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The Nordschleife, adjoining the Grand Prix circuit, is a 22 kilometer, 173-corner, rollercoaster ride of dips, crests, bumps and extremely fast blind corners with no margin for error whatsoever
The GreenHell visited
If you saw our January 2008 issue, you may have noticed our lead story for the New Year. Just to refresh your memory, it listed 8 aroundthe-world destinations to visit if you have even a hint of petrol in your veins. Number one on that list was the Nurburgring Nordschleife (North Loop). We attempted to make the trip ourselves last year, but fate intervened and the plan got thwarted at the last minute courtesy of a missing passport. Thankfully, there were no such complications this year – so here’s what you need to know first hand.
The
Text: Dhruv Behl Images: Chandrika Jain 24
The ‘North Loop’ of the Nurburgring encircles the Nurburg castle in the Eifel mountains of Germany
Statue of racing legend, 5-time F1 world champion, Juan Manuel Fangio, outside the merchandise shop at the Grand Prix circuit – identical to the one at Monza
track
At the risk of using one too many superlatives, the Nurburgring Nordschleife is absolutely the most demanding and ultimate stretch of 22 kilometers on the planet. As you may have rightly noted, that’s an unscientific observation to say the least. Nevertheless, I’m willing to challenge anyone to prove otherwise. The Nordschleife, adjoining the Grand Prix circuit, is a 173-corner rollercoaster ride of dips, crests, bumps and extremely fast blind corners with no margin for error whatsoever. It’s unlike any other racetrack in existence today, and is a Mecca for any car enthusiast who relishes being challenged behind the wheel. It also has a reputation for being one of the most fearsome pieces of road in
the world. Three-time former Formula 1 champion, and legend of the sport, Sir Jackie Stewart, is the man who christened the Nurburgring the ‘Green Hell.’ He may have won a number of races there, but once exclaimed that if he were ever to go around the track slowly, and in doing so notice the real dangers it posed, he would never have raced there again. The ‘Ring’ is also the site of the near fatal accident of another three-time world champion – Niki Lauda. His fiery crash meant that 1976 was the last time an F1 car would go around the Ring in anger. The Ring is generally closed during the winter months, but open to the public for the majority of the year – mostly on (very busy) weekends known as ‘tourist days.’ Thanks to the diverse range of challenges
thrown up by the track, which make it ideally suited to highlight the dynamic shortcomings of any car, the Ring is largely used by various manufacturers as a test track – certainly any new car that’s launched these days with even the slightest sporting pretensions will undoubtedly be tested at the Ring. In fact, it’s even caused a battle for unofficial lap times. The Nissan GT-R, launched earlier this year, upstaged the Porsche 911 GT2 by setting a lap time of 7 minutes 29 seconds – making it one of the fastest production cars to go around the Ring. Porsche didn’t take kindly to that news, and bought a GT-R to verify the claim. Needless to say, they couldn’t match Nissan’s time, and in turn questioned whether the GT-R was actually in production trim.
By the looks of it, Porsche and BMW seem to be the staple diet at the Ring. And these weren’t just standard Porsche’s and BMW’s either – the majority were the best of the breed 911 GT3 RS’s and M3 CSL’s
How to get there The ‘North Loop’ of the Nurburgring covers practically an entire mountainside and encircles the Nurburg castle in the Eifel region of Germany. Construction of the Ring, which took over two years to complete, began in 1925 essentially in an effort to stimulate the local economy and provide work for the residents – it must have been a mammoth task to say the least. The closest major cities to the track are Cologne and Düsseldorf – about 90 and 140 kilometers, respectively, north of the Ring. Frankfurt,
What to drive?
