Need Advice for the Ring

There's a few threads about this over the years here

Base website Nurburgring Nordschleife website

I think I used these guys -there are more listed on Ben's site above - HOME | RentRaceCar - Your Nr. 1 in RaceCars at NordschleifeRentRaceCar ? Your Nr. 1 in RaceCars at Nordschleife

 

I would suggest Ron Simons: RSRNurburg | Nurburgring | Car Rental | Sports Car Hire | Sightseeing Tours | Spa-Francorchamps | Hockenheim

 

I use Rent4ring.com

They have cars from Suzuki Swift to GTIs to M3RSR to GT3RS

No problems w them

 

Had a great time with RSR in their M3, highly recommend. Ron took me out for a lap, then turned me loose. will go back for more

 

Whatever you drive stay off the kerbs, most of them there are far too high to ride and watch traffic, in the 80's it was ok but now every wannabe is there with far more testosterone than talent. Much better to take part in a private track day.

MS

 

Ron Simons has an excellent reputation.

 

I had a BMW 316 compact on a track day and it was fine for my first visit (2 days solid) so I could begin to learn the place

You don't need a huge amount of power especially if its a public day as folk will only get in your way

 

+1
Until you learn every turn and most of the bumps on the Nordschleife driving any car there with more than ~200hp is a waste. You'll end up flying down the (few, short) straights only to botch the next turn-in point and piss off drivers in lower power cars who know the track and are on your bumper half way through the curve.

Rent something "slow" to drive for at least your first trip. You'll still scare yourself silly and have the time of your life. Catch passenger lap(s) in faster car(s) with someone who's done a BUNCH of laps to get a different, but not necessarily more enjoyable experience.

have fun!

 

If she has no interest in cars, not much... hiking or biking the trails around the ring is cool.
The town of Adenau has a few small shops and cafes.
1/2 a day is really not much time at the 'Ring... why not drop her off in Koblenz or better yet Cologne and take a full day. Lots more for her to do there.

BTW here's some solid general advice from someone who works for a company that rents cars for the 'Ring:
The worst possible Nürburgring advice...

 

If you are serious about it, try to get familiar with the ring using the playstation.
This might sound silly, but it is how I prepared for a racing driver's license course there.
It is impossible to remember the number of turns with less than 100 laps or so.
What the playstation is missing of course is the 3rd dimension.
Like Spa the Nurburgring is a real rollercoaster.
Keep driving on the right to let faster cars and bikes pass you.

 

More advice for first timers:
Guide to your first lap

you don't want to end up here:
Ambition>Ability=FAIL

 

Watch this and you'll be fine:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Qxic6qj3E]Seven Second 'Ring King - YouTube[/ame]

 

LOL I love that vid...
BTW they came in at the Breidscheid entrance/exit ~1/2 way through a lap (1 curve before Lauda Links) instead of the more traditional entrance towards the end of the main straight.
This is why there's a speed limit (the only one on the track) through Breidscheid, 80kph I think, although most people ignore it. Have heard cops with radar do on rare occasions stake it out though, so speed there at your own risk...

During Clarkson's sub 10 minute Jag challenge about 10 years ago my friend, a local with a prepped GTI Golf, passed Clarkson about 1/4 way into a lap, pulled of at Breidscheid, waited ~20 seconds, then got back on and passed him again ~3/4 of the way through.
After the lap he talked to Jeremy and told him he passed him on the course in his red Golf.... Jeremy asked him which one, I was passed by 2.....

 

I rented 250Hp Megane.. more than enough power to start learning the circuit, not to get in the way of really fast movers.. and also for you to get past dawdlers safely and promptly.

Allocate 2-3x more time than you think.. overeager punters go off regularly and close the track 1-2 hours at a time.. up to several times a day.. and I didn't even go in peak season.. it took me 2 days just to get my modest number of allocated laps in.

 

Deservedly. He's a friend who has helped our team learn the Ring.

