Nurburgring - Weekend of 21st June 2009

Nurburgring Tour

21/06/2009

Paul Yarsley: I am planning a trip over to the ‘ring again this year with the car in June – for anyone that fancies the experience but doesn’t know quite how to go about it, you’re very welcome to join me on the journey. I typically go twice a year, once with motorbikes, once with the car – both experiences are very different, but it has to be said that the circuit is almost definitely a better car circuit than a bike circuit. For those that don’t know much about it, the Nürburgring, simply known as "The Ring" by enthusiasts, is a motorsport race track in Nürburg, Germany. It was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel, which is about 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Cologne, and 120 kilometres (75 mi) northwest of Frankfurt. Nicknamed The Green Hell by Jackie Stewart, it is widely considered the toughest, most dangerous and most demanding purpose-built race track in the world. The Ring is, quite simply, the ultimate driving experience - 13 miles, at least 73 bends and some serious altitude change for every lap! Please note that you would be wise to read up on the circuit in advance – see the links later on – it’s especially important to appreciate that most insurance companies classify this particular “de-restricted toll road” as a race track (although technically it isn’t on public days) and you will NOT be covered. The same applies to most European breakdown services! Oh, and by the way, don’t follow me round ... it takes hundreds of laps to even begin to learn the circuit, I’m a total amateur. Note that this particular weekend has a major event on at the main GP circuit so book in advance to avoid disappointment. The ring is open most Sundays - all day - to the public (but not all) and on most Saturday Evenings. It can become VERY crowded which it typically when it becomes a little bit more dangerous. Early starts help avoid this on the Sundays. The car park itself is normally a fabulous spectacle – supercars and rarities abound. Many people just come to stand around the car parks, adding to the chaos. This place would never be allowed in this country! Getting There Eurotunnel is the only option for me (4” of ground clearance rules out most ferries) ... Check-In closes 30 min before departure Going out Folkestone to Calais | Friday 19 June 2009 Departure (local time) 08:20 Coming back Calais to Folkestone | Monday 22 June 2009 Departure (local time) 18:20 Current cost is £120 return at the times specified. Itinery The plan is ... Friday 19th @ 07:30 ish – Meet at Eurotunnel – travel together – first part of the journey is mainly motorway – not much fun initially, but it gets better. Friday 19th @ 14:00 ish – Have lunch at Huy (see below) just before the journey starts getting interesting through the Belgium Mountains – very pretty with the potential for some great driving and some group photos! Friday 19th Evening – Dinner at the Hotel (see below) maybe ??? Saturday 20th – Explore the local area (which is very beautiful) or watch whatever is going on at the ‘Ring. Mountain bikes are available for hire if you feel the need to explore the outer perimeter of the circuit! Sunday 21st – Drive the ‘Ring – Early start (8pm) essential. Keeping it rubber side down is the top tip here. There isn’t much run off space and there are a lot of hard surfaces to hit as I found out on my Motorbike a few years ago. Monday 22nd – Return journey at your own pace, anyway you like, or you can follow me back on the same route we came in on (its fun both ways). Route Initially just get to the other side of Brussels, aim for Huy (see the maps), then it gets interesting. The last third of the journey is scenic and great fun with tiny twisting mountain roads opening later into large fast sweeping bends – some of which aren’t surfaced terribly well I should point out. It’s about 300 mile from Calais to the ‘Ring on this route. There are of course loads of ways to get there – many of them are well documented on the web – this particular route is a combination of bits of other routes I’ve used over the years and provides everything I expect from a journey (i.e. reasonably efficient but still rewarding and fun). Lunch A traditional stop of recent years has been Restaurant L’Olivier – a small and popular place run by a couple of gents that are incredibly accommodating – the food is great. They have plenty of parking spaces and it’s directly on route JUST before the journey gets interesting and just after you’ve had enough of the motorway. We should be there just in time for a late lunch – PLEASE NOTE that I will require numbers to give the restaurant some advance warning! Accommodation Hotel Am Tiergarten – run by the parents of the very lovely and very talented Sabine Schmitz – this place is great – it’s right on the circuit, has superb rooms and facilities and a great restaurant / bar with a buzzing atmosphere (full of petrol heads obviously). If we are to eat here in the evenings, it’s WELL worth booking ahead so again I’ll require numbers. Weather It’ll probably rain. It always does. It’s REALLY green around this region and very pretty, but it’s green for a reason. Apparently due to its altitude and for other reasons that are beyond me, the entire area has its own micro-climate! Be prepared. Links I’ve duplicated the above links in full here for those that can’t click directly on them ... Ben Lovejoy's Nurburgring Nordschleife - http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/ Eurotunnel Booking - http://www.eurotunnel1.com/direct/booking/journey.asp?lang=en Hotel am Tiergarten - http://www.am-tiergarten.de/en/home/ Nurburgring Events - http://www.nuerburgring.de/events.286.0.html Nurburgring Weather - http://de.weather.com/weather/local/GMXX2527?letter=N Nurburgring Webcam - http://www.8200rpm.com/webcam/ Contact Information paul@slayyer.co.uk

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