Easy innit?

Well actually it's not. Make sure you know the rules, especially about being overtaken. You will get passed by 911s with, frankly, silly closure speeds. Be careful and watch your mirrors like a hawk.

As it's a public road and you're in Germany, unsurprisingly, German road laws apply. This means driving on the right and overtaking on the left. There are a couple of speed limits which are generally ignored, but if you crash and were deemed by the Polizei to be breaking the limits it would not be a good thing.

Being overtaken

OK. You've seen someone catching up with you and now they are on your arse. You are obviously slower so you need to work out how to let them past.

The only way to do this is to behave predictably. This means no sudden braking, jinking or accelerating (Pay attention bikers). Do not compromise your safety to allow someone to go by.Signal right and drive on the right side of the track. This is still a public road covered by German road laws so overtaking on the right is illegal. Overtakers will get a fine and points if seen doing it, so do not pull over to the left and sit swearing at them for not going past on the right. DO NOT back off the power until the person overtaking you is alongside you or is at least on the left hand side of the track while you are on the right.

I have found that the safest place to do this is on the exit of the corner. Take the apex, signal right and then stay right. If the overtaker doesn't have a big power advantage, wait until he has moved to the left and then back off the power to let him past.

For your first few laps you will probably be overtaken quite frequently as your lack of local knowledge slows you down. It can be very stressful, spending seemingly half the lap watching in your mirrors for faster vehicles. For this reason it is worth taking a 'spotter' with you to keep an eye on the mirror for fast approaching cars and bikes so that you can concentrate more of your attention on following the black bit and hopefully learning where it goes. Even better if they know the circuit and can guide you round.

Overtaking

By the time that you get to your 3rd ever lap, you are going to have to overtake someone. You do not want to crash and you certainly don't want any insurance hassle.

You must overtake BY CONSENT on the left side of the vehicle you are passing. This obviously requires two consenting parties to make it happen. Most drivers on the 'ring will indicate right and drive on the right side of the circuit to let you past when you catch them. If everyone did this, the 'ring would be a stress free environment. Unfortunately, not all 'ring users agree and the occasional numpty will pull over to the left, indicating left, and wait for you to overtake on the right. DON'T because you are commiting a traffic offence and if seen you can be fined/given points on your licence/banned from the 'Ring. Just sit behind them indicating left until they get the message and pull over to the right. Before you attempt a pass, ask yourself the following questions:

• Has the person you are trying to pass seen you? Most people will indicate and some bikers will do a girly foot movement rather than operating the fiendishly difficult indicator switch they have to contend with.
  
• How much is driving on the left going to fuck up your line? Are you going to be able to make the next corner?
  
• If they have not signalled you to pass, is it really worth the risk to force it or is it better to back off and live to beep them another day?

I find it a lot more fun to swear at the cunts in the car park when you have completed the lap rather than having to perform CPR on them after you have pushed an overtake and caused a crash.

 

 

 

Unless you are a madman, when you do your first couple of laps you will be safe enough through most of the corners on the track as you can’t see through them which naturally restricts your speed. The circuit also flows well which helps. There are a couple of corners which can still catch you out though. Please download our reference video to see where these corners are and get a feel for the approach to them.

 

Adenauer Forst (3.15): You cannot see the corner until you are in it. It tightens sharply so a lot of people end up going over the grass on the right when they are too fast or off line. See the big crowd? They are there to laugh at you!

 

Wehrseifen (4.18): A tightish right followed by a very tight left. Get your braking out of the way before you turn right.

 

Briedscheid (4.35): Good place to get brake fade as they will have been worked hard recently. See the wall on the right? That’s concrete, that is.

 

Bergwerk (5.04): A long right. Difficult to know when to put the power down. Lethal in the wet.

 

Wipperman (7.02): Can build up a nasty pendulum effect in Rear/Mid engined cars. Straight line it using the kerbs.

 

Brünnchen 2 (7.30): Dodgy on the exit when wet. Understeer in virtually any car. Turn in late and be careful on the power.

 

Eiskurve (7.38): Slower than it looks. Dodgy in the wet.

 

Pflanzgarten (8.00): Good place to be caught out with lift off oversteer.

 

Be careful when you THINK you know the track. It is very easy to think you are in one place but are actually in another. A lot of people stuff it this way, speaking of which...

 

ACCIDENTS

 

If you witness an accident the first instinct is to stop and assist. Think first, "will I be helping or getting in the way?".

Unless the accident is hard to see for following vehicles or someone appears to be injured you are best to keep going rather than clutter up the scene. You can leave your name/phone number at the office when you finish your lap should a witness statement be required from you.

If you do stop, it is more important to warn approaching vehicles and contact the marshal's office (+49 2691 302215 put it in your phone book)  I carry a yellow flag, but a hi-vis vest or jacket will do just as well.

 

If you have a passenger, one of you can flag and the other check the crash for injured occupants, but the safety guys usually arrive pretty quickly so don't move anyone unless you absolutely have to, for example if there is a fire hazard.

 

If you do stop, PARK ON THE GRASS WELL PAST THE SCENE as you don't want to be hit as well. Make sure you ar nearly stopped before taking to the grass though, wet grass has no grip!

 

IF YOU CRASH

 

If the car can be moved, make sure it is positioned in a safe place and made safe. Check the car for fluid leaks and the track surface for fluids. Run back (behind the Armco) to warn approaching vehicles, phone the marshal's office and wait for one of the circulating marshals. They will want to check there are no fluids on the track, calculate how much Armco you have ruined, check your paperwork, and arrange recovery of your vehicle. If your car is driveable and not dropping fluids they will allow you to drive it back. If your car is driveable, do not jump in and piss off, it could well have a leak you did not notice which could cause further accidents, and it is an offence to fail to report an accident. You will be busted because there are vidcams and spectators with cameras all round the circuit who will give your reg number to the marshals.

 

RECOVERY

 

If you crash badly or break down you will need your car to be recovered from the circuit. This is expensive at €185.

If you are a member of ADAC (€44.50 per year) you will be recovered foc, or if their truck is not available you will be able to claim back your €185.

 

For €79.50 you can have ADAC Plus which includes pan-european cover which includes repatriation to UK (as long as your car is worth more then the cost of the recovery)

Simply print off the pdf form from this page, fill it in and fax it to the number at the top.

Important, write your credit/debit card details on a piece of paper and stick it over the space for bank details (this is only for German banks)

Add an email address with your card details and you should get a confirmation email fairly quickly, and your card/paperwork within a couple of weeks.