Anyone here driven on the nurburgring?

[DanDombrowski]

My girlfriend and I are going to Europe in the end of April, early March. We have 2 weeks to do 4 countries: Britan, France, Germany, and Switzerland.

Being the car nut I am, I've always wanted to drive on the Nurburgring. I've heard a few stories about taking European delivery of BMWs, Volvos, Porsches, etc and breaking them in on the track. While I have a great job, its not THAT great that I can afford that.

I've also heard that you can take a test drive of a Jaguar there (apparently there is a dealership). Now, considering I can't get a test drive of a G35 coupe with a manual down the road from me without the dealer thinking I'm some punk kid looking for a joyride, I doubt this is an option either. By the way, I'm 23, I look like I'm 17.

So pretty much my only option is to rent a car. Now here's my question: Has anyone rented a car and driven on the nurburgring? I'm trying to find out if its really worth it. I mean, I have to pay premium rates for even the crappiest cars at rental agencies because I'm under 25. I have credit cards, but I don't think they offer any kind of auto insurance, especially out of the country. I'll have to call my insurance company to see what they offer.

I was thinking if I did it, I would get something like a 325 or a 330, drive it from the airport, see the countryside, drive it on the track, and call it a day.

Should I do it? Waste of time if I don't have an M5? Is it gonna cost me $500 just to rent a geo metro?

[DaCan23]

Change your trip to August and participate in the 44th Annual International BMW Driving School at Nurburgring Aug 14-16....

Some day I will do that, what a blast it would be.


My girlfriend and I are going to Europe in the end of April, early March. We have 2 weeks to do 4 countries: Britan, France, Germany, and Switzerland.

Being the car nut I am, I've always wanted to drive on the Nurburgring. I've heard a few stories about taking European delivery of BMWs, Volvos, Porsches, etc and breaking them in on the track. While I have a great job, its not THAT great that I can afford that.

I've also heard that you can take a test drive of a Jaguar there (apparently there is a dealership). Now, considering I can't get a test drive of a G35 coupe with a manual down the road from me without the dealer thinking I'm some punk kid looking for a joyride, I doubt this is an option either. By the way, I'm 23, I look like I'm 17.

So pretty much my only option is to rent a car. Now here's my question: Has anyone rented a car and driven on the nurburgring? I'm trying to find out if its really worth it. I mean, I have to pay premium rates for even the crappiest cars at rental agencies because I'm under 25. I have credit cards, but I don't think they offer any kind of auto insurance, especially out of the country. I'll have to call my insurance company to see what they offer.

I was thinking if I did it, I would get something like a 325 or a 330, drive it from the airport, see the countryside, drive it on the track, and call it a day.

Should I do it? Waste of time if I don't have an M5? Is it gonna cost me $500 just to rent a geo metro?

[kyleN20]

i would not miss a opt to drive on the ring. even if it was in a geo metro

[Rigmaster]

We went to Germany/Switzerland on our honeymoon in '96. We flew into Frankfurt, rented a car thru Hertz at the Frankfurt train station. They ended up having some problems with the rental confirmation, so they upgraded us to something above the sub-compact car we originally reserved. Ended up with a brand new Nissan Primera 16v 4 door sedan. It was sort of a metallic orange color- my wife called it "Orangina". Sort of like a sporty Nissan Stanza.

We drove the car around Germany for a while, then we hit the Nurburgring. I had been there a few years before this for the huge "Oldtimer Treffen" which is basically a gigantic Classic car show and vintage car races- but I was sort of hazy on that trip since I was there with a bunch of crazy Germans. :)
We managed to find the entrance to the track, it's not well marked- sort of looks like a service entrance. We paid our DM (this was pre-Euro) to Der Ticketmeister and he waved us out onto the track!! No waiver, no license check, no pep talk, no safety instructions, nothing!!! The track was fairly empty- there were some guys there from a German car magazine testing a new VW Passat or something- they BLEW by us like we were sitting still. The only thing we passed were the lawn-mowing tractors and maintenance trucks that were out on the track! As we got about 1/2 way through the first lap, my wife said "I smell something burning", I told her it was probably just the cosmoline on the engine getting hot for the first time!!! We came around back to the start/finish area and saw a guy in a yellow 911 with a crunched door and fender talking to Der Ticketmeister- I think he was explaining how he managed to smash his car! We also saw a VW Polo with some fresh damage coming off the track.

I would say if you can afford to rent a car for a day or two, you'd be crazy NOT to do it!!! You might want to email or call the track to make sure it will be open for public use on the day you want to go, they often close the track for "secret" testing or other events.

As we looked at the ticket price list board, I saw that they had weekly, monthly and yearly passes!! I told my wife that if we lived anywhere in Germany, I would have to have a yearly pass- and any time I had free time, she would know where to find me!!! :)


Bret.

[shogun]

2 years ago I went there for a 2 days training course. Courtesy of the company to make a safety course.
Could drive on the F1 course 4 times during that time, all following the instructor and no passing allowed. Every round another one could take the lead and the others had to follow him. But the instructor in his f**** Golf Turbo Diesel was always driving in front and told us to drive faster to follow him close :(
I was diring an E34 525 but I could not follow that guy, he played with us.
Rest was safety training such as
-slalom on wet surface
-reaction time with sudden changing barriers made of water fountains etc.

