Novices guide to Nürburgring Nordschleife

[Expressivedrives]

I had long time Nürburgring Nordschleife in my bucket list. Last autumn I did it. Here I'm going to share, how I prepared and some useful tips, based on my experiences. Nürburgring is not another racing track and it needs special approach.



1. One year prior to event, I bought Sony PS4, Playseat, Thrustmaster force feedback steering and Gran Turismo racing game. Nürburgring is 20 km (13 mile) long, has some 70+ turns and it is immense help if you know which way the road goes, where are more relaxed turns, where are pretty demanding turns. The is almost no room for error at Nordschleife.

2. I hired personal racing trainer and took 4 full days track training on my local (2,5 km racing track. In total, I did about 500 laps on the track before going to the Ring. You can go to Nordschleife with your car or you can rent one. I bought my M3 Nordschleife in my mind.

3. You can attend "Tourist Days" and "Track Days" at Nordschleife. Tourist Day is basically opened to everybody, who pays some 25€ or smth per lap. Cars are so different, lot of slow traffic, people with no track knowledge whatsoever. In these days Nordschleife is basically one way tollway, with no speed limits. Track Day was my choice. It means that some event organiser books whole track for day or two to limited number of participants. They usually know what they are doing. Pace is fast, but safe. Speed differences on track are not too bad.

4. Closest airport no Nordschleife is Frankfurt. You can get a car from airport rental to get there, but you are not allowed to drive it during the Track Day. But there are specialized companies on spot, where one can rent the car for track. Event Toyota GT68 is almost perfect tool for Nordschleife.

5. As far I know, there is no insurance, if you crash to the barriers, you have to pay for car removal (if it is your car, not sure abt track rentals) and you have to pay for barrier repair. This can be pretty costly. Absolute minimum cost is 150€, but it can be easily up tp 2000 €, if they have to close the Ring due to repairs. And trust me, during the Tourist Days, track is closed quite often....

6. Weather is changing in Eiffel Mountains on hourly basis. It rains quite often -- and it becomes pretty scary -- barriers on both sides in cast turns... So, be prepared and enjoy!

[roastbeef]

I thought this was a great video on the subject.

[WAKman]

Great video! I think I would have a hard time, though, staying off the racing line and bearng right.

OP--you sound like you were unusually well prepared, but you didn't tell us whether it was fun! I can't imagine a better way to play with an M3.

[Expressivedrives]

Originally Posted by WAKman

Great video! I think I would have a hard time, though, staying off the racing line and bearng right.

OP--you sound like you were unusually well prepared, but you didn't tell us whether it was fun! I can't imagine a better way to play with an M3.

First, I respect this track. And my preparation was not over-dimensioned IMO.

Secondly. Fun is not the right word for the novice on Nürburgring Nordschleife. More correct word is excited or even satisfied. But I understand, that after 100 laps it will be fun I've done only 20 laps (400 kilometers) for now....

I plan to leave my M3 to Nürburgring, tehey have garages, offering this service. Then visit the Ring 4 times per year 1-2 days. This track offers such a variety, big elevation changes, 70+ different turns. All other tracks are pare comared to Nürburgring Nordschleife. And there are beautiful roads around the track. Spa track is also relatively close.




Photo: Wet Karusell

[decimation1]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

I thought this was a great video on the subject.

Misha has an excellent youtube channel, I highly recommend it.

Misha Charoudin on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ2...halm_MG38kE26A

Chris

[Grip Addict]

+1 for Misha, dude is living the 'Ring dream

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by Grip Addict

+1 for Misha, dude is living the 'Ring dream

Absolute legend. I rented an M2 from Apex when I was there last summer and he was my instructor for a lap. He spoke nonstop for the entire lap and pointed out the braking zone, turn in, an apex for every single corner. Definitely part of the experience.

