international license at ring?

You don't need any kind of licence to drive the Nordschliefe. Just buy your Ring Cards and enjoy!
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There are a bunch of good websites that you should google to learn the background stuff before you go. Put the track numbers in your cell phone etc etc. Its a regular one-way toll road for public days, so the car needs to be road legal, most rental car contracts specifically exclude use on the ring, so as you plan its a good idea to rent a ring-specific car, and practice on your playstation or computer before you go. GT5 actually has a pretty good simulation.

 

A very good simulation. FM3 is passable, as well.

Most of the place is SO fast, you need to know where the complexes are that can REALLY catch you out. Before you get there...

 

1-See this excellent site and read all the safety related matters:

http://www.grandesetapes.fr/fr/Chateau-hotel-gilly/visite-hotel.html

2-Leave your ego at home, stay off the high destabilizing kerbs, tend to take late apexes as you learn, make sure you don't confuse sections which can be disastrous, watch for slow traffic ahead and very fast traffic in your mirrors. passing is now only on the left.

3-No computer game etc can ever come close to reproducing a track accurately as Nico Rosberg said last year, much less so the Ring as the vertical elevation changes often decide where you put the car more than the ideal line itself. You can't do a sudden directional change when the car is light on a crest...

It is my favorite place on earth, drving paradise but it can become hell with one slip of judgment. 20 years ago it was quieter now every wannabe full of testosterone is on there.
Private group days are the better option.

If you crash a normal rental hire car (from Avis etc) you are out of luck as the contract small print specifically excludes "private toll roads and circuits."

I have my own lap record there: 7.30 no I am not Stefan Bellof's ghost. 7.30...hours. On foot at the side of the track meaning in the woods as there is no foot path along most of the track, a very enjoyable day in 1984...

Have fun!

MS

 

Oops posted the wrong link, sorry!

here is the correct one, a truly impressive site, read the safety advice and also the trip reports: they give you a clear picture of reality on the Nordschleife.

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

MS

 

Just as others have said

- Normal US license is enough
- Your rental car is forbidden on the Nordschleife and if you wreck, you pay everything
- Insurance companies have been known to look for their cars getting ready at the Tourist entrance
- Take it slow and don't rush the lap
- Stay left, pass on right
- No stopping anywhere / anytime on the track
- There is a speed limit on the Nordscheife at the entry / exit area
- If you see an accident, slow to 50 kph

While you are there, take a look for the remains of the Suedschleife too!

 

Most rental car companies explicitly forbid taking the cars to privately operated one-way toll roads - there's exactly one of these roads in the whole country, and you guess now which is it They're monitoring the webcams at the Nordschleife entry, so even if you don't wreck your car, you may very well get in trouble anyway.

And don't take a stopwatch or anything designed for taking times with you. You'll be banned from the track - forever, if I'm not mistaken...

 

I thought passing was only allowed on the left.

 

Uhh, if you don't have a EU drivers license you need an international driving license and your normal US driving license. You will need both if you are stopped by the police in the EU.
On the ring you need to stay on the RIGHT, just as you would drive on the autobahn. Overtaking is only allowed on the LEFT.
Insurance companies known to look for their cars? That's only for people that come from a certain country. As a ring photographer I've had insurance companies from that country contact me. It is not something you need to worry about.
Rental cars from Herts, Avis, ... all have their cars fitted with trackers, if you take their cars on the track you can expect a nice bill and if your unlucky your banned from ever renting a car from them in the whole world.

For the original poster, if you need any help feel free to contact me by pm. I spent a lot of time at the ring.

 

Yes, stay right, pass left.

If you can, please provide a link that says U.S. drivers need an International Permit. (There is no "International License" available for U.S. drivers). Germany does not require an International Permit, however Austria does. The policy is not the same through out the EU.

 

I've driven all over Europe with my good ol' Ontario licence.

 

Some info on the subject from the So. Cal. triple-A: here.
Less than fifteen bucks; what the hell?