Driving the Nurburgring

[Traian]

Well I am in Germany for the next 3 months, and although I´m on a really tight budget one of the must-do things for me is drive at least on lap on the Ring. I´m planning to rent a car here (Würzburg) with a friend, probably something like a small VW, and drive to there and back, as soon as I get my first salary. Anyone have any tips, like on the best days to go and such? I hope it is worth it. The taxi rides seem a little pricey, and I Just found out now you normally book them like a year in advance. I hope it is not a waste to drive a really slow car around, I figure it still has to be fun, especially since it will be manual.

[GoldenOne]

i suggest you get a decent powered car to drive, it will be funner... pretty much check the weather forecast to find a nice sunny day to go...oddly enough, play some Forza or GT4 in a comparable car to kinda get a feel and what to expect

[Jehu]

You could also check and see if you can get a lap in with Sabine....

[SharkmanBMW]

You could also check and see if you can get a lap in with Sabine....

is she the hot chick that raced the delivery van around the ring and beat a ton of cars on Top Gear?????

[Jehu]

is she the hot chick that raced the delivery van around the ring and beat a ton of cars on Top Gear?????


Ya,she's a Ring taxi driver with an M5 you can hire her to take you ...

[onewhippedpuppy]

My guess is Sabine probably has a LONG wait list, she's pretty well known.

[sailorwho]

Check this out.
Had friend do this in a 3 series.
http://www.rent-racecar.de/englisch/

[Traian]

Hehe, ya I was looking into that but apparently the wait for a ride on the taxi is like a year, probably more with Sabine. And again, the operative word here is ´budget´and 250 Euro (even split 3 ways) is a lot of cash for an 8 min roller coaster ride. I think I would rather drive a VW Lupo myself than have someone drive me in an M5 ;)

Hehe that´s awesome, thanks sailorwho I will check that out.

[Kai@e34.de]

Well I am in Germany for the next 3 months, and although I´m on a really tight budget one of the must-do things for me is drive at least on lap on the Ring. I´m planning to rent a car here (Würzburg) with a friend, probably something like a small VW, and drive to there and back, as soon as I get my first salary. Anyone have any tips, like on the best days to go and such? I hope it is worth it. The taxi rides seem a little pricey, and I Just found out now you normally book them like a year in advance. I hope it is not a waste to drive a really slow car around, I figure it still has to be fun, especially since it will be manual.
hi there,
we guys from www.e34.de have planned a meeting at the Nürburgring from July 14th till July 16th this year. you're welcome, if you want. there are a few guys from bavaria, near Würzburg/Nürnberg coming, too.

http://forum.e34.de/thread.php?threadid=53045

[Nick.Hay]

Mmmm.... She's quite easy on the eye.

Tho, I dunno if I could be with a woman who drives better/faster than me!!!

[Traian]

hi there,
we guys from www.e34.de have planned a meeting at the Nürburgring from July 14th till July 16th this year. you're welcome, if you want. there are a few guys from bavaria, near Würzburg/Nürnberg coming, too.

http://forum.e34.de/thread.php?threadid=53045

Wow, yeah that would be awesome, the dates are good too. Maybe we could tag along with them as they are passing through here. I kind of left my E34 at home though, I hope that´s not a problem. One more thing, can I post on e34.de in English? Sorry my German is really poor, and I really don´t understand their conversation and I´d like to get in touch with the fellows from Würzburg. I´m making an effort to learn.

[Kai@e34.de]

sure you can :) most of us speak english, too.

and no, it's no problem without your E34.

[Kai@e34.de]

one thing again:
most (or nearly all) car rentals prohibit specifically driving their cars on a track (Hockenheimring, Nürburgring and so on). take care, would be expensive if someone catches you there.

and it's no problem to drive with a slow car there. you'll need at least 15 to 20 laps on the ring to get a general idea of the track. remember that the track is around 22km (~14mls) in length. btw., one lap costs 14 EUR (~$11), if i remember correctly.

[Paul in NZ]

i know a guy who just came back from a ride in the ring taxi.This is a guy who has access to tracks here and has a 635 csi race car..He said a ride in the taxi was AWESOME...After 7 laps the M5 gets new tyres....

[romus]

mmmm Nuernberg. I grew up there :)

[onewhippedpuppy]

mmmm Nuernberg. I grew up there :)

The concentration camp?

A guy posted a while back on Bf.c about driving the Nurburgring, so I got curious. I found that you can rent much cooler cars than a Lupo in Germany, I believe it was through Hertz. A4, A6, 3 series, 5 series, and several MB models as well. No idea if it fits your budget, but a sporty car would only add to the fun. No doubt they frown on their cars driving the 'Ring, so keep it off the armco.;)

[granit_silber]

Well I am in Germany for the next 3 months, and although I´m on a really tight budget one of the must-do things for me is drive at least on lap on the Ring. I´m planning to rent a car here (Würzburg) with a friend, probably something like a small VW, and drive to there and back, as soon as I get my first salary. Anyone have any tips, like on the best days to go and such? I hope it is worth it. The taxi rides seem a little pricey, and I Just found out now you normally book them like a year in advance. I hope it is not a waste to drive a really slow car around, I figure it still has to be fun, especially since it will be manual.
Be careful about renting the car. I read somewhere that Hertz is instituting a world-wide ban of renters who use the cars on the ring. I don't know if it's true, but be aware that most insurance policies are voided if you're racing or on a race track.
-ashley

[Traian]

Thanks for the info Kai, I posted a message on the e34.de board. A lot of sweat and effort went into that, and I´m really sorry about butchering your language! I noticed that the Nürburgring is tecnically considered as a public roadway, so unless an insurance company explicitly excludes it from its policy, I should technically be covered. In any case I am not really holding out for this, if insurance companies in Europe are anything like in Canada they have loopholes for everything, and in any case I really plan on taking it easy and keeping the car clean.