The Nürburgring Nordschleife, on public days, is an unrestricted, one-way toll road. That’s right chaps and chapesses, unlike UK circuits, it's a one-way, UNRESTRICTED toll road. This means that you can buy a ticket and drive as fast as you like with no oncoming traffic. It sounds like Heaven, right?
It is, but there are drawbacks. You can crash, it is full of weird things that shouldn't be on a track, German road laws apply, irritating bikers, people who won’t move out of your way and you can even die. And you probably have no insurance either.
They are also certain things you must have in the car when you do a lap, by law.
The following pages are intended to help you prepare, so that you get there, find somewhere to stay and survive your first few laps. Alternatively, you may prefer to join an organised tour. There is also a picture lap starting at the bridge for you to read and digest.
We will also look at things like essential supplies, where to get fuel, cash, internet access, surviving the pubs and what to do when the track is shut.
When we talk about anything specific as far as the track is concerned, you will see a time in brackets after it. If you download our reference video (71mb) filmed from one of our cars, the time in brackets equals the time on the vid so you can see what we are babbling on about. Don't think this means we avidly time our laps, we don't. Apart from very likely invalidating your insurance, there is just too much temptation to push that little bit harder to make your target time and that is eating into your safety margin. Videoing your lap is also not a good idea for the very good reason that it is currently forbidden (as are in car photographs) by Nürburgring Gmbh, and you can be banned for the rest of the year if caught.
Remember, you are going there to have fun!!. If you feel that we have missed anything or just feel like telling us how great we are, feel free to contact us.
Before you start to plan a trip, you need to ask yourself 'should I go to the 'ring'
You need to think long and hard before you decide to go to the 'ring. It is an unforgiving place which will do it's best to hurt you, your car and your wallet.
It is 13 miles long and lined closely with Armco. Run off and gravel traps are few and far between. You need to accept the fact that if you make a mistake, it is highly likely that you are going to hit something. The weather changes from one lap to the next, people dump fluids and there are impatient bastards with very fast vehicles who will be all over you until you get on the pace.
Nanny state Britain simply would not allow Touristenfahren days to exist. People can and do die on these days. I would love to see the risk assessment for it. If you crash and hurt yourself, it was YOUR choice and YOUR fault. Tough luck. There is no one else to blame so don't even think about involving ambulance chasers as you will just be laughed at.
The only times they shut the circuit are for crashes, ice and heavy fog. I have been out in snow, thunderstorms, torrential rain and patchy fog which reduced visibility to the end of my bonnet. If you crash in any of these conditions, remember that YOU made the decision to go out. There is no point in saying that 'The marshals should have closed the track as it was lethal'. They will not make the decision for you.
This is NOT a trackday. No one is there to look after you so you need to look after yourself and other track users. Be prepared for the consequences