My obsession with the Nordschleife.
- Thread starter FussyFez
- 1,169 comments
- 118,428 views
- 1,382
- New Jersey
I have been obsessed with the Nordschleife since I was a young kid. It became my own personal Mecca. Like you I have it memorized down to every foot because of the GT series and Forza. In May a couple friends and I embarked on a trip to Europe and we spent a day at the ring and rented 2 cars and each had 3 laps. It was an unreal experience. Being from the US I never thought I would be able to lap the north loop and when I finally pull out from the touristenfahrt gate I nearly shed a tear lol. Amazing experience definately one of the best days in my life. I feel blessed to have experienced it first hand and came out of it safely and not have any incidents.
I am driving in both pictures ... took me forever to track myself down lol. I have plenty more and videos all on my old phone.
I am driving in both pictures ... took me forever to track myself down lol. I have plenty more and videos all on my old phone.
Attachments
- 1,382
- New Jersey
I went in gt86 and scirocco rentals and you are absolutely right. No matter how many laps you take virtually. That first time you hit some of those elevation changes you never expect it. Like a roller coaster. needless to say I kept right and signaled often to let people pass lol
Manuelos
Premium
- 1,227
- Belgium
- GTP_Manuelos
Spent the weekend in Nürburg. Saturday was (and probably will be) the best day I ever had on the Ring. It was cold (3-4°) but the track was 100% dry.
This is how the parking lot looked like when I arrived at 10am (track was open from 9am):
There were probably another 10 cars on the other parkings, but that was it! I've never seen the place deserted like that.
Same story on track. There was no one !!
This was at 1pm:
Maybe 40-50 cars max. No supercars to spot, but hey, nobody was compaining
Did a handfull of laps om my private track, staying far from pushing due to the cold track.
Sunday was another story. Dense fog all day long, typical Eifel weather. I waited from 9am till 1pm hoping the track would open for a few wet laps, but it didn't
Still, the bad weather couldn't spoil the fun I had on Saturday!!!
This is how the parking lot looked like when I arrived at 10am (track was open from 9am):
There were probably another 10 cars on the other parkings, but that was it! I've never seen the place deserted like that.
Same story on track. There was no one !!
This was at 1pm:
Maybe 40-50 cars max. No supercars to spot, but hey, nobody was compaining
Did a handfull of laps om my private track, staying far from pushing due to the cold track.
Sunday was another story. Dense fog all day long, typical Eifel weather. I waited from 9am till 1pm hoping the track would open for a few wet laps, but it didn't
Still, the bad weather couldn't spoil the fun I had on Saturday!!!
- 1,485
- Ribeirão Preto, SP
- flip_jj
I don't know if this has been posted before, but I really like the video, even though it's dated, oh my god it's dated.
Also, anyone that has gone to the Ring in different times of the year care to have a chat about it? I'm planning a trip this year and have some questions.
Pete05
Premium
- 7,082
- Melbourne, Australia
I've seen it before, I watched it this time & I'll watch it again many more times.
Notice how much the circuit has changed since this was recorded. No grass verges before guardrail like today & the surface of the track is sooo much more bumpier that the cats took flight many more times a lap.
I'd love it if any game simulation developer gave us this version of the Nordschleife.
Pete05
Premium
- 7,082
- Melbourne, Australia
Oh I don't know about that.
Together with what vision is available (including this wonderful snippet
) and, picking the brains of those who raced there pre-1970 'renovations', I reckon they could go a long way to getting the job done.There's quite a bit of information out there in www land.
We can always dream.
- 1,485
- Ribeirão Preto, SP
- flip_jj
Because of my work, I never ever trust people's memories. But, after thinking about it a bit, even if it's not a perfect recreation of what it was, it would be really cool to have the option.Oh I don't know about that.
Together with what vision is available (including this wonderful snippet
There's quite a bit of information out there in www land.
We can always dream.