meanwhile, is approximately 120 kilometers in the opposite direction. We flew in and out of Düsseldorf, and rented a car from the airport – the unrestricted sections of the Autobahn being an added bonus. After all, it’s only in a country like Germany, where you still find large sections of unrestricted highways, that you can expect to find a treasure such as the Nurburgring. The North Loop is technically designated as a one-way public toll road. Anyone with a road legal vehicle – car, Just one example of some of the unusual and exotic metal in the parking lot
Technically, on the Ring you’re allowed to drive anything that’s road legal, but you probably want to be slightly fussy in regards to what you actually choose to get behind the wheel of – especially if you’ve made the trip specifically for the purpose of getting out on track. A standard road car will probably give you a sense of the track, but will struggle (especially with the brakes) after more than a handful of laps. By the looks of it, Porsche and BMW seem to be the staple diet at the Ring. And these weren’t just standard Porsche’s and BMW’s either – the majority were the best of the breed 911 GT3 RS’s and M3 CSL’s. Even if you just want to get a sense of the track and feel like your rental will suffice, be warned that most large rental car companies have a ban on using their cars at the Ring, and the insurance coverage will be void if things go pear-shaped on track. Nevertheless, the Ring gets hundreds of visitors from all parts of Europe, and the rest of the world, on practically every weekend. Some bring their own cars, while others rent cars that are available specifically for use at the Ring from various local establishments – referred to as ‘Ring Tools.’ I got lucky and found a Dutchman by the name of JacoVelders, who was lured by the Ring and now lives in the local village of Barweiler. He has several thousand laps of Ring experience under his belt – both as a driver and instructor. Jaco also has a handful of Ring-prepped cars that he rents out, not only for tourist days but also a local racing series named VLN. He was courageous enough, or foolhardy enough (or both), to agree to be seated next to me as I attempted to learn the finer points of driving on the Ring for the first time in his race prepped E36 BMW 325i. 26
My mentor, and courageous co-passenger, for the weekend – Dutchman Jaco Velders
motorcycle, caravan or even bus (yes, tour busses are not an entirely uncommon sight at the Ring) – can pay 21 Euros toll, and test their mettle at the infamous Ring. Like on the Autobahn, certain rules do apply however. For instance, you can’t overtake on the right, and the Police will prosecute dangerous driving. Apparently, there are also some sections of the Ring which have a speed-limit – not that I chose to inquire too much about that of course, and, by the looks of it, neither did anyone else for that matter.
The car had BMW’s silky smooth and bullet proof 2.5 liter inline-six. In race trim, it probably produces about 200 horsepower, which, especially compared with all the Porsche’s, isn’t earth shattering by any stretch. What it does have, however, is a beautifully neutral chassis and rear wheel drive. It also had what felt like the absolute ideal suspension setup for the Ring – not too firm so as to get thrown off-line by the bumps, but stiff enough to keep up with much more exotic metal on the downhill sections. In fact, Jaco refused to divulge the secret behind the suspension – except to say that it’s infinitely adjustable. The fantastic handling meant that it was the perfect tool for my first time at the Ring, but its relative lack of power meant that I’d have to carry as much speed through the corners as possible if I had any chance of reaching my self imposed lap-time target of being under 10 minutes. It was certainly about to get interesting. The Ring-prepped 325i was brilliant on the downhill sections
After all, it’s only in a country like Germany, where you still find large sections of unrestricted highways, that you can expect to find a treasure such as the Nurburgring
How we got on On this particular weekend, the track was open to the public for half the day on Saturday, and the full day on Sunday. We got to the track just as it opened on Saturday afternoon, and bought a 15 lap ticket (235 Euros) in an effort to get as much track time over the course of the dayand-a-half that lay ahead of us. Before we actually started, I fooled myself into believing that I wasn’t a complete Ring-virgin since I had tried my hand at a very realistic rendering of the North Loop on the Sony Playstation’s GT4 ‘driving simulator.’ It was clear, however, as soon as we got out on track that, while realistic in terms of where the track is going, the game does very little to prepare you for what you’re actually in for once you get behind the wheel – especially the constant camber and elevation changes, not to mention the fact that the blind corners appear to be much more daunting from inside the car. Jaco made it clear that I needed to check my mirrors on a regular basis to lookout for faster traffic coming from behind (of which there was a lot), in which case the procedure is to indicate to the right and allow the car to pass when safe to do so. And, should the opportunity present itself, pass on the left if we happen to approach a car slower than us – suffice to say there wasn’t one, at least initially, since we could best be described as a moving obstacle. Learning a normal racetrack, which is typically a handful of kilometers in length, is possible in as little as 5 laps. But learning the nuances of the Ring, with its 173 corners, can take hundreds of laps at the very least. So you can imagine how difficult it is to get any sense of where the track is going in just a few laps – 28
In the bowl of the famous Karussell — it’s enough to rattle at least a few fillings
especially since I felt compelled to drive what seemed like the entire length of the first lap looking out for faster cars in my rearview mirror. Luckily Jaco was sitting beside me to point the way. The Ring pilgrimage planned last year involved only the renting of a Ring Tool. I can’t imagine how my first time at the Ring would have gone without someone to point out the correct line, not to mention spell out where it’s possible to carry more speed and vice versa. My hunch is that it would have meant I probably would have been overly cautious, and wouldn’t have gone fast enough to really get a sense of the track. In this case, Jaco was helpful not only with directions, but also in pushing me to go faster when needed. It’s
The digital track map at the entrance — pointing out a bike accident at a particular corner
Toll barriers at the track entry
only when you’re approaching the limit that you really understand the commitment required to be quick at the Ring. Conversely, of course, if you are in fact approaching the limit and go off-line in the process, there’s a very real likelihood that you’ll end up in the barriers lining the track – there is no run off and no margin for error. On my first lap alone, I saw a couple of cars very firmly ensconced in the Armco. By the third lap, we had picked up a little speed and weren’t being passed quite as often. The challenge now was to trust Jaco’s advice and carry enough speed through the numerous blind corners – most of which were not only blind, but also either reducing radius corners which required a very late turn-in, or double apex corners that required a leap of faith and the absolute right line. What was becoming very clear very quickly, however, was that this was going to be just as much fun as I had imagined – as long as I kept it out of the barriers that is. We only managed 5 laps on Saturday because of more than one track closure over the course of the afternoon – resulting from either severe accidents or a number of accidents at the same time. It’s normally the accidents involving the bikers that can result in injury or worse. To challenge the Ring strapped into a car with metal on all four sides to soften the blow of the Armco is understandable, but to do so on a bike is something I can’t seem to get my head around. Especially since, many a time the biker himself isn’t at fault and is involved in an accident because of oil spilled on the track by a car that’s had a brush with the barriers – in which case the driver of the car can be prosecuted if he’s failed to pull off the track immediately and warn oncoming traffic.
