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Ron Stygar Carl Buckland Dale Beuning Forums Help
From digest.v5.n100 Mon Aug 12 16:31:18 1996 Dear all, As promised, I am writing back to describe my experience at the = Nurburgring this past weekend. I need to preface this by saying that I = am not the only digester who has done this. There are many of you out = there who have much more experience in both driving and the ring itself. = So anything I say from here on is IMHO. I also have to say that I have = never been to a stateside driving school, and I have only recently been = in a financial position to be an automobile enthusiast. My day at the = 'ring went like this: You drive towards the town of Nurburg, about 50km west of Koblenz and = 50km south of Bonn. As you get close you see signs for the Nurburgring = and if you want to drive yourself you follow the signs to the = Nordschleife. (see http://cbsgi1.bu.edu/bmw/tracks/nurburgring.html for = more info). This is also were you want to go for the ringtaxi. You = pull up to the entrance to the Nordschleife and go in. There is a big = board here with the rules. There are only four translated into English:
That's it! After this you pull up the hill and wait in line while they = are selling the lap tickets. You just pull up like you are paying for a = drive in movie or something. One lap costs DM 16. This is about $12 = for 22km of all out 'racing'. I say racing, because this is definitely = not a driver's school. They put the cars and motorcycles onto the 'ring = as fast as they can take your DM 16. You go right from the lady with = the tickets into turn #1. No warm up. No safety briefing. No = orientation. No vehicle inspection. By the time you put your wallet = away you are in turn #2 with cold tires. This type of thing could never = happen in the states. The track would be sued daily. =20 Once again I must say that I am not a vastly experienced and school = trained driver, but I do drive enthusiastically on public roads when = possible. I was of the attitude that I would only drive as fast as I = felt comfortable, and within the limits of my car with stock suspension = and Dunlop SP 8000s. No boy racer syndrome here, nor do I care to = develop one. It took a few minutes to get the tires warmed up, and then = I started getting into it. But by the track was crowded, and in = addition to not having any warm up or orientation there are also no = flaggers, no signs, no readily available emergency vehicles, and no = rules about passing. They put motorcycles and cars together. Those = motorcyclists are insane. I quickly realized that the 2 wheelers were A = LOT faster than us 4 wheelers. It was very difficult to concentrate on = driving a good line, and at the same time stay out of the way of the = motorcycles who fly up behind you. They don't need a lot of room to get = by, but WOW do they move fast. I was also passed by a couple of Porches = and an M3 or two. Overall it was fun, exciting, and terrifying all at = once. Unfortunately, at kilometer 18 the fun part went away. =20 Coming over a hill and curving to the right I noticed debris on the = track. I immediately braked quite hard and managed to stop to be the = second person to arrive at the seen of a terrible motorcycle accident. = His bike was in pieces, and he was just laying there at the left edge of = the track without moving. The other guy who stopped was in a Shelby = Cobra type kit car with his wife and young daughter. He stopped right = behind the guy on the left side of the track (outside of the turn). I = pulled all the way into the grass on the right side. We both got out = and he told his wife to get the cellular phone. I wanted to go render = some first aid, but I knew that the people coming behind us could not = see over the hill. I grabbed my orange warning triangle (required in = Germany) and was about to run back over the hill to warn drivers of the = accident. Before I could get there a motorcycle (Honda CBR 900) came = over the hill under heavy acceleration after apexing the turn. He = didn't barely have a chance to slow down before plowing into the back of = the Cobra. The sound of the crunch still gives me chills. I was only = about 5m away. He flew about 30m in front of the car, and the little = girl in the car started screaming for her daddy. I managed to get the = rest of the drivers slowed down so someone could care for the two = injured people while waiting for the ambulance. It was twenty minutes = before a doctor came in an old station wagon. I mopped up an oil spill = with my T-shirt, picked up the motorcycle debris and then left with my = wife still in tears. =20 This was a very anti-climactic first track experience for me. I did = not take my second lap and still have a valid lap ticket. If anyone = wants it let me know. The moral of my story is that at the Nurburgring = your own responsibility may not keep you out of harms way. I suggest to = visit on a week day or another time when the track is less crowded. It = is a dangerous place and is without many control measures. If you want = to drive the 'ring it is cheap and easy to get on. Just be careful, and = know what you are getting into. =09 Once again, this is the experience of a relatively new enthusiast. = Don't bother to flame me about how I didn't know what I was doing and = how the 'ring is the best place in the world. For uninhibited = automobile enthusiasm it probably is the best place you could go, just = be careful.
LT Ryan McQueeney |
