Bit of a long post here, folks, but I just took quite the trip.
A few weeks ago, I married my girlfriend of 7 years. She's my best friend and I couldn't be happier. Following the wedding, we set off on a two-week trip to Europe for our honeymoon. We've both always wanted to see Switzerland, so the plan was to rent a car and drive through from Geneva to Zurich, hitting all the major tourist destinations on the way. This is exactly what we did, except for one little detour at the end...
You see, as someone whose first word was "car" (literally), who grew up watching motorsports, and who joined the automotive industry in order to get paid to be around/talk about cars all day, I'm naturally drawn to this magical place known as the Nürburgring. More specifically, to the legendary "Nordschleife" (North Loop) circuit. It's famous for being one of the world's most challenging road courses, and as everyone here knows, it's also famously open to the public for a large part of the year. Driving the 'Ring has always been near the top of my bucket list, something well-known by my lovely wife. Relatively early in the honeymoon planning process, it was decided that we'd fulfil one of my dreams and head there for a public lapping day.
For the trip through Europe I originally rented a Golf, but Avis tried to give me a Juke instead. It was far too small, so after some negotiations, I was thrown the keys to this Renault Megane GT equipped with the 1.6-litre diesel engine and 6-speed manual gearbox.
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
We've all heard that driving the 'Ring is a as simple as showing up on a "Touristfahren" day in a road-worthy car, buying a lap ticket, and heading out. Like many things in life, however, the truth is slightly more complicated.
First off, you can't simply take your diesel rental car out there. Well, you can, but if you have a date with the Armco lurking just feet away from the tarmac, you'll quickly find any insurance you've purchased invalidated. Happily, several local companies will rent you 'Ring-ready car.
I chose to go with Rent4Ring, widely known as the safest and most professional agency in the city. All of their cars are well-prepared for track use, with a range of models available to suit all budgets/talent levels.
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
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For my first-ever laps around The Green Hell, I chose their Suzuki Swift Stage 2. It had a stripped interior, full roll cage, racing buckets with 5-point harnesses, Ohlins racing coilovers, Endless pads with Motul fluid, Toyo R888 R-comps, and an open exhaust. While it only had 136 horsepower, it was more than able to hold its own.
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
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Rental for the car for 6 laps, including tickets and fuel, is 450 Euro. Big asterisk: ALL such rentals at the 'Ring carry a damage waiver. Mine is 2,500 Euro. On top of that, any damage done to the track (barriers broken, fluid clean-up, tow) is fully at my cost. During our briefing, me and the six other people renting are told that a Rent4Ring customer racked up a 16,000 Euro bill when he drove like a moron and binned the car in the Fox Hole on Lap 1 at 200+ kph. A customer from the agency across the road, RSR Nurburg, owed 145,000 Euro when he wrecked a McLaren MP4-12C on his first lap
After the safety briefing, it's just a quick 800 metre drive down to the gates. Our four-hour session started close to an hour late because of a rally event that ran long. This gave me time to check out other cars waiting to go, including an Alfa Romeo 4C test mule.
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
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Soon enough, it was time to head out. With my wife sitting shotgun, I set off as one of the first cars on-track. Though I have track experience and race go-karts at Mosport in the summer, my first lap was sensory overload. During these public days, the 'Ring is considered a public road. That means there are two invisible lanes, and slower traffic is expected to keep right. Faster traffic WILL dive to your left and pass if you leave the door open, so it's crucial to watch your mirrors, especially if you're on the right side of the track and want to turn into an apex.
Though hundreds of video game laps have allowed me to memorize the layout, I took my first lap slow to see how the real life version stacks up. As expected, it's not even comparable. Nothing can prepare you for the massive elevation changes or just how narrow this track is.
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
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By the end of my first lap, my comfort level is rising, but I'm quickly brought back to reality. See that brand new Lotus Elise ahead in the previous picture? Here's where he ended up 30 seconds later:
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
After connecting with a Mini Cooper GP, he went nose into the barrier at 120 kph. From what I could see on the flatbed later in the day, the car was a write-off. The track ended up closing for over an hour soon after this due to another incident, forcing me to complete my final 3 laps in just under 40 minutes.
By my third lap, I was starting to get quite comfortable pushing the little Suzuki. It had enormous grip, incredible brakes, and was well-balanced despite the short wheelbase. While I'd often get passed down the longer straight sections, I started catching some much faster traffic through the tighter sections (ex.: RS4, 911s, Opel OPCs, etc.)
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Patrick.D1, on Flickr
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My sixth and final lap, just before the track closed, felt incredible. I was carrying good speed through most sections, even touching 200+ kph into the braking zone after the run down from Flugplatz. At this point I was only being caught by a few very quick cars.
In the end, it was an incredible experience. Each lap felt like it took 30 seconds, despite the six adding up to over an hour of track time. I really didn't want to leave. Anyone with an interest in cars and motorsport needs to experience the 'Ring at least once in their lives.
