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Gearhead's Trip to EU: A Trip to The Ring.

The Nurburgring is many things to many different people. For some it’s the just another challenging track they’ve driven on Gran Turismo, for supercar manufacturers it’s THE ultimate benchmark that they use to prove the worthiness of their vehicles, but if you’re REALLY a motorsport enthusiast – you understand it’s the holy grail of tracks, there is no other. It is widely considered to be the most demanding and difficult purpose-built racing circuit in the world.   IMG_1196_rev Flashback a month or so ago when I mentioned to my boss my plans to drive the Nurburgring as well as visit a bunch of manufacturers in Germany and Italy. Him: “So this is basically your trip to Mecca…” Me: “Huh?” Him: “You know, your tip to the Holy Land.” Me: “Well, yeah..I guess LOL” IMG_1345_rev The Famous Castle that is surrounded by The Ring. The Nurburging or “The Ring” as most call it is a motorsports complex based in Nurburg, Germany.  It is also known as “The Green Hell” – as the track is surrounded by amazing greenery due to the wet and cold weather that makes up this portion of Germany for most parts of the year. The “public” portion of the Ring – the Nordschliefe, is technically what enthusiasts drive, a 12.9 mile portion of the Nurburgring, minus the F1 Track. Jackie Steward, a former F1 racer once said: "For a quick lap of the Nürburgring, you've probably experienced more in seven minutes... than most people have experienced in all their life in the way of fear, in the way of tension, in the way of animosity towards machinery and to a racetrack". As if it weren’t enough that my friends were posting the litany of crash videos on my Facebook wall – I started to psyche myself out a bit. I’ve driven the local Canyons, Streets of Willow, and the inside track at AAA Speedway. I wouldn’t consider myself a seasoned track guy by any means, but not a complete novice either. I’m definitely not your “Video Game Racer” – I don’t have the time, although I do admit that the 10 or so incomplete runs thru the Ring on GT5 did help me remember some of the turns. So what’s the big deal right? nb_in Rules/Regulations/Do not kill yourself or others type stuff. As fate would have it, the day we were scheduled to drive The Ring, Audi Corporate had rented out the track. There were a bunch of R8 LMS cars running as well as the R8 GT (if you know what I drive, the irony is that much more funny). This apparently happens often – and luckily for us, it was early enough in our trip to reschedule a visit towards the end of our journey. This allowed me a little more time to look at positive YouTube videos (LOL) and better organize our rental vehicles. IMG_1357_rev One of the Audi R8 LMS cars that spoiled our first day... When we arrived back the next week I felt prepared, still apprehensive as it was raining – but excited to check this off my automotive bucket list. When we arrived at the entrance, one of the Ring Taxi drivers from BMW was hanging out in our rental area. “First time at the ring?” he asked “Yessir, from California” I responded He stated firmly in a slight German accent: “I walked the track earlier, it’s still raining in some spots – be careful out there and don’t use the curbs. Also keep traction control on…” Me – starting to get sketched out again: “You got it, no curbs, traction control on…got it” “Have fun out there!”...yeah. I went in to fill out the paperwork for our cars. I had 2 buddies with me – 2 of us decided to go with the E92 ///M3 Coupe (the best car they had available) and the other for a VW Scirroco (Not available in the US). Having owned 2 ///M3’s in the past, I figured I’d feel very comfortable with the car, not to mention my last one had the DCT transmission which was awesome. After a total of $30K USD deposit on my Amex (that’s not a typo) we were off to checkout the cars. As the rental guy opened the door to our E92 I immediately noticed a 6-speed. “Oh, we’d like the DCT – we don’t want to have to think about changing gears since it’s our first time out there…” IMG_1370_rev Salesguy: “We don’t have any DCT’s” Me: “Ok, I’m good if my buddy is good – you good?” / “Yep” Salesguy: “Do you know how to drive a manual?” Me: “Uh, yeah…LOL” Saleguy, apparently thinking I actually don’t know: “Let me show you the car” Me: “Look, my last car was an ///M3, we’ll be fine...” It was right about this time the Ring Taxi driver came back and was looking at the tires on the ///M3 – “Oh, those are tough in the wet” COME ON!! I’m thinking LOL.  I start up the car and I’m off- no stalls LOL.  This is it, this is one of the primary reasons we made the trip. This is what people dream of – and I’m about to swipe the card to open the gate to GREEN HELL… IMG_1372_rev It was incredible, from the starting straight up to the first entry point – I was 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and focused on the task at hand. It was damp, but the afternoon light was coming thru with a slight glare off the track which was beautiful and scary at the same time. It’s a slow start after the gate, with cones guiding you narrowly onto the straight – you’re uphill past the Bilstein sign until the first entry on your right. There were a few points on the first half of the track where traction control lit up for me – saving me while also reminding me I might be a little too hot or it might be too wet. I was definitely driving within my limits but at the same time you want to take full advantage of the opportunity right? It’s a little difficult not to take in the surroundings, all the graffiti and scenery I’d seen in pictures of the famous track, but when you’ve got a substantial deposit down and you’re barreling into a turn, it gets easy to focus. drive_nb I had taken a mental note, that when I hit the famous carousel, that I was approximately ¾ of the way thru the track. It came up faster than I expected – and at the end of it the car got slightly squirrely.  I eased off a bit after this, enough to notice a few photographers taking pics at key points on the track. I wanted to bring the car and my credit back in one-piece LOL. ring_ar_dl The peaks and the elevation changes throughout the track are amazing and very scary at the same time. As you reach a crest, unless you know the track – you have NO IDEA what’s on the other end…a tight turn? That’ll be tough when you’re doing north of 190kph. On the straights there are spots where your car will catch air if you have stiff suspension. It’s all the magic that makes The Ring the most amazing and difficult track in the world. drive_nb_2 This is not an actual screenshot of me on The Ring via GoPro Video. The Ring prohibits unauthorized video...this is an incredible photoshop. If you’re a true car guy or gal, I urge you to drive this track. Whether you’re in a Suzuki Swift (The cheapest rental) or your personal Supercar, it’s truly an otherworldly experience – maybe even heaven on earth.
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