Jon Moeller

Craig,
It totally wasn't directed at you. I think you're set up for a great trip, and it will be a blast.

I was more referring to if you had shown up in a seriously fast car, and tried to run it at it's limits during the open days.

Take pictures, and take video if you can. It's a pilgrimage that all car nuts should make.

-Jon

Laura

Craig,
You will have a great time. Mark and I went last year for my birthday and it was a wonderful trip. We also did some WWII memorial museums and those were impressive. Any questions give us a call.
Laura @ HRG

Juha G

The key to a safe high speed pass during touristenfahrten is that the driver in front of you knows that you're coming. They normally show it with their blinker. You can actually see me lifting in some places in the video I posted (especially when going into fuchsrohre) because I was not sure the cars ahead knew I was coming.

Juha G

Definition maybe wrong but a good driver can do 95% of his max speed on the Nordschleife after a couple of laps in a car he/she is familiar with. It is that last 5% that takes years to master.

I have a friend who is a pro nowadays, he did his first ever laps on the Nordschleife two years ago. He did a couple of laps with a BMW E46 during touristenfahrte on friday evening. On saturday morning he qualified P1 with the BMW M235i CUP in the VLN race. Later that day they did not only win the class with his co-driver but also he set the class record for the Nordschleife! I think all in all he did less than 30 laps there...

cbracerx

I also did this, in 2000. Story here.

Excellent experience and with the track closed for the school we spent time on each section learning up close and personal:



And then at speed.



Once the track opened to the public it was a whole new experience. It is a shame the "big" rental car companies are no longer covering your activity there, we just used an airport car

There are online guides and videos to help get you familiarized, and of course the good driving sims also cover the track. Don't miss a chance to experience it!

CosmosMpower

I wouldn't want to go on the ring in a rental unless it had a cage. 150-200 a day sounds cheap, I heard it was more like 400-500. Which company do you recommend? Do any of them speak English?

Craig T.

OH! That Laura! I will call you, thanks. Kip and Janice and Jackie and I are going together. We do want to see war museums while we're there. Jackie and I went to the Spa F1 in 2011, but it was combined with a business trip in Wuppertal. We were just in and out for the race. I was sick knowing I was that close to the Ring without going.

shotor

Everybody speaks English.

It used to be much cheaper, but prices have gone up:
http://www.rent4ring.de/en/info/rent...tml#p173_basic

Its still cheaper than running your own GT3 at a DE. Sort of.

shotor

Holly ****! That is awesome. Love it.

I was doing a BTG of ~9:15 in the Swift and was feeling good about myself.

Juha G

If you want to learn more about Jesse, here's his official site: http://jessekrohn.com

After his debut in the VLN (with the BMW M235 CUP) he got selected for the BMW Junior driver program and at the end of the season he was awarded the Junior of the year prize.
He is currently a paid BMW factory driver and races a GT3 Z4 in the VLN and the European Le Mans series. A standup guy with unbelievable talent.

9:15 with the Swift is certainly not Sunday driving.

CosmosMpower

Wow the extra laps are steep!

shotor

Looks like he is handy in a 911:
"2013 – Porsche GT3 Cup Finland: Class 1 champion, 3rd in overall championship, 12 races, 11wins, 12 pole positions, 12 fastest laps"

ilko

I was at the 'Ring in May. I don't consider myself a pro by any means, but have a fair amount of DE experience. My goal was to get a feel for the track and have fun, not "win" my DE.

I rented a Clio RS from RSR which is one of the slowest cars you could rent. RSR were a great bunch of guys, highly recommend them. I did 4 laps in the car which I found to be a good amount for the day.

The first thing you need to do before you get out on the track is forget any knowledge you have of the 'Ring from watching Youtube or playing video games. It is different. Very different. 3 reasons:

1) Traffic - there are really fast cars out there and you constantly have to watch your mirrors. And there are some really slow ones and people who don't know what the hell they're doing. Don't assume other drivers will be waiting for a point by. Some are more polite than others. General rules of the road apply. If you want to let someone know they can pass you use your indicators - if you signal right it means you're pulling to the right and they can pass you on the left. But you don't have to use your signals, they'll pass you anyway

2) Elevation changes. I loved that about the 'Ring. Truly a special experience. Certain areas are so steep I was wondering how they hell they got the paving equipment to do the job. But the Germans are good at that stuff. In a low powered car the incline that starts at Breitscheid for instance will feel like an eternity by the time you arrive at Bergwerk.

3) Blind corners. That's about 80% of the track. Read that again. That is the main reason why I never felt comfortable driving it at anything over 7/10ths. You just don't know who wrecked behind the bend. There are no corner stations or flaggers. You have to be mindful of other people's abilities or their shortcomings in stressful situations.

I hung out with a bunch of guys from BMW motorsport who develop the suspension. They were there just for fun. One of them was Canadian and had a lot experience on US tracks so we got to chat for quite a bit. He told me it takes an average driver about 50 laps to get the hang of the track. Not to set lap records but to feel comfortable and know what's coming up next. I believed him.

At the end I had an awesome time, it is truly an experience of a lifetime.

This summary may sound a bit different from some of the above commentary and again, I do not have the track experience some of the other drovers here do. But better safe than sorry as they say.

Have fun!

Jerrygreene

Spent two weeks with family in a rented bens station wagon 6 speed.
Luggage for 4 piled in back

Only bought 2 laps, wife bailed after 1st lap, kids stayed in, (all over 18)
only mishap happend at: 4:40 in film

Juha G

Nice droving! Looks like you and your kids enjoyed it!

My wording was perhaps again a little off...what I meant was that you absolutely should not take an airport rental to the ring unless you are ready to write a check for it. All major rental companies have nowadays prohibited this in their terms. Take the car there and most likely you will get banned for life by the rental company (they pay spotters/photographers at ring for providing evidence) and in worst case scenario you total the car and get to pay for it in full because the insurance is not valid.

From my last weekends AVIS rental terms: