20,000 laps on the ring and can
do it in her sleep.
onyx s-13, I tried to make comments about thedrivers that are slow
keeping to the right and more but the concentration levels and toll
on the body denies, especially the newbs, the ability to really comment
so all I say is "sorry for not making more comments this is really hard".

I really do believe that this is something every real car fan should experience.
some more pics coming up

[JohnC]

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/a.jpg

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[JohnC]

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/t.jpg

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[JohnC]

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/ad.jpg

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[JohnC]

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/at.jpg

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[JohnC]

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/be.jpg

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[JohnC]

http://192.115.8.73/nurburgring/sxoc/cb.jpg

[1Via!]

One day...

Until then, :mephfawk:

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

OMG just another day at the ring. That Alfa is one sexy little car! And the Kongesigheggeg is a work of art

Thanks for the photos! + for you!

[SimpleS14]

who's the hotty driving the bimmer??

She was featured a couple of times on Top Gear.

She knows the Nurburgring like no other.


Awesome pics JohnC.

[EndLeSS8]

Awesome pics!
I'm totally jealous.

BTW, what car is that black thing with the long lights and vented hood, with the liscence "RIOO KET" ? It's really cool looking!

[ONYX S-13]

Next time you go just put me in a crate and give me a couple crackers and two bottles of gaterade.... that'll hold me till we get there.

[JohnC]

Thanks,
The car is A TVR Sagaris.
http://www.tvr-eng.co.uk/overview_sagaris.php

[WILDACEX187]

i think i'll be like a little kid in a candy store with all those performance cars around me. i love evo 5's *drool*. also u were doing pretty good keeping up with those other guys which probably have tons of xp on u. good job :bow:

[0100]

Awesome stuff JohnC!!!!!!!!!

The sagaris is just badass!

[JohnC]

I was like a little kid in a candy store.
I really took the time to get the racing line right although
I missed a few apex s. I wish I had a vid of my fastest lap, almost
no traffic and I wa really going for it, within the limits of my own abilities.
My lap time of 8:26 is slower by around 50 seconds compared to the porsches
ring lap time driven by the porsches test drivers. That difference is due to the
fact that manufacturers time a lap from the pit area to pit area which include
a very very very long straight but on days
when the track is open to the public you can only time it from bridge to gantry.
I do think we did good and in a few months I will be back a the track
for sure. I have become addicted!

[Rennen]

Awesome pictures and video!

Your line was great on track! It looked like you had been racing there for years. When I went there (http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=60933) it was pre-GT4 and I was really scared of the track, and scared to push it. To go that balls out in a fast car is impressive.

Dammit, now you'll have me checking airfares again...

-Matt

[RiversideS13]

best thread of today!!

[WilloW]

You are a lucky man, thanks for sharing the pics.

[JohnC]

Rennen, check the fares, and if you got spare time in october,
I will most likely be there for a couple of weeks.
I am a lucky man. for having the ability to do this,
for having a friend that can arrange a 911 for a few days
and for a lot more things in my life. I am very gratefull
and wish the experience on every one that loves driving.

[bboyt3nsk]

Yay! Caterham!

[TurDz]

So if you had no arrangements at all, is it easy to set yourself up with a "rental" car or something?

I really want to take a trip somewhere before I work full time, and this track would probably be one of my top choices.

[Rennen]

yeah, its fairly easy. Most "fun" cars will need to be ordered a couple weeks in advance to actually be at the airport when you arrive.

Read up at http://nurburgring.org.uk/carhire.html that site has the best info I could find when I made my last trip.

-Matt

[JohnC]

It is easy to get a rental car.
Avis have a "fun car"section. they rent porsches and mercs.
The site rennen posted is the best source of information
about the ring I have ever seen. One thing to note about renting
cars and lapping the ring with them is... That 99% of car rental companies
state the ring as off limits and will not be covered with the insurance.
Avis, as the site states and I also read the entire german rental agreement,
does not state the ring as off limits but has a race track ref in it. Although
the ring is considered to be a public road and not a track you should be covered
but I wouldnt want to count on them being understanding about someone
wrecking their car on the ring. I do suggest getting an insurance specialy
for track use at a U.S insurance company or at loyds which I think is like
1K per week and it is intended specificaly for track use. Read as much as you
can about the ring and use the site rennen posted and have fun. I can now
recommend you going there as the best choice. BTW Ringhaus (http://www.ringhaus.com) is a great place to stay and
also offers car renals specially for the track and also www.rent-racecar.de
have cars just for the track and it is worth checking them out.

John

[drift freaq]

thats just dope and thank you for sharing it with us. Very cool pics and you do look like you have a good grip of the ring. hahhahhaha (unintentional pun)