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www.nurburgring.org.uk | Trip
reports | Trip 52: July/August 2007 |
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This trip was again a five-day one: three evening sessions plus a weekend, but the weekend involved quite a low-powered vehicle ... It was the Rad & Run am Ring weekend. I'd previously cycled one lap of the Ring and lived to tell the tale, so I decided to have a bash at two laps this time. |
Photo: Todd |
PreparationKarl was kind enough to reserve a rental bike for me, and René Graff then kindly arranged for me to collect it from the start at the track. Aside from that, just the usual booking of room, flights and hire car. TuesdayThese five-day trips are a bit of a packing challenge given the stupid UK-only rule of a single item of handbaggage. I generally travel light, but five days means more clothes, plus my work. Also, for a few trips - like this one - I wanted to have my D200 and a couple of lenses: if I was going to cycle 26 miles and 2000 feet of elevation, I wanted to have some decent photos to show for it. In the old days, this was easy - just carry a small camera backpack in addition to my main bag. Now this isn't possible, I have to wear a Scott eVest, which is like an inside-out photographer's vest with about a million vast pockets. To give you an idea of just how much capacity this gives you, my 17" laptop fits inside one of the pockets. :-)
However, while this doesn't break any rules, I do occasionally get someone on the security staff taking the view that I'm contravening the 2007 Smartarse Act. Such was the case this time. I do have some sympathy for them. They are on their feet for eight hours a day, and spend their lives dealing with people who can't read simple signs. It's not a job I'd want to do, and I do try my best to be friendly and polite with them. I must admit, however, that my patience was tested when I was made to put my perfectly ordinary rollerbag in the size cage three times and weigh it twice. I then had to swap items between bag and pockets to satisfy some entirely ficticious rule about what was and wasn't allowed in pockets. I could, of course, check-in a bag, but when you consider both check-in and baggage reclaim, it adds at least an hour to the journey. Given that a single work project can involve five flights in one week, you can appreciate that I am not overly keen on spending any more time hanging around airports than I really have to. (And that's before you even get me started on the trip to NY where the airline concerned managed to lose my luggage on both the outbound and return flights.) Frankly, the whole thing is proving such a hassle that I'm serious wondering whether even driving across Belgium might be a less painful experience - at least, for trips when I want to take my D200. That's how bad it is! I was after a Garmin Zumo 550 to replace my StreetPilot 2610. The Zumo is a very clever gadget indeed, combining four functions in one box: The weather in Hahn was fabulous, for all that was worth (excuse the wonky horizon - snap taken while walking).
I also grabbed a snap of the doorstop that resulted in my broken arm last time:
I'm sure you'll agree that it's a damn silly place to leave one. I always book a Smart on the basis that they are very cheap and they only have five there, so the chances of actually being given one are slim. On past trips, I've had an Audi 1.9 and a Punto. This time, however, I actually got the Smart. 600cc of throbbing power:
For anyone who has never had the misfortune of driving a standard Smart, they have about the same horsepower as a supermarket shopping trolley, and remarkably similar handling. The gearbox is tiptronic 5-speed, all of them slow.
At one point, I got stuck behind a jeep doing about 40kph in a 100kph zone, but I was going to need a straight the length of a Space Shuttle runway to be able to contemplate an overtake. I did eventually find one. I was also to learn that there is a god, and s/he has a keen sense of humour. As I was willing the car to accelerate, the thought occured to me that at least I was safe from a speeding ticket. Around 20 mins later, on a long downhill straight ...
