GTPNewsWire
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This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Kyle Patrick (@SlipZtrEm) on October 14th, 2019 in the Car Culture category.
The Long Goodbye: My 700 Mile Road Trip to Drive the Nurburgring
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Brend
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Kyle, I can’t put into the words the influence you had on me during my time as a contributing writer. Without you I’d have never honed what semblance of style I can even claim to have. You are such a huge part of GTPlanet - past, present and future! 👍
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Best of luck in your new post Kyle. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a contributing writer here on GTP. Your influence will be missed here.
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Cytoria
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Thank you Kyle for all what you’ve done here and best wishes for your new job!
Hopefully we will still see @SlipZtrEm around the forums!
About the article itself, I’ve had the chance to drive there a few years ago. The biggest difference with your trip is that this was my own car, so I knew it well, its abilities and its limits.
What surprised me the most, though, was how slow I was. My RCZ wasn’t a supercar but I used to outpass 90% of the road traffic ; on the Nordschleife it was the other way round!
As you said, doing laps on GT or other games helps you to learn the track and be prepared to the next turn, but not to the physical aspect and sensation of a 10 minutes spirited drive around one of the most iconic tracks in the world.
Hopefully we will still see @SlipZtrEm around the forums!
About the article itself, I’ve had the chance to drive there a few years ago. The biggest difference with your trip is that this was my own car, so I knew it well, its abilities and its limits.
What surprised me the most, though, was how slow I was. My RCZ wasn’t a supercar but I used to outpass 90% of the road traffic ; on the Nordschleife it was the other way round!
As you said, doing laps on GT or other games helps you to learn the track and be prepared to the next turn, but not to the physical aspect and sensation of a 10 minutes spirited drive around one of the most iconic tracks in the world.
glassjaw
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Brilliant from start to finish, Kyle. Reading it, I feel almost like a tourist in your shoes. Hopefully one day I can make the trip myself.
And what a way to go out. The perfect way, in fact. Thanks for all your contributions, leadership and guidance over the years — it's been nothing short of a pleasure and I'm so thankful our paths crossed. I could go on forever, so before I start to ramble and echo basically what @Brend said, I'll leave it at this: go kill it at AutoGuide, and don't be a stranger.
And what a way to go out. The perfect way, in fact. Thanks for all your contributions, leadership and guidance over the years — it's been nothing short of a pleasure and I'm so thankful our paths crossed. I could go on forever, so before I start to ramble and echo basically what @Brend said, I'll leave it at this: go kill it at AutoGuide, and don't be a stranger.
Joey D
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Oh wow, congrats on the new gig Kyle! I'm stoked for you, even if I'm sad to see you leaving GTP's front page. I know you'll kill it over there and I'll be sure to follow your articles on AutoGuide (only after reading GTP though 
).
And echoing what the other writers have said, I really do appreciate all the help you gave me during my stint. Also, that Vegas trip will always be one of my favorites, especially partying until some wee hour of the morning only to get on an airplane, fly back to Salt Lake and go to work feeling like I was hit by a bus.
).And echoing what the other writers have said, I really do appreciate all the help you gave me during my stint. Also, that Vegas trip will always be one of my favorites, especially partying until some wee hour of the morning only to get on an airplane, fly back to Salt Lake and go to work feeling like I was hit by a bus.
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Amazing post!
I have thousands of kilometers worth of virtual experience on the Ring but as you write actually being there and feeling the forces of this rollercoaster track is another thing.
Been wanting to drive there for real as soon as I first "drove" there in Gran Turismo 4, and it's a life goal to do it.
I have thousands of kilometers worth of virtual experience on the Ring but as you write actually being there and feeling the forces of this rollercoaster track is another thing.
Been wanting to drive there for real as soon as I first "drove" there in Gran Turismo 4, and it's a life goal to do it.
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Bravo, sir. I loved every word of this piece and I smiled ear to ear the entire time I read it. I even got misty eyed for a moment at the thought of just how cool it must have felt to have achieved such an important life goal. Thank you for sharing and best of luck in your new adventure!
ROAD_DOGG33J
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I remember joining GTP many years ago, back when I didn't have any friends who were into cars, racing, or racing games. I didn't realize just how many people were out there with the same passions as me. It was awesome to find a community of GT players and car/racing fans!
