Just thought i'd post some pics of my nurburgring trip last week and some of the cars/things i spotted at and around the ring
My car averaged 21.2mpg for the whole Journey, i covered 1625 miles in the week as i drove down to folkstone to get the train and we went for days out to various places close by (Koblenz, Cochem, Cologne etc) not too bad considering the autobahn speeds.
As it was my first time at the Nurburgring i decided to take it easy and not get too carried away, so i resisted the urge to fit semi slicks and left the car on road tyres (MPSS)
The Autobahns are great, a real refreshing breath from UK roads but even so they where still pretty busy and i only managed 182mph before having to brake hard despite many attempts, there was definately more left in the car though!
So, the whole reason for the trip. The Nurburgring is immense, the undulations/speeds/variance of corners/camber are great but what really took me by suprise is the elevation changes, no video or game seems to show that.
First lap, took it easy as the girlfriend was in the car, i found the track pretty forgiving with plenty of clear parts you can see its safe to accelerate hard. you need to be aware of the tight corners that sneak up on you though and due to my lack of expreiance at the ring i was stabbing at the brakes in lots of places i really didnt need to, still i made it round in one piece doing a 9mins 32sec despite the brakes not being very happy!
Video of me going past at 2.44 here:
http://youtu.be/ayePH65kB5E
Second lap, slighty quicker and slightly better ideal where i was going, but still lots of unnecessary braking and letting of the throttle with plenty of traffic. 9mins 26secs. Brakes still not happy but alittle better due to less unnecessary braking.
Third lap, Quicker again but still so much to learn about the circuit, got held up lots and started to get frustrated at the people who don't use there mirrors! 2x accidents also slowed me down, starting to see how impossible it is to get a clear lap! Brakes where much happier this time, but still over using them. 9mins 20secs.
Forth lap, I thought this was my fastest lap but due to traffic it was not. The car felt its best on this lap and it wasnt too hot for the tyres, the brakes also felt spot on as i tried to brake less aggressively to keep the girlfriend happy.
I was pretty gutted about being held up on this one! Still it yielded a 9mins 2secs lap.
Fifth lap, the tyres are a great all round tyre, but on the last day it was very hot and they where struggling with the heat, couple that with being held up a few times (slower cars and accidients) and my last lap was far from where i'd hoped it would be. I told myself anything under 10mins and i'd go home happy with a intact car, we all know you all wish for more though so i was dissapointed with my last lap(fifth) of 8mins 55secs.
Video of that lap here:
http://youtu.be/m5Q1H2diwbg
I may try some better brakes and cup tyres next time i visit, but one thing is for sure, there will definately be another visit there!
Pics
Pistenklause:
Nurburgring Museum:
A few pics of the other cars/things i spotted at and around the ring.
This chap had a spin but luckily didn't hit anything