[Expressivedrives]

Originally Posted by Grip Addict

+1 for Misha, dude is living the 'Ring dream

Yeah. Pity that he is now more engaged with Rimac Automobili in Croatia, he is coordinating their social media now. Hope to see his videos from the Ring more and more. He really knows the place. I believe, he beats most of us on the Ring in his 100 Kw VW diesel Ring Tractor.'

[nsogiba]

Great thread, thanks for posting. It's truly something that every car enthusiast should experience. I drove about 5 laps of the 'Ring back in 2016 in a prepared 228i, which was perfect for a novice. It's really unlike any other track in the world.

[//steve\\]

I feel like 10% of what I follow on Instagram is shops/photographers/etc that operate around the ring.

I've watched a ridiculous number of laps from various Team Schirmer built cars. Those things make me want to get silly with the M3 and quite often remove the thought of how bad I'd like a GT3 one day. Custom Racetec has a few nice cars too.

I'm generally amazed at how fast these cars are going on fairly limited/small aero. Most of the real fast cars are just running the GTS wing and GT4 splitter up front. Some have the slightly larger GT4 wing but even that is much smaller than many of the commonly available aftermarket wings.

From a sound perspective this might be one of my absolute favorites....4.4L, short gears, fully track prepped.

[Expressivedrives]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

..
4.4L, short gears, fully track prepped.

True, these Team Schirmer cars are basicly full racecars. Light, no sound absorbing materials, best shocks/coilovers, deep understaning of suspenson setup/geometry. These Team Schirmer pass you at unbelievable speeds.

[Epoustouflant]

Originally Posted by Expressivedrives

True, these Team Schirmer cars are basicly full racecars. Light, no sound absorbing materials, best shocks/coilovers, deep understaning of suspenson setup/geometry. These Team Schirmer pass you at unbelievable speeds.

This is a DM Performance car, a French tuning shop:

[//steve\\]

There are a few shops in Europe that seem to have a good understanding of getting these cars setup well. DM Performance looks to be one. Custom Racetec has a number of fast cars too.

I'd still love to get a look under one of their cars.

[wbM3]

[Flashstar]

Originally Posted by Expressivedrives

I had long time Nürburgring Nordschleife in my bucket list. Last autumn I did it. Here I'm going to share, how I prepared and some useful tips, based on my experiences. Nürburgring is not another racing track and it needs special approach.

Have you been to the "Silicon Valley" of the Automotive Industry at the Nürburgring?

https://www.fastabast.com/nuerburgri...-industry.html

Interesting there?

[Andryuha]

I went there last summer and it was a ton of fun. I ended up renting a Miata. It was definitely lacking power. It is definitely a great idea to have an instructor ride with you. It's such a long and complex track that it would take me many many days to learn it enough to be able to enjoy it on my own. The thing that scared me the most were some of the other drivers. There were a lot of idiots with too much money and not enough brains/skill.

[Expressivedrives]

Originally Posted by Flashstar

Have you been to the "Silicon Valley" of the Automotive Industry at the Nürburgring?

https://www.fastabast.com/nuerburgri...-industry.html

Interesting there?

Yes, we wondered there around. List looked. Another interesting location is local gas station. You can spot there cars in a hour.....

[Expressivedrives]

Originally Posted by Andryuha

I went there last summer and it was a ton of fun. I ended up renting a Miata. It was definitely lacking power. It is definitely a great idea to have an instructor ride with you. It's such a long and complex track that it would take me many many days to learn it enough to be able to enjoy it on my own. The thing that scared me the most were some of the other drivers. There were a lot of idiots with too much money and not enough brains/skill.

Thats why I recommend to go during track day event, not tourist day. During the track day, most of the drivers know what they are doing. During tourist day, vice versa...

[Andryuha]

Originally Posted by Expressivedrives

Thats why I recommend to go during track day event, not tourist day. During the track day, most of the drivers know what they are doing. During tourist day, vice versa...

Can't argue that. Unfortunately they didn't have one scheduled when I was there. I was amazed at how many people did not understand that if they are passing - they are the ones that have to get out their racing line. I was constantly being forced off my line.