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General => General discussion => Topic started by: passant on 26 February 2014, 13:05

Title: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: passant on 26 February 2014, 13:05
SO the time has come .... We're going to the nurburgring on the 1st May 2014 ( Bank holiday weekend ) Travelling from Wigan ( Near Manchester ) and I'm looking for the best route ... Thinking of getting the ferry considering it's only £50 return from Dover, but was wondering if anyone's done it and has any recommendations for us to stop off at on the way down.

Any ideas?!

Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: mcgee9t2 on 26 February 2014, 18:19
when we did it we did Darlington-Hull, grabbed a pub lunch in hull on the evening.

overnight ferry hull - rotterdam (leaves around 7, gets into rotterdam around 8am), few beers on the ferry

rotterdam to nurburg (took till about 12 with a few stops for petrol and macdonalds breakfasts etc.)

two days at the ring

back to rotterdam, night out in rotterdam, hen spent the next day walking around a zoo hungover to kill the day (was actually quite good, was huge, everyone enjoyed it, but of a weird end to a weekend of cars, steak, booze and birds but hey ho...)

overnight ferry home to hull (left rotterdam around 8pm and got to hull around 8am)

then drove home from hull



in my opinion best way, ferrys always a laugh, same ferrys that go to amsterdam so have little "nightclubs" and casinos and people wanting to get pissed on so always good for a few drinks, just dont get too carried away and have a skin full.... plaine would be quicker, but more expensive and in my opinion more boring..
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: passant on 26 February 2014, 21:22
when we did it we did Darlington-Hull, grabbed a pub lunch in hull on the evening.

overnight ferry hull - rotterdam (leaves around 7, gets into rotterdam around 8am), few beers on the ferry

rotterdam to nurburg (took till about 12 with a few stops for petrol and macdonalds breakfasts etc.)

two days at the ring

back to rotterdam, night out in rotterdam, hen spent the next day walking around a zoo hungover to kill the day (was actually quite good, was huge, everyone enjoyed it, but of a weird end to a weekend of cars, steak, booze and birds but hey ho...)

overnight ferry home to hull (left rotterdam around 8pm and got to hull around 8am)

then drove home from hull



in my opinion best way, ferrys always a laugh, same ferrys that go to amsterdam so have little "nightclubs" and casinos and people wanting to get pissed on so always good for a few drinks, just dont get too carried away and have a skin full.... plaine would be quicker, but more expensive and in my opinion more boring..

That sounds EXCELLENT! if you don't mind me asking how much did the ferry cost, and how much was it per lap, I'm sure its like £20 a lap isn't it?

Is there much nightlife / entertainment around the track ?! I imagine during the day whilst letting the brakes cool down you can spectate and theres other stuff going on isn't there?
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: VW BUSH on 26 February 2014, 22:12

I've used this place before, there is a set of Sherman tracks melted into the road :shocked:
Its a few miles from the ring but the roads through the park are something else.
http://www.kallbach.de/
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: mcgee9t2 on 26 February 2014, 22:49
think it was around 80/90 quid for the ferry return or something like that, then the cost of hotels fuel etc on top. everyone spent between 350-500 quid there but could be done on sub 300 if you tried ( a large amount of our spends was on the night out).

as for things to do in the day theres not really much there, theres quite a large grassy area so could always have a kick around with the lads, a bbq in the sun etc. plenty of places to go spectate people on the track, theres a little café there to go grab a coffe or a beer and a burger.theres the nurburgring museum which is pretty good (you also get a free 15 mins gokarting with entry to the ring which was good (obvious who would've won in our group as one of the lads that went raced in the british karting championship and now races formula fords).


youl find things to keep you busy. don't try plan it, just plan the ferry and where your staying. have a chil weekend. do a few laps of the ring, have a few beers on the night with the lads. just see what happens and youll have a good time.


iirc it was around 20euro a lap.
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: Diamond Hell on 27 February 2014, 10:11
Have you checked your insurance?

£10 says you don't have any cover on the 'ring.