 

I will echo the recommendations to (1) drive on a sim like Playstation; and (2) rent a low power car exclusively, given that you will drive only one day. I consider myself a decent driver and have done pretty well club racing, but the 'Ring is unlike any US racetrack because it is so long, has so much elevation change, and is very unforgiving with very little runoff but lots of VERY fast undulating curves, many of which are blind entry. I tried to drive a GT3RS after a couple of days and maybe 15-20 laps and got out after 2-3 laps and stepped back down to the Megane. The Big Boys roll huge speed in the fast undulations, the woosies blast off between the slow turns in their poseur cars then over slow for the next turn and don't watch their mirrors. I passed plenty of Porsches in a Clio and Megane with momentum and I've always thought it more satisfying to drive a slow car fast than vice-versa

Trust me, you will enjoy and scare yourself in a Clio, Megane or Swift just fine. RSR rents the entry level Renaults and the other company rents the Suzuki. Ron Simons is very skilled and Perhaps as knowledgeable as the more famous Sabine Schmidt. But the thing I liked about the company renting Suziki Swifts is that the cars had cages, a nice safety feature absent from RSR's Renaults.

Oh and remember if you wreck it you buy it and the guardrail to boot, so no point renting the faster and more expensive car to increase the risk and resulting expense.

Finally, take it very seriously. I was there about 2 years ago and the week before and day after my stay there were fatalities.

 

Great info and advice K.

I recently met a colleague that went to the 'Ring 2 years ago, and on his first visit rented a M3 from one of the major places. Before this he had no track experience. Zero. But he drives a new Camaro SS here in Houston, and practiced on Playstation so wanted something "fast". I'm actually surprised they rented it to him.
Anyway he paid up (well over $500 I believe), did two laps, no incidents, and of course had fun but admits that he'd have enjoyed the experience much more with 6 laps in a Clio or Swift or whatever, plus a quick passenger lap in the Ring taxi.

Roll cages are a nice thing to have (as long as they don't give someone a false sense of security "oh it's got a cage so I can take Fuchsrohre or Mutkurve flat on my second lap!"). I assume they have helmets renters can borrow.

 

Did some TF last year in my Mini, and for my first time I wouldn't want to have been in anything quicker (I've got 230bhp)

Xbox before helped me get an idea of the layout, but it doesn't give you a feel for the elevation changes - when you're approaching a blind crest at over 100, you do wonder if it's the one that's flat, or the one that has a corner right after it.

It remains the most intense and rewarding thing I've ever done, and I'm now hooked. Going back again in June.

Oh, and make sure you go to Sabine's place afterwards for steak on a stone - the best reward there is!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

It is.

 

oh yeah the "Steak vom Heißen Stein" at the Pistenklause is awesome!
They also make a damned good pizza. Not an easy find in Germany...

Another fun thing to do if you're staying nearby is to walk part of the track at night.
Once after a few beers at the PK, under a full moon, a couple brits and I found a hole in the fence about mid-way along the main straight and walked all the way up to T-13. You get a much different sense of the gradient(s) when huffing it on foot!

There are MANY spectating spots around the track as well, depending on how much you want to walk. Below is a pic from Wehrseifen just a relatively short hike from Breidscheid Bridge/Adenau, one of the slowest corners but get to see heavy braking, sketchy overtaking and sometimes oversteery exits.

Also, be sure to take an hour or two to tour the Castle. It's just up the road from the main track entrance (inside the Nordschleife). The view from the top of the 'keep', plus the sounds if there's some race on the GP course, is one of the best in the world.
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Several very important lessons worth noting in a recent Porsche crash on the 'Ring (which happened in the same exact place as where we were spectating in the pics above):
Watch a Porsche driver make a HUGE mistake at the Nürburgring

Most important:
"DO NOT DRIVE WITH FLUID SPILLS. DO NOT LEAVE THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT."

 

I've been to the Ring 7 times for a total of 11 weeks. There are some hidden gems off the beaten path. This is my favorite place to stay and eat. PM me if your looking for some ideas.
Jeff

Agnesen-hof
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