I would not drive with a rental car on the ring, probably you will not get any insurance. There are so many training courses on the ring, just register there and have fun. I have seen a lot of M3 for this too, but these training courses are much more expensive compared to when you bring your own car.
3 pics from our training there, I hope they work
http://k063.ims-firmen.de/ah/bmw-forum/forum/upload/4741830112004.jpg
http://k063.ims-firmen.de/ah/bmw-forum/forum/upload/5441830112004.jpg
http://k063.ims-firmen.de/ah/bmw-forum/forum/upload/242830112004.jpg

[DanDombrowski]

My number one concern is the availability of insurance.

I realize that the rental insurance usually does not cover it. Hertz and Budget specifically have a stipulation in their insurance paperwork to deny coverage for the ring. Now if my own insurance were to cover it or my credit card would, then it would be an easy decision. Unfortunately, its near impossible to talk to my insurance company. The secretary that answers the phone at our branch has to be riding the shortbus to work (No offense if you ride a shortbus). Not that I won't be able to get answers, I just cringe when I think of the hassle of calling them. I suppose I need to get on that....

As for the credit card, I'm not sure they would even know what I'm asking about. Its a public road, so I'm sure they would say yes on the phone. Then, if anything happened, they would change their mind and call it racing and deny it.

I wish I could just drive my car there, I would be fine with no insurance on that. But I can't.

There are no driving courses during the time I will be there, so that's out.

My only option would be to rent a car to drive there. Assuming that a 325 would be about 90 euros a day, + 20 euros for being under 25 + 10 for insurance, I would be okay with that. But that is a big if, and thats going to depend on weather or not the insurance will cover me.

Thanks for hte input everyone! I hope I can make this happen!

[Rigmaster]

Dan,

I guess things change- but it *used* to be that the Nurburgring was considered a public roadway, and therefore you would be covered IF that was still the case.

I guess even the less litigation-prone countries are getting in on the fun though!!!

There's nothing that says you have to drive like a maniac at the 'Ring. If you are unsure of coverage, go anyway but take it easy- it'll still be quite an experience!!!

Also, while it would be fun to drive a BMW on the Autobahn and/or the 'Ring- don't pass this opportunity by, even if it means renting a lesser (cheaper) car. That Nissan we rented was a fun car, we put 1000's of KM's on it all over Germany at all sorts of speeds, and I never felt like we were needing more power to keep up.

Bret


ps- most of the cars we saw that were really FLYING on the autobahn were S-Class Benz's, Audis and 7er BMW's, with the occasional Porsche thrown in for good measure. :)

[Jay 535i]

I haven't done it, but I certainly would!

Do the right thing and rent a worthy car for the day. At least a Boxster.

Did you see the Top Gear where that professional (female) driver did a 10:15 in a Ford Transit van, passing Porsches and motorcycles along the way!? Try to beat that ;)

Don't forget to get a ride in the 'Ring Taxi: :)

http://www.pikeynet.com/05/05/14/nurburg010.jpg

[Springfield1952]

I went to the 18th International BMW Driving School at the 'Ring in 1980. Five days of driving with Michael Dietel as our instructor and brand new 323i's to drive. Prior to the driving school we had several days touring Bavaria and northern Austria as part of the package BMW provided. We visited the factory at Dingolfing as part of the tour.

The Nurburgring was a blast. Fortunately, I had a few thousand miles of track time with the Portland BMWACA Chapter and my car was the first in line behind Michael. So I had no issues with sticking right to his bumper and following his line through the corners. At 14+ miles per lap and 167 corners it's hard to keep track of everything so they break the track into sections so you work your way progressivly around the track.

The strangest thing we did was in the old F1 paddock area which had a square inner courtyard area about 150' across. They made a small circle in the center with cones and then an instructor drove a car around the circle dragging a tire with a HUGE block of margerine in the center of the tire. When it was your turn you drove slowly into the around the circle, shifted into 2nd and gave the throttle a little blip. The lubed up surface made the back end of the car break loose immediately and your job was to drift around the circle controlling the car with the throttle. Very difficult.

The coolest thing was on the last day you drive the entire course for a grade. At the start line your name and country is called over the grandstand loudspeakers and you're waved off the line with a huge German flag.

Good luck.

Curt.

[Jay 535i]

Oh, here's another tip. Play lots of Gran Turismo to learn the track before you go. You'll get more value from your laps if you're somewhat familliar with the track beforehand, probably.

[tncbass]

I live 45 mins from the Ring. Anyone who has not driven the Nordschleife should do it before they die or they have not lived a complete life :) ;)

[DanDombrowski]

I was thinking of that as well. I don't have a PS2, most of my games are on the PC. Need for Speed Porsche Unleased (old game) had some really good courses, but none modeled what I would be driving on. I suppose I should borrow GT4 or something.

[DanDombrowski]

BTW,

We plan on doing it. We're planning the rest of our trip right first, but I definitely plan on going there. I'll probably end up doing a fairly easy pace once, just to say I did it. I can't afford to wreck a rental without insurance.