127km/h in a 100km/h section (79mph in a 62mph limit). The sole German part of the conversation was my usual "Es tut mir leid, ich spreche sehr deutsches wenig". They, of course, replied in perfect English. They were at least very friendly about it, and told me it could be handled in one of two ways: "with a big piece of paper or a small piece of paper". I assumed the small piece of paper was me saying "It's a fair cop, guv" and handing over some dosh on the spot, and they confirmed this was the case. They asked me if I was on my way to the Ring, I said I was and we chatted a little about it while they did the paperwork. Apparently when they get a new police car, they get to go there for 'familiarisation'. Nice. I mentioned my website and told them no-one would believe I'd been done for speeding in a base-model Smart without photographic evidence, so they kindly posed for a photo:
Having done my bit for the German economy, I stopped off at TTE Racing to collect the Golf and get an update from Brigitte on Marc. Marc had a heart problem on Saturday morning and had been in hospital for a couple of days. I was pleased to hear that he'd been discharged. Brigitte said he would be on a low-fat diet with no cigars and no alcohol ... I shall have to see if he is still managing to smile! Despite Marc's hospitalisation, TTE had still managed to do the checks on the Golf (we do a tyre rotation and full brake inspection every 40 laps). I left the Smart there and headed on to the Ringhaus in the Golf. As not many people are mad enough to visit the Ring in order to cycle round it (it is mostly a local affair), the place was empty and Galina kindly gave me a huge room with French doors onto the balcony:
Galina asked me what time I wanted breakfast and was relieved when I said 'late'. :-) WednesdaySpent the day working in my German office:
As I have a fair bit of work to do while here, you'll have to excuse pretty brief evening session reports - I don't want to spend my entire trip in front of the laptop ... The Ring opened at 17:15, and the weather looked like this:
:-) But it was clearly going to be like last time, the queues already building up on the approach at quarter to five:
Inside the car-park, as before, it looked much the same as a weekend:
Oh well, time for a wander round the car-park:
GT3s are, of course, ten a penny here, but GT2s are still pretty rare:
More humble 911s have to settle for a vivid paintjob if they want to attract any attention:
At 17:15, I was in the car, harness on, ready for the off:
Where I stayed for 16 mins. Someone had crashed at the end of the BMW driver training, so we had to wait for that to be cleared up. The Ring opened at 17:31:
Did 1.5 laps, then pulled off at Breidscheid (which was, unusually for an evening session, open) to adjust tyre pressures. The track was moderately busy, but mostly well-behaved traffic, so the laps were good ones. Then a half-lap back to the car-park to give the CCar a chance to cool.
Things were by now looking a little less weekend-like:
And you certainly don't ever see this sight on a weekend!
While the tyres cooled, another wander:
This was badged as a TVR GT - I'd not seen one before and didn't know anything about them:
From discussion on the Ringers forum, it seems it is either a 3000M or a Taimar (essentially a 3000M with opening tailgate). Both are pretty rare, with just a few hundred made. Back out for another couple of enjoyable laps. The track was perfect, the weather was perfect, the traffic was mostly fine. I saw a couple of exceptions. The first was a Brit biker in red and silver leathers, whose reg from memory began WK07, who was totally oblivious to his mirrors. I was stuck behind him for about a third of a lap. In that time, he was nearly wiped out four times by cars that were less hesitant about overtaking him. If you're reading this and recognise yourself, please use your mirrors or you will not be long for this world. The second was a car who had an off-track excursion at Miss-Hit-Miss. He was parked on the grass, but stood next to his car rather than running back up the track to flag the dirt he'd left across half the track. <Grumpy old man mode>In the good old days, evening sessions used to mean an empty track and no closures. No longer.</gomm>. The closure came just before 7pm.
The ambulance went out, so it was looking touch-and-go whether it would re-open.
At quarter past, it was announced that the track would not be reopening. :-(
It seems that 4-5 laps is now the quota for an evening session. Back at the Ringhaus, I got chatting to Richard, Andrew and Guy who were over in a couple or Mini Marcoses and a standard Mini. They'd been to a Mini meet in Denmark, and naturally decided that Nurburg would make a convenient point to break their journey.
We went for dinner at the Pistenklause, and were later joined by Corvette driver James and his nephew Vincent.
Walking back to the Ringhaus, it was a lovely night.
And so to bed, ready for more of the same tomorrow. ThursdayA brief write-up as, happily, there is nothing much to report. :-) Again spent the day working on my laptop in the Ringhaus bar. Two other guests, Glenn and Astrid, were amused to discover they were sat at one table in the bar with their laptop reading my website while I was sat at a different table. When Frank told them who I was, they'd come to introduce themselves. As they were without a Ringable car, I promised them a couple of paxlaps. One noteworthy thing was the extremely rare sight of Frank cooking! As this is a quiet time of the year for the Ring, the chef was on holiday. Todd, an Ozzie visiting the Ring en-route home from a visit to London, asked whether he could get some food, and Frank offered some soup. I had some too, and very good it was.
Todd had rented one of the Rent-a-Racecar Golfs. Rather pricey at €320 for an evening session, but apparently 230bhp.
The previous renter had had a coming together with a bike:
The biker suffered a broken collar bone, which is not a pleasant injury, but thankfully nothing worse. Discussions as to liability are apparently ongoing ... The rain came hammering down in the early afternoon, but things had dried out by about 4pm. I went down to the Ed Tankstelle to fuel-up at about 4.45pm, which timing could not have been worse ... the BMW driver training had just finished and there were about 50 of the things at the petrol station!