After the track reopened, and the bikers had been asked to stay away for the rest of the day, Jaco decided to do the last lap of the evening to show me what the car, in the hands of a Ring veteran, can really do. Suffice to say, I went to sleep that night with that vision firmly planted in my mind, and with the single minded focus of waking up the next morning to attempt to emulate that lap to the best of my ability. I was shocked to see the speed you can carry through the corners if you really know your way around the track, especially on the downhill sections where Jaco overtook a few of those 911 GT3’s that had been thus far racing past us – having a balanced car helps of course. The next morning was much better. We got to the track as soon as it opened in the hope of getting a few clear laps and avoiding the long lines that are inevitable on a Sunday. With a little bit of experience from the previous day, and Jaco’s (literally) flying lap, I was able to demonstrate a lot more commitment on track. You have to be very careful, however, to demonstrate restraint at the same time. If you try and force it and push too hard too soon, you will get caught out and crash. Like on any track, but more so at the Ring, you have to ensure that you’re always thinking ahead, and remain smooth, calm and composed throughout the lap. Now that we were actually catching cars ahead of us, there were a few hairy moments when cars right in front spun and made their way into the Armco. On the whole, though, I was finally beginning to find a rhythm, and while you can’t relax for even a second, we seemed to be going consistently faster – to the extent of overtaking a few Porsche’s even with me at the wheel, which was very satisfying indeed. I was also happy that
I hadn’t really made any serious mistakes on track – until then that is.
It’s not just the modern stuff that takes on the Ring
In the first half of the Nordschleife, there’s a chicane (a left-right corner) known as Adenauer Forst, which is notorious for catching out the unwary. I had previously seen videos of this particular corner, and the various mistakes people make – so I knew to be extra careful at this particular point on track. The chicane has a blind entry coming off a very fast undulating section of track. What makes it even harder, though, is that you have to enter the chicane extremely late to get the correct line through the corner. On my 10th lap, I passed a car on the inside at the entry of the chicane, but didn’t slow down enough as I attempted to retake the correct line. Not unexpectedly in hindsight, I ran wide as I tried turning into the chicane. As luck would have it, this is one of the only corners on the track that actually has some room for error. We climbed the (high) kerb in the middle of the corner with all four wheels but, thankfully, were able to get back on track without incident. I had experienced first hand just how easily the Nordschleife can catch you out if you make
even the slightest mistake – we were among the fortunate ones however and emerged unscathed. To his credit, Jaco didn’t dwell on the incident and we continued to make progress. A short break, followed by a couple of clean laps, and it was time to bring out the stop watch to see if I could actually achieve my self imposed, yet not overly ambitious, target. This was lap 13 (unlucky for some), and it was still before lunch – we had already managed 7 laps since the morning. Although it was getting more and more crowded, we planned to buy another 4 lap ticket, so there was no pressure to actually push. Also, I had no real sense of what kind of times we were running to begin with. Since you can’t do a full lap of the Ring without stopping at the toll barriers, laps are timed from the first bridge to the last gantry – after which you add 30 seconds to account for the length of the straight to get a full lap time (an approximate one anyway). Other than a few yellow flags, we had a relatively clean lap. It’s difficult to name the number of corners where you can improve on a 22 kilometer circuit – one that you’re only beginning to get familiar with, and especially one as complex as the Ring. Nevertheless, the time came to 9 minutes 58
I had experienced first hand just how easily the Nordschleife can catch you out if you make even the slightest mistake – we were among the fortunate ones however and emerged unscathed
seconds. Of course, you have to add 30 seconds for the straight, but in this case we settled on a compromise – reduce at least 30 seconds to compensate for the yellow flags. The next lap, which was also timed, was 9 minutes 52 seconds – only this one had even more yellow flags. We still had one last lap to go on our 15-lap ticket, but were forced to break early for lunch since the track was closed due to a number of accidents. Still, for my mind, it was target achieved. We had lunch at an outdoor café in one of the local towns adjoining the track. One of the highlights of the Ring is its beautiful setting. Plus, the weather was perfect – I was petrified it would rain, as it tends to do without warning in the Eifel mountains. The best part of having lunch beside the track, however, is that the air is filled with the sound of screaming engines and screeching tires – sheer bliss. Once we got back to the Ring after lunch, as we had feared, the line to enter the track was miles long. The track had closed once again and then reopened – a trend that would continue over the course of the afternoon. We got a chance to meet local racing hero, or heroin I should say, and BMW Ring Taxi driver, Sabine Schmidt. Sabine is a bit of a local celebrity and, not only has an amazing amount of energy, but she’s also one of the fastest drivers around the Ring.
