The Nurburgring, my first visit
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From: Shanghai
The Nurburgring, my first visit
Hey all,
Been back in Europe for 2 weeks to visit my folks and was largely bored out of my mind, while also seriously suffering from evo withdrawal symptoms.
And then I had an idea... If there was one racetrack in the world that you would really want to experience, even if just once... well, for me it was the Nordschleife. Problem is, my car's still in Shanghai.
So I searched around, found this great guide http://www.heiser.net/documents/nurburgring/#car
and also got in touch with http://www.rsrnurburg.com/
Obviously, I would have loved to take ,my evo there, but in the end I had to settle for a Renault Clio Cup. Now, strange as it may sound, it feels very similar to drive as an evo... just slower, which actually isn't a bad thing. It doesn't seem to understeer much at all, the back tends to step out first when you go too fast or lift off and the electronics are clever enough to sort it all out for you very quickly. Sound familiar?
So, first lap and I have Dale, my very experienced instructor with me, and he tells, me to allways keep my hands at quarter to three, stop tensing up, make sure I keep the throttle going throughout the corner, teaches me braking points, turn-in points all while trying to keep speed up and having Porsches and Lamborghini's screaming alongside us at blistering speeds (and this was at 9 am)
With just a lap to take all this in, Dale can't join me for any of my following laps (those are the rules on the "touristenfahrte" or open days), though I really wish he could have, especially on my last lap.
Anyway, I go again and witness my first accident (about 9:30 am), a Porsche 911 that has its whole front end crushed. In fact, there are serious accidents on every lap I do after that, with 3 being the most I see on one lap. The track is also often closed for that reason.
Lap 5 gives me only major pant-filling moment of the day as I realize I am carrying way too much speed into a tight right-hander and I really think the car can't make it. Fortunately, after some sideways adventuring, it does. Takes me a minute or so to regain my composure and speed up again.
Before going I had an idea of the track layout from GT 4 and Need for Speed Shift. While it helped, track knowledge is everything and I found I didn't know it anywhere near as well as I would have liked. Another thing the games never prepare you for is the G-forces and the fear... Dipping over a blind crest and then shooting up the other side in a matter of seconds seriously does something to your stomach. And then the Carroussel....it does't seem that special in the game, but then you actually do it and it's one of the most exciting things you can imagine. By my last 2 laps I was even passing some other hot hatches.
All in all, a great day. The danger is real and so is the fear, you should prepare as well as you can, preferably more than I did. But...seriously, if you love your driving, you just have to experience this just once. And people around the track are friendly, met a guy from the UK/Hong Kong with an Evo8 who was there for the first time too.
So.....Just do it! You'll be glad you did.
Been back in Europe for 2 weeks to visit my folks and was largely bored out of my mind, while also seriously suffering from evo withdrawal symptoms.
And then I had an idea... If there was one racetrack in the world that you would really want to experience, even if just once... well, for me it was the Nordschleife. Problem is, my car's still in Shanghai.
So I searched around, found this great guide http://www.heiser.net/documents/nurburgring/#car
and also got in touch with http://www.rsrnurburg.com/
Obviously, I would have loved to take ,my evo there, but in the end I had to settle for a Renault Clio Cup. Now, strange as it may sound, it feels very similar to drive as an evo... just slower, which actually isn't a bad thing. It doesn't seem to understeer much at all, the back tends to step out first when you go too fast or lift off and the electronics are clever enough to sort it all out for you very quickly. Sound familiar?
So, first lap and I have Dale, my very experienced instructor with me, and he tells, me to allways keep my hands at quarter to three, stop tensing up, make sure I keep the throttle going throughout the corner, teaches me braking points, turn-in points all while trying to keep speed up and having Porsches and Lamborghini's screaming alongside us at blistering speeds (and this was at 9 am)
With just a lap to take all this in, Dale can't join me for any of my following laps (those are the rules on the "touristenfahrte" or open days), though I really wish he could have, especially on my last lap.
Anyway, I go again and witness my first accident (about 9:30 am), a Porsche 911 that has its whole front end crushed. In fact, there are serious accidents on every lap I do after that, with 3 being the most I see on one lap. The track is also often closed for that reason.
Lap 5 gives me only major pant-filling moment of the day as I realize I am carrying way too much speed into a tight right-hander and I really think the car can't make it. Fortunately, after some sideways adventuring, it does. Takes me a minute or so to regain my composure and speed up again.
Before going I had an idea of the track layout from GT 4 and Need for Speed Shift. While it helped, track knowledge is everything and I found I didn't know it anywhere near as well as I would have liked. Another thing the games never prepare you for is the G-forces and the fear... Dipping over a blind crest and then shooting up the other side in a matter of seconds seriously does something to your stomach. And then the Carroussel....it does't seem that special in the game, but then you actually do it and it's one of the most exciting things you can imagine. By my last 2 laps I was even passing some other hot hatches.
All in all, a great day. The danger is real and so is the fear, you should prepare as well as you can, preferably more than I did. But...seriously, if you love your driving, you just have to experience this just once. And people around the track are friendly, met a guy from the UK/Hong Kong with an Evo8 who was there for the first time too.
So.....Just do it! You'll be glad you did.
...that had to be a blast