Fortunately I made it back before the opening. The Ring opened a couple of minutes early. I took Glenn out for a couple of laps. Things were greatly improved on yesterday. The car-park was only half-full, and the track was mostly empty. We had two pretty clear laps. Back in for a quick coffee and then I took Astrid out for a couple of paxlaps. Again, a lovely clear track. The obligatory post-paxlaps photo:
Dale was there in his MX-5 1.6:
So I hopped in for a paxlap:
You wouldn't think you could stick the tail out much in a 1.6-litre MX-5, but Dale manages it. The Golf tyres were halfway cool, so I went out for another couple of laps. Glenn jumped in for the first, then Todd for the second. Again, remarkably clear laps, though the tyres were going off pretty rapidly by the second lap. At Adenaur-Forst, the apex sent me a 'Wish you were here' postcard. I let the car cool again, then just time for one last lap. This was almost completely empty. I overtook Todd at Kallenhard, and then we played elastic band for the rest of the lap - him gaining on me uphill and me pulling away through the twisty bits. Seven clear laps, no crashes and no closures - that's more like it! Back at the Ringhaus, the first of the rental Caterhams had arrived. :-) Both cars are Caterham Academy ones. 1.6-litre engines, but lightweight and with all the track bits. The car was still British-registered, but could be driven as-is, so I was looking forward to driving it tomorrow.
Admiring the new arrival:
Glenn, Astrid, Todd and I had dinner at the Pistenklause. My dinner and wine were kindly sponsored by Jason & Ann Burns.
Then back to the Ringhaus bar for a last drink before bed.
An enjoyable end to an excellent evening. FridayAn even briefer write-up today ... The weather was perfect and the car-park was pretty empty at 5pm:
The track opened on time, and as I headed out for the first couple of laps, Astrid ran over to jump in.
I think she enjoyed the laps:
It was almost all locals, so although there were quite a few of us out there, we were mostly doing similar speeds, giving the impression of an empty track. The track was much warmer from the sun, so I checked the pressures, found them a bit higher so reduced them a little. While I waited for the Golf to cool, Simon Reeves invited me for a paxlap in his Scooby.
I then returned the compliment. Unfortunately, this lap was a little more entertaining than planned. The A539 tyres are a good balance of grip, wear and cost, but they are very sensitive to pressure. I'd obviously let out too much air, as they were sliding more than usual, and at the exit of Hatzenbach 2 (the approach to Hocheichen), the fronts slid a looooong way. So much so that the outside tyres ran up onto the chocolate block at the exit. When I steered back onto the track, the rear stepped out onto the dirt. This was not ideal ... I managed to keep my foot planted on the gas, and then carried out a series of corrections and over-corrections as we headed towards Hocheichen. I think it was a total of four quite significant waggles before I managed to gather it back together. Simon managed a laconic 'Well held' rather than voicing any less charitable thoughts he may have had. :-) I went down to the Ed Tankstelle and put the pressures back where they were! One of the Rent-Racecar BMWs broke down on the approach to Bergwerk. This was to cause a slightly entertaining moment later ...
I was intending to ask for a paxlap in this Dutch Lambo on the basis that he's here quite often and still in one piece, but didn't manage to spot him in the car-park:
Glenn came over to tell me Frank was there with the Caterham, so I went to find him. I hopped in first for a paxlap. We were both wearing open-face helmets, and along Flugplatz I could feel my face being pulled by the slipstream, so decided this would make a good photo-opp:
Frank may forgive me, in time ... We had only three minutes to swap seats, Glenn helpfully doing a countdown for us. I was still doing up my harness and adjusting the mirror as we came through the barrier about 30 seconds before last entry. Glenn was looking after my camera, and tried to use it to take a photo of me heading out. In fact he had the camera in video mode, but one frame-grab later:
Todd got the photo of the return:
It's always hard to get a decent impression of an unfamiliar car in a single lap, but first impressions were extremely good. The handling is, as always with Caterhams, totally go-kart-like. Incredibly direct steering, loads of grip from the Avon tyres, fantastic feedback - a real delight. Someone was flagging at Laudalinks, on the approach to Bergwerk. I knew the Rent-Racecar Beemer was broken down there, so no problem. I slowed for that, then powered into the bend. To find a crashed bike at the outside. Fortunately lift-off oversteer wasn't a problem at my reduced entry-speed. The 1.6-litre engine could still use a little more power up Kesselchen, but then that's true of any car with less than about 260bhp. The speedo, which I suspect was somewhat optimistic, was reading just under 120mph on the approach to Angstkurve. The 6-speed gearbox is very slick, though I always struggle a little with 6-speeds to figure out what gear I should be in. In a 5-speed, it's obvious - most bends are 3rd or 4th, moving up into 5th on the faster sections. With the 6-speed, it wasn't always obvious whether to select 3rd or 4th, or 4th or 5th, but that's something you'd soon suss out with a bit more seat-time. The tyres are quite sticky:
I'm definitely looking forward to driving her for a full session. Glenn decided to put the car to a tough test: could a 6'4"-and-a-bit guy fit into the car?
