8:48 pm, October 14, 2013
OH how we laughed as we made some ‘light modifications’ to Spidersnet’s car last night.
Naturally it was our revenge for them pelting stale brownies at our precious Omega at 102mph yesterday, and loosening their car’s vinyl wrap while it sat in the hotel’s car park was more than reasonable.
But as we went to our car this morning we discovered it to be covered in shower gel, mince pies and candy canes – the pranks were really on.
Fighting our way through Stuttgart traffic with shower gel on the windscreen began the day nicely – we had four hours of autobahn bashing ahead of us to trek north to the Nurburgring.
Progress today was super – the Omega soaking up the miles with aplomb. A wheel bearing – or three – is starting to take an effect on the Omega’s ride quality, but overall the big Vauxhall is as barge-like as you’d ever want it to be.
Some 15 miles away from the Nurburgring though, and our progress came to a sudden halt. A massive lorry crash had closed the whole autobahn meaning the normally well-organised Germans lunged for the motorway’s exit in a fashion that resembled a primary school’s fire drill. Complete chaos. It was so bad for one fraulein that she had to stop on the hard shoulder and empty her bladder in full sight of other road users. I was naturally horrified at such an exposure; Duncan less so.
Within a few miles of leaving the motorway and the fast, flowing roads turned distinctly Nurburgring-like. Tall pines at the road side, their upper-most branches puncturing low clouds and a distant chill in the air. But before I had time to dwell on the atmosphere, flashes of the Nurburgring Nordschleife’s famous corners came into view and it was then the excitement began.
You can pull up at the side of the road and walk straight up to the catch fencing and be within sniffing distance of the legendary Tarmac – Tarmac that smothers 187 corners and has claimed nearly 300 lives.
Car manufacturers love the Nordschleife. We caught a glimpse of forthcoming prototypes from BMW, Lexus and Volvo pounding the local roads around the track, obviously after spending a day of Green Hell-bashing.
We loafed around the track and popped into the Grand Prix circuit, and it was here that Sophie spotted a sign for a ‘Rent a car around the ‘Ring’. One look at the impending storm ruled out the idea of attacking the fabled asphalt for me, but not Sophie. She dutifully handed over 99 euros for the chance to drive one lap in a track prepped Suzuki Swift Sport.
She’ll tell you how she did further down this post, but I can’t say I regretted not going on the track. While the weather was just how you envisage the Nurburgring Nordschleife to be, I valued my life a little more.
Tomorrow we head back home – here’s to a safe trip.
Sophie’s blog
HAVING arrived at Nurburg, it was beginning to sink in that I would finally be visiting one of the world’s most iconic and challenging racing circuits, where even the most talented of drivers can get caught out.
Even before we reached the Nurburgring itself, we were like three school kids on a day out, eager to reach our destination, which was fuelled by the fact we could spot parts of the circuit as we made our way up through the hills in our Omega.
The Bangers4BEN group had reached the final checkpoint and we headed into the visitor centre to collect out grandstand tickets. But while some of us weren’t up for a Nurburgring experience, I most certainly was. After all, when would I next have the opportunity to get out there?
Along with a few others, Batch and Duncan drove me down to the Rent Race Car centre, where I could fill in the form and agree to pay an excess of £2,000 if I smashed up the Suzuki Swift Sport during my one lap run – so I signed it and paid the 99 euros to hire the car.
Luckily, I managed to grab a passenger ride with Laura from Spidersnet in a Volkswagen Scirocco, which gave me the opportunity to learn the track a little before I headed out on my hot lap; the only other time I’ve driven the Nurburgring is on my PS3 playing GT5.
The track was wet, greasy and as it started to get dark, it was misty too. Before I even set off, I told myself I wasn’t going to get too excited. But that never happens, does it? The sheer variety of cambers on each of the circuit’s 187 corners meant each turn of the steering wheel to clip the apex was extremely satisfying, and when I did get a chance to glimpse at the speedo, I reached 180 kph in my little Swift Sport on the final back straight. I have to say, the Karussell is just as much fun as it looks on the television.
I’m still smiling now and probably won’t stop talking about my one lap wonder for another week or so.