Project Cars managed to do a 66 Monza with banking and it's fantastic, so a 66 (or even earlier) Nürburgring would be even better...
Tired Tyres
Premium
- 12,535
- West Yorkshire
- Tired_Tyres
- Tired Tyres
- 1,485
- Ribeirão Preto, SP
- flip_jj
Yeah, I know. That's why I don't think it's possible to recreate it. You can approximate (which would be good enough for most people), but impossible to make it as it was.
- 637
- NH
- Whodoyouthink
This year I'll be hoping to do about 4-5 trackdays in the US. I live in New England, NH to be specific. Won't be traveling more than 2-3hrs or so for any of the tracks on my list. NHMS is only 50mins away from me.
I'll try to keep the autocrossing up as well just to keep building some amount of experience. Before last year, I had never autocrossed, just casually go-karted in "fake/family" karts. But I've always shown good potential. Even though I was still surprisingly slow in all my autocrosses last year, all my instructors and friends were impressed with my quick improvements and general car control.
I'm really hoping the trackdays I do this year will make big improvements in my skill, as the idea in my head right now is to attend a trackday next year at the Nurburgring. I'll rent a car through many of the companies around, possibly Ring Garage because I've been watching Misha's videos. Ideally I'd lap in a Miata, which is what I drive now anyway. But if no Miata is available, I'd settle for just about any BMW, Audi, or a GT86 as they call it outside the US. I'm betting the whole trip will run $2,000-$4,000, as a rough estimate. Hopefully less, or at least not much more!
Every one says as a rule of thumb to try and take 1-2 weeks of time to explore a country, but I think I'll be just as happy doing only 2-3, doing exactly what I love. Yeah, I'll probably be missing out on a lot of other aspects that attract me to Germany (already considering eventually moving there, despite having never been!), but the more time I spend abroad, the more it will cost, and the trickier it will be to take the time off. If I can time it right, I'll go in the summer when I'm either out of school or at least only taking 1-2 classes for a Summer semester that are easy to make up, and also avoid any busy weeks with work. Probably would Leave on a Thursday or Friday, come back Monday or Tuesday, unless the trackday is during the week (a couple are looking at the list for this year).
I post all this hoping some veterans might be able to offer some insight as to how to make this potential trip smoother.
I'll try to keep the autocrossing up as well just to keep building some amount of experience. Before last year, I had never autocrossed, just casually go-karted in "fake/family" karts. But I've always shown good potential. Even though I was still surprisingly slow in all my autocrosses last year, all my instructors and friends were impressed with my quick improvements and general car control.
I'm really hoping the trackdays I do this year will make big improvements in my skill, as the idea in my head right now is to attend a trackday next year at the Nurburgring. I'll rent a car through many of the companies around, possibly Ring Garage because I've been watching Misha's videos. Ideally I'd lap in a Miata, which is what I drive now anyway. But if no Miata is available, I'd settle for just about any BMW, Audi, or a GT86 as they call it outside the US. I'm betting the whole trip will run $2,000-$4,000, as a rough estimate. Hopefully less, or at least not much more!
Every one says as a rule of thumb to try and take 1-2 weeks of time to explore a country, but I think I'll be just as happy doing only 2-3, doing exactly what I love. Yeah, I'll probably be missing out on a lot of other aspects that attract me to Germany (already considering eventually moving there, despite having never been!), but the more time I spend abroad, the more it will cost, and the trickier it will be to take the time off. If I can time it right, I'll go in the summer when I'm either out of school or at least only taking 1-2 classes for a Summer semester that are easy to make up, and also avoid any busy weeks with work. Probably would Leave on a Thursday or Friday, come back Monday or Tuesday, unless the trackday is during the week (a couple are looking at the list for this year).
I post all this hoping some veterans might be able to offer some insight as to how to make this potential trip smoother.
- 4,897
- UK
Misha is no longer at Ring Garage but it is better if you send an email to him at Apex, also if I remember Apex has a discount for new customers as well.
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