The answer was yes, though it did look rather comic:
Add a helmet, and his head would be a good foot above the rollcage ... Todd was cruel and shot a video of the process. Which was fair enough, as when I thought Glenn was taking a photo of me exiting the car, he was actually (and this time deliberately) shooting a video. It was a lovely evening, so we sat outside at the Ringhaus.
Power for my laptop was arranged:
And Frank suggested a BBQ, which went down well:
Glenn and Astrid had to get to Stuttgart, so said their farewells and headed off. They had managed to arrange with Hertz to swap their Jeep for a Beemer 1-series when they got there. Glenn was originally contemplating using Googlemaps via GPRS with a Bluetooth antenna for navigation. Fortunately, he did the sums first. When roaming, you pay a pretty high fee per kilobyte. A googlemap is 300k, and when using it as a GPS it refreshes every 15 seconds. Nurburg to Stuttgart is 4.5 hours, so he calculated that the GPRS bill for that journey would be ... €5000! And that was Friday. And tomorrow I would be in a rather lower-powered vehicle ... Saturday
Most days at the Ring, I'm delighted to walke up to clear blue skies and high temperatures. I was rather less keen today ... When I vaguely toyed with an ambition to cycle two laps on the basis that I've done one before and survived, I neglected to factor in the fact that last time was at 10pm and therefore cool. Cool enough, in fact, to need a fleece jacket. By the time we set off today, it was noon and 28C! I'd bought some shorts with me, but had dieted since I last wore them and they are now about two sizes too big - ooops! Drove down to the F1 circuit in the CCar, briefly met René Graff in the registration area, and collected my number. I was collecting my rental bike from Radsport Breuer, who were in pit garage 16:
I'd asked for a road bike as the Ring is hard work with the fat knobbly low-pressure tyres of a mountain-bike, and it was there waiting for me:
Unforunately the maximum saddle height was about two inches too short for me, so it was going to be rather uncomfortable. However, Rassport Breuer offered great service by Martin arranging for one of their team to nip back to the shop in Adenauer to get me a replacement bike. This was a semi-mountain bike, with fat, low-pressure tyres ... but fitted me. To get to the start, we rode around the Veedol-S and Coca Cola Kurve to get to the straight.
That's a lot of bikes:
It's midday in August. It's 28C. We're about to cycle 13 miles and 1000 feet of elevation. There are a lot of certifiable people here today, it seems. And then we were off! Unlike my previous nighttime lap, we had to do the full GP circuit first.
Then we were on to the Nordschleife. The nice, friendly, downhill part. Hocheichen:
Just a short uphill bit at Quiddlebacher-Hohe before the downhill run along Flugplatz and Schwedenkreuz:
I knew from experience last time that if you threw caution to the wind and went full-blat down Fuchsrohre, you could free-wheel up the far side. There was a radar speed display at the top of Fuchsrohre, and my speed was already 57kph by then. Shame they didn't put it at the bottom - you really pick up some speed down there. I can, at least, say that I've done Fuchsrohre flat. Then the brief uphill entry to AF:
And then it's downhill again to Metzgesfeld, briefly uphill at the exit and downhill through Kallenhard - which is even scarier on a bike than it is in a car. Miss-Hit-Miss was lovely, then down towards Wehrseifen.
I again knew I wanted to carry as much speed as possible through Breidscheid in order to tackle the vertical face that is Ex-Muhle on a bicycle. It didn't do me much good, the bike slowing to a crawl about a tenth of the way up. I wasn't the only one taking a breather at the top:
Some were still managing to smile:
But really, we tend to think of Breidscheid as halfway round, and so far my total time, including the GP circuit and a few quick photo-stops, is just 12 minutes. What's all the fuss about, eh? As we cycled downhill into Bergwerk, I was trying to put the K-word from my mind, but there it was. Obviously, I would normally have cycled Kesselchen non-stop, but I was obliged to stop for photos on the way. I have my public to think of, you know.