who prefer not to drive themselves, but still want to experience the Ring – it’s normally booked months in advance. Although, once Sabine takes you out on track you quickly begin to wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into. She overtakes absolutely anything that comes in her way, and is normally sideways while doing so. Apparently, she’s also joking through the entire lap – so it keeps you guessing about whether she’s driving that way through talent and sheer repetition or luck and audacity. It’s probably something you can only contemplate when you’re back in the safely of the paddock, and she’s out on track with another lot of unsuspecting customers. The rest of the afternoon, unfortunately, turned out to be pretty anti-climatic. I managed only one more lap the entire evening because of the long lines to enter the track, as well as the multiple track closures. Eventually, the track was closed early due to a serious accident involving one or more bikers. If you’re aware of the risks, and do everything in your power to mitigate them, the North Loop is the greatest playground on earth. It’s certainly not the easiest way to spend a Sunday afternoon – it takes all of your wits, but is all the more rewarding as a result. My only regret is that we should have maximized track time when the track was open.
The Ring Taxi, a 500 horsepower BMW M5, is for those
Sabine Schmidt piloting the ‘Ring Taxi’
s r e t e m o l i k 2 2 t s e t a e r g Th e t e n a l p e on th
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If you are in fact approaching the limit and go off-line in the process, there’s a very real likelihood that you’ll end up in the barriers lining the track – there is no run off and no margin for error. On my first lap alone, I saw a couple of cars very firmly ensconced in the Armco
Highlights of the track
It’s much too difficult to point out specific sections of the track that are more noteworthy than others – all 22 kilometers, frankly, are brilliant. The Karussell is one of the most famous corners on the track, and while it’s perhaps not the most enjoyable, it’s certainly the most unusual. Legend has it that it was a relatively regular corner till German racing great of the pre-WWII era, Rudolf Caracciola, started cutting the corner, and in doing so uncovered
concrete that was part of a drainage ditch on the inside of the corner. When the other drivers started following his line, they forced the track officials to create a real concrete banking that exists to this day. The corner itself feels like its fighting both you and the car. It first sucks you in as you drop into the bowl and then attempts to spit you out as you try and find the right line at the exit – all the while rattling all your fillings in the process. The most enjoyable
section of track for me, however, was the fast downhill section after the Karussell. As you exit the banked corner, you climb to the highest part of the track (Hohe Acht), following which the track drops downhill into a sequence of blind corners (Wippermann, Eschbach, Brunnchen and Pflanzgarten), most of which are very fast and require a very precise line – get it right and its extremely satisfying, get it wrong and things can go bad very quickly.
VERDICT
From TVR’s to Ford MPV’s – there’s a wide range of machinery at the Ring
To contemplate the weekends proceeding on Sunday evening, we had beer and pizza at a great pizzeria named Pinocchio’s in the town of Adenau. It was the final surprise of my Ring visit. I ordered a spicy pizza – being from India I though the pizza would be mildly spicy at best. With tears streaming down my face after the second bite, I knew not to jump to any conclusions at all about this trip. The Syrian chef and owner found it ironically funny that it was Indian spices that made the pizza so flaming hot to being with. Thankfully, the other pizzas were fantastic, and we ended a great trip with an equally good dinner.
What wasn’t overly surprising, on the other hand, was the Ring experience – it was everything I imagined it would be, only more so. After Saturday afternoon, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pick up enough speed during this short visit to get a real sense of the track. Sunday, thankfully, turned out to be an incredible day that finished all too quickly. I can’t wait for the opportunity to do it again. Even if I get the chance to return to the Ring a 100 times, I’ll always treasure the first time – it’s definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life If you’d like to plan a trip to the Ring, contact Leon Fernandez at Coment Travels - info@comnettravels.com