After that, we'll probably go for a ride with the driving instructor in the ring taxi :)

So....thats the plan!

[granit_silber]

I was thinking of that as well. I don't have a PS2, most of my games are on the PC. Need for Speed Porsche Unleased (old game) had some really good courses, but none modeled what I would be driving on. I suppose I should borrow GT4 or something.
Dan,

Forza Motorsport also has the ring in its arsenal of tracks. And if you find the right cheat you can drive one of last season's PTG M3 GTR's!
-ashley

[DanDombrowski]

That for PC? Cool. Thanks for the heads up.

[granit_silber]

That for PC? Cool. Thanks for the heads up.
Sorry. it's a Xbox gran turismo
-ashley

[Andrem5]

I drove a few laps on the N'ring in a rental car with Paris plates (Renault V6 5 sp). I had two cases of Mosel wine and luggage in the trunk. To practice I watched a friend's in-car video from a '94 M5 over and over on my laptop. The video actually helped enormously.

BTW there were two "officials" at the track starting gate impounding rental cars from Hertz and Avis but they left me alone. When I pulled up to the ticket gate, the starter spoke to me in French to turn on my headlights and waved me on.

It was pure coincidence that my trip plans had me passing near the Nurburgring on the first open driving day of the year. What an exotic scene with hundreds of motocycles and very fast cars. I was even more surprised to see the full bar right there at the start gate.

[CharlesAFerg]

I was thinking of that as well. I don't have a PS2, most of my games are on the PC. Need for Speed Porsche Unleased (old game) had some really good courses, but none modeled what I would be driving on. I suppose I should borrow GT4 or something.

Best game for this would be Project Gotham Racing 2 or 3 for Xbox and Xbox 360, its the highest quality replica I've seen of any of those console versions...
Just to let u know :-D
-Drew

[E34 530]

I went to Germany, Italy, France, and England this summer. We rented an Audi A4 and my Dad and I took it for one lap around the Nurburgring. We didn't go crazy because it was a rental car, but we didn't go 50mph either ;) . The funny thing was you pull up, throw the guy some Euros and your off. He didn't even check your license or anything. A few Porsche's past us like we weren't moving, it was fun, and I definitely want to do it again. My dad really wanted to take his "weekend" car on the track, but it was back in the U.S. lol

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/ripcurl530/FXCD0025.jpg

[shanek]

There is no way I would go to Germany without planning at least a day at the ring, no matter what car I was driving. I was told that if you pay for extra coverage on a rental you can take it to the Nurburgring. A friend of mine was telling about his doctor renting a 911 from Avis and all he had to do is pay for the extra insurance. You may only be able to do it with certain cars though.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I haven't done it, but I certainly would!

Do the right thing and rent a worthy car for the day. At least a Boxster.

Did you see the Top Gear where that professional (female) driver did a 10:15 in a Ford Transit van, passing Porsches and motorcycles along the way!? Try to beat that ;)

Don't forget to get a ride in the 'Ring Taxi: :)

http://www.pikeynet.com/05/05/14/nurburg010.jpg

The professional driver on that Top Gear is Sabine, she drives the Ring Taxi. She has more laps on the ring than anyone else, and is supposed to be the fastest around it. After seeing videos of her driving, I don't doubt it. Just remember, if you don't do it, you'll always regret it.

[E34 530]

The professional driver on that Top Gear is Sabine, she drives the Ring Taxi. She has more laps on the ring than anyone else, and is supposed to be the fastest around it. After seeing videos of her driving, I don't doubt it. Just remember, if you don't do it, you'll always regret it.

If we're thinking of the same girl, she's hot as hell too.

[tncbass]

BTW,

We plan on doing it. We're planning the rest of our trip right first, but I definitely plan on going there. I'll probably end up doing a fairly easy pace once, just to say I did it. I can't afford to wreck a rental without insurance.

After that, we'll probably go for a ride with the driving instructor in the ring taxi :)

So....thats the plan!

Make your reservations early for the ring taxi as they are usually booked very far ahead. Cost of one lap is 180 euros. Sabine Schmitz is usually driving one of the ring taxis every time I go up there.

[Randell]

I went to the 18th International BMW Driving School at the 'Ring in 1980.


man, that story is like my driving fantasy... i was filled with envy as i read it! lucky boy...

i will get there eventually, but i need to rack up the frequent flyer points first :)

btw guys, don't bother with any console sim for recreating the ring... i've played gt4/forza etc and while it may look good it's just too damn easy... you can fly all over the place without penalty.. if you want a proper challenge, get the PC game GT Legends and download the Nordschleife track, it is UNREAL, and so painfully difficult you will be at it for hours just to get close to 9 mins flat! wheel/pedals are essential

http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=242682

that's the current version of the ring for those that have the game.. it's based on the track that came out of grandprix legends, so it's not very current and looks a bit naff, but it drives goood

i will keep dreaming about driving the real thing!

[DanDombrowski]

That will go over well with my other half :)

[Andrem5]

Have you checked the on-line schedule for open lapping dates? There really aren't that many on the calendar.