Then, one day, I came across a fellow Torontonian, @SlipZtrEm ! He seemed like a really cool guy - chatting in the forums, writing front-page articles, and running sweet photo mode competitions. I wondered how cool it would be if I ever got to meet him.
Well, fast-forward to today, and I'm so happy to be able to call you a good friend now, Kyle. It's been awesome meeting you through GT events, and spending time together this past year. Of course, all while reading your great stuff on GTP.
Fantastic send-off article, that sounded like one hell of a journey! So happy for you to have achieved that huge goal of driving the Green Hell, and best of luck at AutoGuide!
Then, one day, I came across a fellow Torontonian, @SlipZtrEm ! He seemed like a really cool guy - chatting in the forums, writing front-page articles, and running sweet photo mode competitions. I wondered how cool it would be if I ever got to meet him.
Well, fast-forward to today, and I'm so happy to be able to call you a good friend now, Kyle. It's been awesome meeting you through GT events, and spending time together this past year. Of course, all while reading your great stuff on GTP.
Fantastic send-off article, that sounded like one hell of a journey! So happy for you to have achieved that huge goal of driving the Green Hell, and best of luck at AutoGuide!
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Damn. You definitely saved your best for last, Kyle. If AutoGuide had not already hired you they would definitely be calling now!
For reasons I can't quite explain, the Nurburgring is a very special place to me, and your words captured that sense of excitement and magic that I also felt on my first visit. In this world of billions of people, most of whom don't care about this kind of stuff, it gives me a warm sense of belonging to know there are other people who feel the same way I do.
It reminds me of why I created GTPlanet in the first place, and how grateful I am that it has allowed me to meet so many like-minded people like yourself. I'm sad that you'll no longer be writing for us, but I'm happy to call you a friend.
For reasons I can't quite explain, the Nurburgring is a very special place to me, and your words captured that sense of excitement and magic that I also felt on my first visit. In this world of billions of people, most of whom don't care about this kind of stuff, it gives me a warm sense of belonging to know there are other people who feel the same way I do.
It reminds me of why I created GTPlanet in the first place, and how grateful I am that it has allowed me to meet so many like-minded people like yourself. I'm sad that you'll no longer be writing for us, but I'm happy to call you a friend.
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You know, I'm one of many who thinks people should close a stage of their lives with a gold clasp closure, and this one's one of them!! Amazing article Kyle! 
Honestly, your articles were really awesome and this one takes the cake (with toppins and everything), I want to quote something I will say on a future gameplay for my yt "One thing is watching it, other thing is playing it" and that's what I think people feel when they go to the Nurburgring for the 1st time after many hours behind a screen. I will join here with the ones saying "It's a personal goal to go for the drive of my life (see what I did there??
)" because I want my brother and my nephew to feel that unique experience as well.
Again, thanks Kyle for making that masterpiece of an article stand out all the fantasies of a nurburgring fan, and thanks for your work here man! Hope you stay here talking more like one of us!
Honestly, your articles were really awesome and this one takes the cake (with toppins and everything), I want to quote something I will say on a future gameplay for my yt "One thing is watching it, other thing is playing it" and that's what I think people feel when they go to the Nurburgring for the 1st time after many hours behind a screen. I will join here with the ones saying "It's a personal goal to go for the drive of my life (see what I did there??
)" because I want my brother and my nephew to feel that unique experience as well.Again, thanks Kyle for making that masterpiece of an article stand out all the fantasies of a nurburgring fan, and thanks for your work here man! Hope you stay here talking more like one of us!
- 55
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What a great read! Thanks. And even if you've been there many times and don't live far away from the Nürburgring... you'll feel like a kid the evening before Christmas. Everytime. Again and again. It is just a magic place...
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Well, there you go:
"I want a car I can push if I feel comfortable, but that features a wide enough safety net for someone with very limited track experience."
I think that is a wise decision, considering that he has never lapped The Ring for real before. And yes, a Seat Ibiza Cupra, track prepared, can turn.
"I want a car I can push if I feel comfortable, but that features a wide enough safety net for someone with very limited track experience."
I think that is a wise decision, considering that he has never lapped The Ring for real before. And yes, a Seat Ibiza Cupra, track prepared, can turn.
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Nice article to read and good luck with new post. Also can't get over that Tom Cruise/Austin Powers face in the image.
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New GTP meme??
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Thanks for your many contributions, Kyle and good luck on your future projects.
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What a way to go! Best of luck for the future Kyle, it's been awesome having you here!
