andylaurence
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Everything posted by andylaurence
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Harnesses or CG Lock? Neither for either! Harnesses will effectively render the rear seats useless as they have to mount in that area. It'd be possible to retain the centre lap belt, if you wanted. You wouldn't normally put harnesses in a 4 seat daily driver though.
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The roads are fine now. I was over at the end of August and all the roadworks were done. Car park to entrance = 5 minutes. However, the main road from the E42 to Nurburg is being resurfaced. A good 10-15km of newly resurfaced road, now made one-way for the resurfacing works, with cones down the middle every 10 metres. It was a good course they'd unwittingly set out!
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It doesn't cost more for an extra tent, so unless you're desperate to sleep with Chris, you can take your own!
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When you're sat in the car park for two hours or there's a traffic jam all the way into Nurburg, you'll care. More importantly, I'm just keen to get all of us home safely. We'll have a great time with a great bunch of people but one person binning it will ruin the trip, so I'm keen it doesn't happen.
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That guy was just plain unlucky. Other people, you can tell they're going home on a flat-bed before they have any idea.
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Being aware of the dangers puts you in a better place to avoid them. That's all I'm trying to say. As for not thinnking about it, you will definitely see some bent metal whilst you're there, so there will be no sticking your head in the sand!
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It's all about minimising risk. Those that've been there before know what it's like but not knowing some of the new people, I feel it's a good idea to point out that the 'Ring can (and does) bite. You only need to stand at the entrance for an hour to see the mess that gets brought back in on a flat-bed and know that it's not hard to have a crash. Just ask the people who've crashed on previous VR6OC trips...
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Sorry about that! At least you didn't have to worry about going the right way. I'd like to bring the Mk2 back out again but not sure how to get it there. It's a lot faster than it was this Easter with the new engine and it'll be a lot lighter in a few weeks...
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Yeah, I realise that nobody is silly enough to drink and drive on track. I was suggesting that it's worth moderating your drinking the night before if you plan on being on track the next day. You know as well as I do that a heavy night will result in you being a little sub-par the following day. If it's busy and there's a load of idiots on track, you need to be on the ball. Perhaps I'm going too safety-conscious these days!
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If I'm there, sure. Not sure what car it'll be as I'll be taking the wife and baby, so the track slag isn't suitable! Might be a rental. Who knows! As for the drinking beer thing, remember that beer + Nurburgring doesn't mix. I know I'm a killjoy but there's too much going on there for someone with a fuzzy head!
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You go onto the track half way along the Dottinger Hohe straight. You can see the entrance and car park on Google Maps.
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LOL! I remember sticking track maps in my car when I first started AutoSolo. I never looked at them. If you've got enough time to read the map, then you're not going fast enough to need it!
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If you go fast into a blind, tightening bend, you'll have a proper sphincter-clencher! Just remember that things are not always as they seem at the 'Ring. Other trackdays I've done in the UK are much easier to spot braking points, turn-in points and apices. If I make it, I'm more than happy to share what I know about the track, which isn't much, TBH! Watch some on-board video and do a few laps on the XBox to know whether the next corner is a right or a left, then just drive safely.
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If you don't want to take your car round or you want a better handling/faster car, then yes. There's loads of options. RSR Nurburg are only a few yards from the entrance and can do you anything from a dead cheap Alfa 75 to a Porsche 911 GT3RS. Rent4ring have a fleet of Suzuki Swifts that handle very well and are very drivable. Underpowered, of course. Rent Racecar are based a few KM down the road and are the people I rented a Golf GTi from. Personally, I'd look at an Alfa 75 for cheap stuff or a Clio Cup/Megane R26.R from RSR for a bit more wonga. The lads at RSR are a good bunch and he
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If you don't trust your driving enough to go out and not crash, then stay in the car park. Seriously. We've had enough accidents over the past few years, we don't need another. Drive it like a country lane - there's blind crests with corners hiding behind them and corners that tighten when you think they're opening up. If you try to attack the track, you have a good chance of crashing and that will cost money. Ask those of us with experience of the costs of being attended to...
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Burgstube is great. Beer on tap and a good breakfast. It's only a few yards from the entrance, too. It's certainly not walkable from the campsite though. Definitely a drive. The Dorint is the closest hotel to the campsite, I think. It's a little pricier, though!
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When we went to Reims, we didn't have long. We had 24 hours to get to Slovenia and our overnight stop was in Strasbourg. That's quite a drive. We literally stopped for half an hour to drive around the remains of the track and get half a dozen photos. It's right next to the Autoroute, so it'd be rude not to stop! Next time, I'll be sure to make more of the region...
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2009 photos: Ben Warren
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70mph is a bit of a task but 56mph isn't and that's what I normally average. Last time, for the first time ever, I didn't get lost at the Brussels Ring Road. Yay! As for Reims, I've only been there once, but it's fascinating. The track stops instantly as you go round a corner though - straight into a field! The pit lane and grandstand is so surreal. There's a campsite behind for those who fancy it. I'm thinking about Reims > Dijon > Magny Cours > Clermont Ferrand > Val de Vienne > Le Mans > Rouen as a nice trip. Most of it sight-seeing, but there's room for a track day
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I don't think we broke the speed limit. We certainly were not driving quickly on the way there. It's about 280 miles, which is 4 hours @70mph. The 08:00 ferry gets us on the road at ~11:00, which makes a 5 hour journey quite easy. If you don't want to drive on Friday, there's always the option of stopping at Spa en-route. If you go the E42 route, you go right past it. Reims is a great place to stop too, but might be just a little too much of a detour - it's 400 miles and nearly all in Le France! If anyone fancies doing a road trip to some legendary European tracks, I'll be doing a tour n
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Some of us didn't get lost this year and I think we did a lap on the Friday too! We normally arrive at 16:00ish and the track is usually open late on Good Friday.
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There will be a Laurence Family outing to the 'Ring next year. I was planning to do it over the Summer, when it's hotter, the baby is older and I'm less tired. I'm torn, though. Obviously, we won't be going in the Mk2 as there's no space for a baby seat, so I'll need to rent a car or find someone to drive the Mk2 over! I was planning another road trip, incorporating several tracks around Europe. Last month, we did Reims, Hungaroring, Nuerburgring and Spa.
