Just when you think your vacation is done, and you are getting ready for the next trip, a surprise jumps out at you. In my countdown for my final days in Europe for 2018 I thought I would have some quiet days ahead of me waiting for my trip. And then, out of the blue, came the invitation to meet a friend at the Nürburgring. Reason? He has a sports car sitting there and he came for a fun weekend from London. And I was invited too. So I drove across Germany once again for my ultimate experience – racing (well, driving) on the Nürburgring. It was awesome!
The Race Track
The Nürburgring is famous for many reasons. The smaller Grand Prix track opened in 1984, while the much longer Nordschleife, the “North Loop”, dates back to the 1920s and winds around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. Known as one of the world’s most dangerous racing circuits, the track earned its nickname, the “Green Hell”, long before Niki Lauda’s accident in 1972.
Perched in a weather-wild region, the Nürburgring regularly faces pounding rain and dense fog, conditions that have halted countless races over the years.
Today, the track opens to the public in the evenings and on weekends as a one-way toll road. The rest of the time, it attracts sports-car enthusiasts and hobby drivers, mostly guys, with a few ladies, who bring their race cars (and the budget that comes with the hobby) to enjoy every second on the circuit. It was fantastic to watch!
Click for more details about the track here.
My ultimate experience
The location is really quite stunning. Especially in autumn when the leaves are in their most colourful season. When I arrived at the Nürburgring Sunday afternoon, the track was closed due to a thick fog. Such bad luck. It was obvious there were others who were disappointed as well, as the queue to wait to drive on the track was quite long.
Many of the sports enthusiasts here come from all over Europe, so all they could do is wait. I didn’t mind. It gave me a chance to look at all the cars close up.
Around 4pm the track finally opened and we went straight onto it. Clearly my friend couldn‘t wait for his drive. He has a BMW M3 sports version with many extra additions to make it faster. It is a beautiful car. However, sitting in the back and racing around Nürburgring is not so much fun. Have you done that?
After 2 laps I felt a little bit sick in my stomach, and so I got out. I think driving myself would have been much more fun. My friend enjoyed a few more laps by himself. Of course!
Second day
The next day was much better in terms of weather. I woke up to a cold, but sunny day. As it was Monday, the race track was closed for public drivers. And so today, it was all about the serious sports enthusiasts and the serious cars. There were certainly a few of them. It seemed super busy. So many cars, one more stunning than the other.
The Nürburgring is definitely a men‘s world though, that much is obvious. Either way, I loved watching them all going crazy on the Nürburgring. This was the ultimate experience for sure.
After the track dried up a little bit I was once again in the M3 car, this time in the front seat and with a helmet. Better be save, because we did go fast.. very fast! Twice! Loved it!
And so… The last two days in Europe couldn’t have been better. And as I am posting this blog, I am already in Asia, in Kuala Lumpur – Let the trip to Asia begin! Stay tuned for lots of SE Asia trips. xx
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