My Car on The Nurburgring

[Gierkink]

Hello all:

Last summer I had my car at the Nurburgring and I’ve finally gotten around to posting some pictures. They can be found at the following link:

http://www.fordgtforum.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=77

They’re not the best pictures but I was understandably focused on driving and not photography. A motorcycle rider took these shots and offered to e-mail them to me.

I did four laps of this incredible circuit with my best time at 10:09 (not that great given the UK press GT did a 7:39 with a Jaguar factor driver at the wheel). It was an incredible experience with one near “off” on a tight left turn at the top of a hill. The two carrousels are very interesting as you need to get in and out of them with a technique that I didn’t manage to master during my laps.

If you’re ever in Germany near the Ring I’d highly recommend that you rent a car and drive this unbelievable track.

Cheers,

Rob

 

[B O N Y]

I am so very jealous, thanks for sharing:biggrin

 

[SYCO GT]

I was fortunate to be selected as one of four motorcycle riders from the United States to test ride the 168 HP BMW K1200S (BMW's most powerful production motorcycle) at the Nurburgring, out of 12,000 candidates. We approached speeds of 155 mph or so on the straights, and I did 44 laps in 3 days, along with country side and autobahn riding at night.

It was undoubtedly one of the most amazing motorsports experiences I have ever had. The Karussels are definitely intimidating, and on my first trial run, I didn't even enter the first one - I was like - are you crazy???

But it's actually kind of fun once you get used to it, just need to keep a steady throttle hand, and a committed angle and line.

There were 30 riders selected for the event from 16 different countries. Over the three days, only one rider went down, and another from our group went off the track without incident. We were fortunate to have the track closed to motorcycles only for our event, but on any given typical day there are a wide variety of cars and motorcycles sharing the facility, which is open to use by simply paying a ticket fee per lap.

In the mornings, we would run practice sessions, and I remember one of the instructers having us put the motorcycles into neutral as we approached speeds of 55 mph without any throttle. He did this to show how extreme the declines and ascents can be. The small group of elite Perfektion instructors were familiar with all aspects of the track, having each had probably at least 10 years knowledge of the Ring. They could easily draw out every single turn, and hoped that we could do the same after our experience.

It really throws everything at you, every turn, twist, bend, imaginable, and it's no wonder that it is used as a proving ground for high performance vehicles. I highly recommend that you experience this magical place at least once in your lifetime.

Happy Holidays! Randy

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Ring Notes

All I can say is WOW. That was an experience of a lifetime.

Great Post. Thank You Randy.

I can only dream of taking my GT to run the Ring. Someday..........

 

[Neilda]

Excellent!

That was one hell of a trip Rob - anything around 10 on the ring isn't that bad really.....

 

[FB GT40]

Great post

WOW! What an experience. Lucky (or well connected!) you! We planned to do it a few years back in M3's - but the group before us wrecked 2 of them and that group stopped doing it!! It's still on my "must do" list. By the way - here is an interesting link. This guy must have very large kahonies. I have a Caterham 7 and it scares the living daylights out of me at anything over 90 mph. Nothing like sitting in a go-cart and have an 18 wheeler's front wheel towering above you buzzing down the interstate.

Gordo

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7854065816261028191

 

[Gierkink]

By the way - here is an interesting link. This guy must have very large kahonies. I have a Caterham 7 and it scares the living daylights out of me at anything over 90 mph. Nothing like sitting in a go-cart and have an 18 wheeler's front wheel towering above you buzzing down the interstate.

Gordo

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7854065816261028191

Gordo,

This is an excellent video. The near "off" for me happened at about 3:55 into the video... a very tight left turn that you can see as you're coming up over a hill.

Rob

 

[SYCO GT]

All I can say is WOW. That was an experience of a lifetime.

Great Post. Thank You Randy.

I can only dream of taking my GT to run the Ring. Someday..........

I've never raced professionally, and it was definitely the experience of a lifetime for me. It wasn't a race, but we were certainly experiencing all the K1200S had to offer advanced amateurs, in a challenging environment. Plus in the evenings, we were treated to special events. Also, since the area is bristling with motorsports enthusiasts, we were treated like minor celebrities, since many of them knew the motorcycle on site, and that it was something special, so they would stop and chat with us, even an impromptu interview by a local camera crew. A gentleman had asked me if we were going to be in the cafe a while - I looked around - seeing plenty of seats - and said sure, not knowing why. They ran to their vans and got tripods and video equipment out and starting interviewing us.

It was undoubtedly one of the most difficult physical or mental things I have done. I think I've taken more than my share of tests and professional qualifications. But no mistakes allowed on a racetrack without potentially dangerous consequences. It makes me wonder how a professional is able to handle the mental demands. But that is the beauty of it. It was non stop riding. Breaks were short and rare, like 5 minutes here and there, and lunch. Mostly riding and the occasional refuel.

Amazing racetrack. Amazing motorcycle.

 

[dbtgt]

I was fortunate enough to attend the BMW CCA driving school hosted by the Euro club and BMW at the Ring in 1996. All I can say is WOW! Definitely the most intense driving experience of my life so far. As SYCO says - no margin for error. I believe about 15 of the 40 cars that participated in my school "were lost" during the 3 day event:eek I believe that BMW no longer supports the school with cars due to the expense. Most people don't realize that there is 1100 feet of elevation change over the 14 mile course! A truly intimidating road course for the novice!