A small patch of shade at the 12km mark (shortly before the S-bend leading to Angstkurve) proved a popular rest point:
It was clear that my trip report could not be complete without showing the view from the shade:
That section really is steep. Another photo opp beckoned at the exit to the S-bend:
And then it was Angstkuve. Which is bastard steep:
An increasing number of people were resorting to walking:
The more serious-looking cyclists (like this guy with the Camel pack drinks system) were of course showing no such signs of slacking:
Time to get out of the saddle:
Just around the bend, there was a tiny bit more shade. I felt you'd want to know what it looked like:
Those without such important photographic duties were able to keep going:
Some of them even managing a smile:
There were quite a few more engine-failures at the exit to Angstkurve:
The Karussell was still closed for repairs. I'm not sure that we needed quite as much notice of it as the cars:
Steilstreke was another popular rest-point (again, my interest was purely photographic):
Then it was time for the steep climb up to the Karussell:
Some having sufficient energy for a wave:
And others a smile, though possibly only at the strange sight of someone crouched in the Karussell:
Then time for the steepest section of all: from the Karussell to the top of Hohe Acht:
The photographers were out in force here:
Due to the extremely high altitude, and the UV distortion this can cause with camera sensors, it is possible that the photo she took of me will have a lateral shift, almost making it look as if I were to one side of the bike. There was a very, very welcome refreshment point just at the exit to Hohe Acht, entry to Hedwigs-Hohe.
The most welcome part of all were the drinks:
Though there were also some high-energy snacks:
Then back to work. Wippermann is lovely, and again my aim was to make as much speed as possible down here for the uphill exit, which worked well, then down past Brunnchen (also downhill) and briefly uphill to Eiskurve:
But with the downhill to Pflanzgarten 1 beckoning:
A brief uphill to Planzgarten II, then maximum bravery to carry as much speed as possible into Schwalbenzschwanz. It's amazing how brave one can be with such motivation.
A surprising number of people went around the outside of the Kleiner-Karussell. I went through it.
Your momentum runs out by the exit, though, so no help with the uphill approach to Galgenkopf:
On the last section, Carla came along:
Usually, the gantry isn't necessarily the most welcome sight, signifying a temporary end to the fun, but on this occasion the downhill slope to, and beyond, it was an extremely pleasant one.
The uphill slope arrives shortly before the car-park:
So I'm not sure they needed to worry about out-of-control cyclists crashing here:
After the bridge, it's downhill briefly, then uphill much earlier than you'd imagine from driving it:
The schicane approaching T13 is also uphill:
And then the most welcome sight of all!
Phew!
I was naturally all set to do a second lap, but remembered just in time that Frank and Galina were expecting me at the Ringhaus for the official launch of the Caterham. I contained my disappointment as best I could. Some numbers ... A quick shower and change of clothes, then another BBQ:
Sitting around a car - it's a Boy Thing. Brigitte texted me to say that she'd booked a massage for me for 8pm. No, this wasn't at the Cherie Bar - while I am sure the staff there are skilled at relieving tension, I needed a massage not a 'massage'. Nipped down to TTE for that (they have access to a spare room there), then an enjoyable chat with Marc (back at work) and Brigitte. Left the CCar there and brough the Smart back to the Ringhaus, to find the Caterham launch party in full swing. It's a smart move by both Frank and Caterham. It's a small step from sitting in the car (as everyone did) to hiring it, and a small step from driving a Caterham to wanting one. And that was Saturday. I may have recovered enough, and forgotten enough, to consider it again next year ... SundayNot much to report today - mostly lots of photos. The 24H bike races were continuing until 11.30am, so went out in the morning to take some more photos. One advantage of the Smart is that you can park it anywhere:
I parked at Pflanzgarten 1 and then walked back up the track to Wippermann and back, taking photos as I went.
The loneliness of the long-distance cyclist:
I had a bash at some panning shots, with varying degrees of success, mostly as the 35-70mm lens meant I had to be close, so the panning movement was rather rapid:
The snapper snapped:
And this chap had clearly heard about my two-hour lap yesterday:
Watched the F1 with Mick and Kin (who were here for the BMW Club training) in Adenau and then out again to take some photos of the runners. If the cyclists are certifiable, I have no idea how to describe anyone who would think a pleasant way to pass a Sunday afternoon is to run around the Ring.
The organisers were prepared for minor emergencies:
As well as really serious ones:
Then back to Hahn, this time without collecting any speeding tickets en-route. Perhaps next time I'd better ask Sixti for a less powerful car ... |
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