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Good luck with your future endeavours, Kyle! Great read!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As long as you keep the speed limit on the highways surrounding the citites, the popo doesn't seem to mind (as long as the weather conditions are good) if you're going above the speed limit. That's what I read prior to and experienced during my trip to the Nurburgring. That meant I was doing 180 up to 240km/h on the Autobahn as soon as the traffic eased up.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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For any foreign person that is planning to go fast on the Autobahn, do not go south. Go north, especially the north eastern region between Hamburg, Rostock and Berlin. The Autobahn in the region has been rebuilt after 1990, is in pristine condition and the region is sparsely populated... just to save yourself from a big dissapointment, when you plan to go really fast and come across another STAU... 
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Had my own experience at the Ring just last week, on October 10th! Private trackday, run by SkyLimit Events. Rented a 1990 MX-5 Miata, with nearly the same mods my own 1990 Miata has. Their's had coilover suspension, mine just has Flyin' Miata Lowering springs on Bilstein shocks. I also have a short throw shifter with polyurethane engine mounts, their's had the stock shifter with rubber mounts (so I grinded some gears). But same style Sparco seats, similar harnesses (they had 4pt with street-style latch, I have 5/6pt with camlock latches) and rollbar.
I did 10 laps, over a period of almost 4hrs. There was 1 track closure, thanks to a race spec BMW crashing around L-26, which is just before Hohe Acht. Broke the suspension and left fluid on the track. I had completed 8 of my 10 allotted laps at the time. I was able to finish my final 2 laps with 30mins left in the event, with Touristenfarhten happening immediately after. Within that time, another high-end crash happened, this time a Lamborghini on the outside of R-20, which is just after Breidscheid. Not Red flags through, just local yellow with recovery crew members putting down cones and directing traffic around the tow truck.
I do have Go-Pro footage of most of my laps, courtesy of Hotlap Nurburg supplying the camera and having it all setup before I even hit the pitlane. I'm currently trying to edit together the segments, the recordings are in weird 3-12min intervals. There is also some overexposure I'd like to try and edit out. So far, I've only found 2 pics of me on track. I'm trying to work out how to pay for them without having to wire the funds, and thus pay more for the wire transfer fee than the pictures themselves. Had I shown up for the full day session in the morning, or even just stayed for Touristenfahrten, there may have been many more pictures to choose from, based off the galleries I've found from that day.
One question I have for Kyle is why did you fly to (and drive from) Hamburg? Did you hit any other destinations along the way, or was it just a matter of wanting to do A LOT of Autobahn driving? I too did a very short trip to Germany, in part because I went with one of the cheapest flight tickets I could find, which gave me 2 layovers both arriving and departing back. So I arrived at Cologne-Bonn airport right around 5pm local time on October 9th, and left to do an overnight layover in Stansted on a 10:20pm flight October 10th. A whopping 30hrs or so in Germany, but I still got a lot out of it, and even kind of enjoyed the layovers.
Now, why Cologne and not Frankfurt or somewhere else? I wanted to attempt to explore the city in general (which I really did not have time for) and at the very least, check out the Michael Shumacher car collection at Motorworld. I did just barely achieve this, with only about 1hr to spare before they closed and then I decided to head off to my hotel in Nurbug (the Motorsport Hotel in my case, which was a few minutes away from the Nurburg castle).
I did 10 laps, over a period of almost 4hrs. There was 1 track closure, thanks to a race spec BMW crashing around L-26, which is just before Hohe Acht. Broke the suspension and left fluid on the track. I had completed 8 of my 10 allotted laps at the time. I was able to finish my final 2 laps with 30mins left in the event, with Touristenfarhten happening immediately after. Within that time, another high-end crash happened, this time a Lamborghini on the outside of R-20, which is just after Breidscheid. Not Red flags through, just local yellow with recovery crew members putting down cones and directing traffic around the tow truck.
I do have Go-Pro footage of most of my laps, courtesy of Hotlap Nurburg supplying the camera and having it all setup before I even hit the pitlane. I'm currently trying to edit together the segments, the recordings are in weird 3-12min intervals. There is also some overexposure I'd like to try and edit out. So far, I've only found 2 pics of me on track. I'm trying to work out how to pay for them without having to wire the funds, and thus pay more for the wire transfer fee than the pictures themselves. Had I shown up for the full day session in the morning, or even just stayed for Touristenfahrten, there may have been many more pictures to choose from, based off the galleries I've found from that day.