Best advice is don't take your car on track.  Go to Rent4Ring and hire a Suzuki Swift:

https://www.facebook.com/rent4ring

Seriously - you won't have insurance and if you hit anyone/anyone hits you you're heading for a world of pain.  Your insurer will settle the claim and come after the cost of it through the courts.

Alternatively go do a track day out there, which will be much safer.  Destination Nurburgring 10 is on 2-3rd July.

Unfortunately you're turning up about a decade too late for this party.

For accommodation get in contact with Bren at Sliders Guesthouse - great place to stay, or Martin Bird at the Burgstube if you want to be by the track.

When you're there, get a large scale map.  Go spectate at Brunnchen and you can walk up to the Karussell from there, too.  There's also a good spectator point at Ex-Muhle at the top of Adenau.  If you have the legs for a walk, drive up to Wimbach and walk to Adenaur Forst.

If you're going to drive it, spend a day spectating around the track first, so you have some idea of what you're letting yourself in for, without any insurance....
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: mcgee9t2 on 27 February 2014, 10:39
i agree with the above regarding insurance.

remember that 99% of track insurance isnt valid as its a public road... would be like me getting track insurance to drive at croft and thinking i can drive the car to the circuit on the insurance...


i was thinking of going again in the next year or so, if i do i will be going on a proper track day so that track insurance is valid, if i dont go on a track day i will be using one of the rental cars.

also agree on going to spectate up at Brunnchen.

theres another spot cant remember what its called but its pretty local to there thats good for spectating, however, dont do what a few people i saw were doing and go stand on the other side of the armco to get a better view. lets just say the people on the right side of the armco sh!t them selfs when a car came within inches of the barriers, i dread to think what the state of the underwear of the people on the wrong side of the armco was....
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: Diamond Hell on 27 February 2014, 10:44
That would probably be Pflanzgarten, towards 'the jump'.  This is the opposite way to the Karussell.

To get to the Karussell, walk down into the dip on one side of the car park, walk under the track, through the tunnel and bear right, up the hill.  Keep walking up this track, then down the other side of the track (alongside the rise to Hohe Acht) and you'll come to the Karussell.  The advertising hoarding can be climbed for a really good look across the Karussell and down through Klosteral.

Don't bother climbing up to Wipperman, you can't see sh*t and you'll be right next to the track and the marshals will spazz out at you if you're spotted.
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: passant on 27 February 2014, 17:40
Have you checked your insurance?

£10 says you don't have any cover on the 'ring.

Best advice is don't take your car on track.  Go to Rent4Ring and hire a Suzuki Swift:

https://www.facebook.com/rent4ring

Seriously - you won't have insurance and if you hit anyone/anyone hits you you're heading for a world of pain.  Your insurer will settle the claim and come after the cost of it through the courts.

Alternatively go do a track day out there, which will be much safer.  Destination Nurburgring 10 is on 2-3rd July.

Unfortunately you're turning up about a decade too late for this party.

For accommodation get in contact with Bren at Sliders Guesthouse - great place to stay, or Martin Bird at the Burgstube if you want to be by the track.

When you're there, get a large scale map.  Go spectate at Brunnchen and you can walk up to the Karussell from there, too.  There's also a good spectator point at Ex-Muhle at the top of Adenau.  If you have the legs for a walk, drive up to Wimbach and walk to Adenaur Forst.

If you're going to drive it, spend a day spectating around the track first, so you have some idea of what you're letting yourself in for, without any insurance....

We've bought a car especially for it so if we crash we aren't to bothered about it, I was thinking more Nurburgring insurance incase we hit anything or crash on the track!?

think it was around 80/90 quid for the ferry return or something like that, then the cost of hotels fuel etc on top. everyone spent between 350-500 quid there but could be done on sub 300 if you tried ( a large amount of our spends was on the night out).

as for things to do in the day theres not really much there, theres quite a large grassy area so could always have a kick around with the lads, a bbq in the sun etc. plenty of places to go spectate people on the track, theres a little café there to go grab a coffe or a beer and a burger.theres the nurburgring museum which is pretty good (you also get a free 15 mins gokarting with entry to the ring which was good (obvious who would've won in our group as one of the lads that went raced in the british karting championship and now races formula fords).


youl find things to keep you busy. don't try plan it, just plan the ferry and where your staying. have a chil weekend. do a few laps of the ring, have a few beers on the night with the lads. just see what happens and youll have a good time.


iirc it was around 20euro a lap.

