Nurburgring virgin - whats the score
Discussion
Join the forum linked to www.northloop.co.uk and we will help you out ......
The most definitive and useful website I know of: www.nurburgring.org.uk
Actually for the info from the horses mouth, the times can be found at the offical ring site
www.nuerburgring.de/home/index.html?L=1
the other sites are better for what to do, how to do it, but the when is from this site. Lovejoy's site is the widely held to be the uk bible.
www.nuerburgring.de/home/index.html?L=1
the other sites are better for what to do, how to do it, but the when is from this site. Lovejoy's site is the widely held to be the uk bible.
the official site gives the opening times, it is a fantastic place and is only open during the daylight hours
best time to go is when the weather is good, it doesnt matter what season
the warmer the track is the faster it is in my opinion, but the problem is a lot of people go there for the first time and think they are able to drive it flat out, your not!
The place is a killer, and needs to be treated with lots and lots of respect
go there, go slow, let everybody pass you and learn the lines, if you go for a long weekend by the last day you will notice the improvement in your driving.
I was there the weekend before last and the amount of people who went off early in the weekend on some of their first laps was insane, it disrupts it for everyone
So just go along, make sure you have good personal injury insurance and take it easy for the first while and it will be fine
I love the place its great!
best time to go is when the weather is good, it doesnt matter what season
the warmer the track is the faster it is in my opinion, but the problem is a lot of people go there for the first time and think they are able to drive it flat out, your not!
The place is a killer, and needs to be treated with lots and lots of respect
go there, go slow, let everybody pass you and learn the lines, if you go for a long weekend by the last day you will notice the improvement in your driving.
I was there the weekend before last and the amount of people who went off early in the weekend on some of their first laps was insane, it disrupts it for everyone
So just go along, make sure you have good personal injury insurance and take it easy for the first while and it will be fine
I love the place its great!
gutmann pug said:
The place isnt a killer ......... thats just hype. Your more likely to get nabbed by a wasp than on the ring. (ohh err missis)
It IS a killer in that people have died there, some of them PH members or known to PH members.
However, some sources would have you believe there's a death every weekend. There isn't. What there is, however, is a lot of armco contact and bikes falling off. On a busy Saturday tourist day, I'd estimate maybe 10 or so cars will end up being carried home by transporter, with twice as many having minor incidents. This is out of the hundreds circulating, to put it into perspective.
In my estimation, having driven the ring a fair bit and many UK tracks, you can crash there probably 3x more easily than on a normal UK trackday, mainly through traffic issues, track familiarity and changing conditions of car and track over the space of one lap. The dangers double in the wet - the wet line is different to the dry line in many places.
That said, be careful and you're likely to be one of the hundreds who have a great day and don't come to grief.
Everytime you get behind the wheel of a car you put yourself at risk, whether on-track or on the road. I would however agree that there are a high number of incidents on the ring. The number of deaths is however greatly over exaggerated.
There are a couple of main causes of incident in my mind
1. People going too fast too soon. First lap focus estate overtakes your Noble so you put your foot down and wallop.
2. Not using your mirrors. There is a reason that car or bike is behind you / catching you, its because its quicker and wants to pass. Signal, let off, let him past, DO NOT RACE HIM
3. People not reading the rules.
4. People attitude....Remove any i've got 500bhp so must be quick thoughts before you leave the car park
Other than that its a pretty safe place to drive quickly and enjoy yourself.
Gary
There are a couple of main causes of incident in my mind
1. People going too fast too soon. First lap focus estate overtakes your Noble so you put your foot down and wallop.
2. Not using your mirrors. There is a reason that car or bike is behind you / catching you, its because its quicker and wants to pass. Signal, let off, let him past, DO NOT RACE HIM
3. People not reading the rules.
4. People attitude....Remove any i've got 500bhp so must be quick thoughts before you leave the car park
Other than that its a pretty safe place to drive quickly and enjoy yourself.
Gary
I went last year (and planning a trip this year also) and found arriving early (8am opening time) allows for several clear and enjoyable laps with no queuing etc. The track was also damp so no bikers (I have an Impreza so no problems) which also made for a quiet couple of laps.
I have to say that I saw lots of car go off, some quite badly, but going too quick too soon was usually the issue. I took my time, found a pace I was happy with and stuck to it. I was passed by crappy Astras and Novas constantly but they knew the circuit much better than me so I was happy to let them past.
It really is very enjoyable to drive. Also take time out to go and spectate around the circuit as there are some great views to be had and there are often so great cars to see being driven round.
I have to say that I saw lots of car go off, some quite badly, but going too quick too soon was usually the issue. I took my time, found a pace I was happy with and stuck to it. I was passed by crappy Astras and Novas constantly but they knew the circuit much better than me so I was happy to let them past.
It really is very enjoyable to drive. Also take time out to go and spectate around the circuit as there are some great views to be had and there are often so great cars to see being driven round.
supertouring said:
Stuff...
Agree with that. Went for the first time 3 weeks ago. Getting there for opening at 8 allowed for some very gentle sighting laps (the wife even consented to stay in the car for the first lap, and she's never done that on any other circuit). Took it easy through the middle of the day when it was busy, but it quietened towards the end of the day (after 5) and had some fun laps when the track was nearly empty.
Only one closure during the day, a biker hit some armco and was collected off to hospital. Another couple of cars in the armco, but I think it was a relatively sane day for offs.
Be utterly vigilant about what's in your mirrors, there's a huge range of traffic on the circuit; just let it past (even if it spoils your attepts to beat Sabine's time in a Transit
). And prepare to be hooked... its an experience way beyond any other circuit I've driven.
Need... another... fix...
Having been there last week it's a fantastic place but don't drive it like a normal trackday. The biggest problem IMO is the distance between marshall posts and hence more chance of coming on an incident without a warning flag. For example I turned into Schwedenkreuz (very fast left kink) to be greeted by mud all over the exit and an S2000 in the barrier! No warning.
Give yourself a little bit of extra margin, question what might be over the next blind crest or around the corner, drive within your limits and you'll have a great time.
You can still push the car, when it dried out a bit I did a few laps around 8.40 BTG with traffic and flags. Probably safest to avoid timing though...
Cheers,
Ali
Give yourself a little bit of extra margin, question what might be over the next blind crest or around the corner, drive within your limits and you'll have a great time.
You can still push the car, when it dried out a bit I did a few laps around 8.40 BTG with traffic and flags. Probably safest to avoid timing though...
Cheers,
Ali
Wow, fantatic response - thanksk chaps!
Will be the first time for me driving off public road so will be taking it very carefully! Not sure what woud be worse, paying to be trailered home and having my P&J fixed, or explaining to Mrs Virgil why we now only have one car and a pile of scrap fibreglass!
Looks like during the week it's only open from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, and weekends from about 8am...is this right or have I missed something... has anyone popped over just for this two hour slot? Is it busy?
Both sites look great...will have a good look when I've some of this 'work thing' out of the way...
Will be the first time for me driving off public road so will be taking it very carefully! Not sure what woud be worse, paying to be trailered home and having my P&J fixed, or explaining to Mrs Virgil why we now only have one car and a pile of scrap fibreglass!
Looks like during the week it's only open from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, and weekends from about 8am...is this right or have I missed something... has anyone popped over just for this two hour slot? Is it busy?
Both sites look great...will have a good look when I've some of this 'work thing' out of the way...
Adenauer said:
virgil said:
Will be the first time for me driving off public road
No it won't
BTW, Silver Scoobs don't half rust fast when they've been standing still for a while!!
LOL, I'm sure mine has taken root, thanks to the boys at RR and the excellent state of japanese parts supply
virgil said:
Looks like during the week it's only open from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, and weekends from about 8am...is this right or have I missed something... has anyone popped over just for this two hour slot? Is it busy?
I was there on a Wednesday afternoon just before a bank holiday weekend. Pretty quiet really.
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