One question I have for Kyle is why did you fly to (and drive from) Hamburg? Did you hit any other destinations along the way, or was it just a matter of wanting to do A LOT of Autobahn driving? I too did a very short trip to Germany, in part because I went with one of the cheapest flight tickets I could find, which gave me 2 layovers both arriving and departing back. So I arrived at Cologne-Bonn airport right around 5pm local time on October 9th, and left to do an overnight layover in Stansted on a 10:20pm flight October 10th. A whopping 30hrs or so in Germany, but I still got a lot out of it, and even kind of enjoyed the layovers.
Now, why Cologne and not Frankfurt or somewhere else? I wanted to attempt to explore the city in general (which I really did not have time for) and at the very least, check out the Michael Shumacher car collection at Motorworld. I did just barely achieve this, with only about 1hr to spare before they closed and then I decided to head off to my hotel in Nurbug (the Motorsport Hotel in my case, which was a few minutes away from the Nurburg castle).
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👍
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Excellent write-up, SlipZ, and congratulations on your landing a post at AutoGuide! I will echo others’ comments in this thread and say that it will be sad to see your name missing from the front page of GTP, but it’s also great to see you getting hired by a proper automotive news source (no offence or malice intended to GTP’s writers ). I think niky also got his job as an auto journalist by writing a lot here and then eventually getting noticed by a major local auto news outlet, which is the way I guess you got hired...? 
Anyway, I have more to say other than congratulatory offerings, as I agree that everyone should pursue their dreams, circumstances allowing, not just in going on a road trip, but also in other aspects in life. You don’t necessarily have to follow your dreams down to the last letter, because that can be a bit too difficult to achieve for most people, but at least you can compromise with your realistic needs and fulfill it in some way, without disturbing others. I still remember 10 years ago when my sister asked me what I wanted to do as a career, and I, like every other boy that was interested in cars, answered that I wanted to be a renowned race car driver. When she replied with a no, and cited safety concerns as a reason, I quickly brushed off her dismissal, and believed that I would progress on my way and eventually reach that ultimate goal. But little did I know that in the years since then, I would gradually lower my dreams to being a race car driver with little fame, then to participating in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in one of the cheapest classes, then to driving around the Nordschleife once in my life, before reaching recently to perhaps just owning an exotic supercar that I’ve always wanted. And before I even reach this goal, I’m already procrastinating on learning to drive and acquiring a driver’s license, using busyness with schoolwork as an excuse. While I haven’t reached the point of being too late to realize my dreams (and I hope I won’t), I won’t count against it either.
So I’d say this to everybody that they should pursue their dreams, or at least fulfill it in some way, while they still can, rather than completely ignoring it and calling it impossible, because it can serve as a huge source of motivation for you to accomplish things you never could.
May I wish you every success in your new post, SlipZ. 👍
). I think niky also got his job as an auto journalist by writing a lot here and then eventually getting noticed by a major local auto news outlet, which is the way I guess you got hired...? Anyway, I have more to say other than congratulatory offerings, as I agree that everyone should pursue their dreams, circumstances allowing, not just in going on a road trip, but also in other aspects in life. You don’t necessarily have to follow your dreams down to the last letter, because that can be a bit too difficult to achieve for most people, but at least you can compromise with your realistic needs and fulfill it in some way, without disturbing others. I still remember 10 years ago when my sister asked me what I wanted to do as a career, and I, like every other boy that was interested in cars, answered that I wanted to be a renowned race car driver. When she replied with a no, and cited safety concerns as a reason, I quickly brushed off her dismissal, and believed that I would progress on my way and eventually reach that ultimate goal. But little did I know that in the years since then, I would gradually lower my dreams to being a race car driver with little fame, then to participating in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in one of the cheapest classes, then to driving around the Nordschleife once in my life, before reaching recently to perhaps just owning an exotic supercar that I’ve always wanted. And before I even reach this goal, I’m already procrastinating on learning to drive and acquiring a driver’s license, using busyness with schoolwork as an excuse. While I haven’t reached the point of being too late to realize my dreams (and I hope I won’t), I won’t count against it either.
So I’d say this to everybody that they should pursue their dreams, or at least fulfill it in some way, while they still can, rather than completely ignoring it and calling it impossible, because it can serve as a huge source of motivation for you to accomplish things you never could.
May I wish you every success in your new post, SlipZ. 👍
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