Yeah I'm just thinking of things to do whilst we are out there, not gonna plan anything just gonna do it, that ferry was £250 for the dates we wanted, so we are gonna do the drive down to dover and then get the ferry to calais, but if we are bored, might transfer and get a ferry from Rotterdam on the way back!

Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: Diamond Hell on 28 February 2014, 11:32
We've bought a car especially for it so if we crash we aren't to bothered about it, I was thinking more Nurburgring insurance incase we hit anything or crash on the track!?

You haven't done your homework, have you?

You can't get 'Nurburgring insurance'.  It's a public road, but it is specifically excluded in virtually all UK insurance policies.

Never mind your junker, if you have an off here is the sort of bill you will be presented with for barrier damage:

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n115/sim16v/Nurburgring%2007/scan0001.jpg)

And you won't be covered if a 991 GT3 comes through and spins on your dropped fluids and smashes into a couple of hundred metres of armco.

And you won't be covered for that German biker on a Ducati, who you side-swipe as some part of the shagged car you've taken out there lets go, which breaks his back and paralyses him.  His insurance company will then sue you for the next 20 years of lost earnings and life-time care.

Now, I don't want to be too much of a killjoy, but it's important you realise what you're getting yourself in to - you're putting yourself in a position where you could lose your house.

Do a track day instead.  That way you're only liable for the barrier costs if you have an off. 

Seriously: first time on the track, in these legal conditions: don't do it.  Any car I've taken there I've been hugely confident on the mechanical condition of them and even then we wound up like this on one trip when the control arm bushes failed:

(http://diamondhell.com/images/rsgallery/original/IMG_0308.jpg)
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: Steve_PD on 28 February 2014, 12:36
^^^ This man speaks sense having been the ring with him, do not under estimate it or more importantly other people on track.

DH that wasn't the Radicals bill was it?...... :lipsrsealed:
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: mcgee9t2 on 28 February 2014, 12:51
yep agreed with dh.

as iv said, track insurance doesent cover you cause its a public road (unless your doing a track day), and normal insurance doesent cover you 99% of the time cause the nurburgring is written out of your insurance.

there was a german temp insurer (not sure if there still around or if there policies have changed) however as part of there temp insurance it covered you on the ring on a normal tourist day. not sure how much cover you had like.


and as said, if you crash the cost of the car is the least of your worries, even if you dent a 1m peice of the armco, you still have to replace a whole length (around 10m iirc) and at somthing like £60 a peice + fittings + installation etc. (baring in mind that pretty much the whole way around the armco is 5 peices high, so if you dint a 1m peice chances are your going to be replacing 5x10m peices at £60 odd a pop). then if you need recovering its a stupid price (circa£300), and if you need recovering they shut the track and you get charged for each min the track is shut.

so even if you come off the track, gently bump a peice of armco and damage the steering rack meaning you need recovering, chances are your bill is going to be >>£1000.


hopefully you will be ok, when we were there there was only 1 crash in 2 days (although quite bad, fliped the car a few times and bounced over the armco (actually bounced over it so he didnt have to replace any armco...)) but that shut the track for 2 hours so he proberbly still got a large bill...

either way enjoy it
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: Diamond Hell on 28 February 2014, 13:03
DH that wasn't the Radicals bill was it?......

No.  That's one from a few years back from someone else.  Never saw *that* bill.  Thank f*ck.
Title: Re: Nurburgring ROAD TRIP!
Post by: JC on 28 February 2014, 18:22
I can highly recommend taking clean pants on the day.  :huh:

I got some right chaffing going commando after our lickle " incident "  :whistle:

 :sick: