Nurburg

[NickD]

My apologies for copying this from another site.

Well I thought for a change I would try and do a running commentary on the latest bout of Ring Worm.

For those that don’t know, I am currently sat on a Norfolk Line Ferry, courtesy of Mr Eurotunnel having a little fire. Serves them right for having a stupid pricing policy “because we’re better than the ferry companies!” Are you sure about that?

Anyway, I am due to meet up with some RX8 guys out there. They are travelling tomorrow. I am a day early as I want to take some time out to meet with a business colleague in Belgium today.

Anyway, the day started badly, well it started sort of badly yesterday. I planned to stay down in a Travel Lodge near Dover last night, to save me the all too familiar very stupid o’clock start that I normally have. However having had Phil Dixon at Performance Five look over my car yesterday it was followed by a quick trip to Wheels in Motion to have my alignment checked. Some may know that Nora was suffering excessive understeer in right hand corners. Although the alignment was quick, I did have to wait as it was an out of the blue appointment. However, it did give me time to have two conversations with my boss and then two with one of my sales reps, nice!
Anyway, it turned out that I had about a degree and one quarter variance in castor left to right, with the left hand side being about 6.3 degrees. As I understand this a lager caster angle will give straight line stability, but the wheel has to roll more to provide turning input, so anyway, a quick fiddle and I’m down to 5 degrees on both sides and up to 2.3 camber on the rear and I must say the car feels far more direct. Result, I hope! Also, while on the ramps at Phil’s it was notice that the front left was also rather low on tread, so a phone call or two and Simply Tyres, who turn out to be less than 5 miles from my house supplied me two nice new R888 which are now sat on my passenger seat waiting for a nice garage at the ring to fit. Anyway, back to why the day started badly. After a 3 call to my boss, rather that going from London eastwards and to a nice bed, I ended up going Northwards to work till gone nine, so then home, tea, to bed at 11:30, up again at 2:15! Now that would normally be a bad enough start, but getting on the road at 2:45, I drive 15 miles and think, “where’s my wallet?!” A quick look round and nothing to be found. So as the Sat Nav already said I was going to be 30 minutes late I used the panic inducing, time distorting right pedal to return home. Still no wallet. Check the car again, there it is. Fail! Check Sat Nav, I’m now 1 hour 39 minutes behind check-in time. Extreme fail!
Fortuitously Tom-Tom uses traffic info from the days of horse and carriage and Her Majesties various Constabularies, being sympathetic to my plight allowed me to make the 6am ferry to Dunkirk. Yea! Fuel consumption would probably at this point make an RX8 look economical.

So here we are a check in. Strange, the cars all have to stop and queue, but the Lorries go straight through. Maybe they know we don’t have any people seeking asylum in France, or maybe they do. It could be a plan?!


Fortunately passport control was very quick, and after asking the obligatory “are you going to Belgium today sir?” “Are you sure?” I was waived through. Maybe I confused them by saying yes this time.
Anyway, I was on the ferry with 10 minutes to spare. Here is a ferry, HMS NCP I believe. Nice isn’t it?


It also has windows.


And here I am in the Mazda on Track RX8 executive suite. See what you are missing out on?


Anyway, enough writing to you rabble, I’m off for some free breakfast.

So instalment two, complete with miniscule pictures for the toy town forums.

Well, it was off to sunny France, or Belgium.


It was actually quite thought provoking though, as those that have driven that route know that the vast flat lands are not the most exciting, but you think of just how many times they have been fought over in thousands of years. You see name like Flanders Ypres and Passchendaele and think of vast number of human lives lost for no reason at all. Ypres, where in April 1915 the Germans used gas for the first time with terrible effects, and in the 3rd battle of Passchendaele in 1917 in just over 3 months there were 300,000 casualties. I can’t really imagine that number of people.
However, it was sunny in colour today and it was only ever sunny in black and white then.

Early morning sun in France. We know why we hate them now!


So onward to meet my colleague, and talk of work. However he is a life long Lola fan and as I used to work for them I had got him a copy

http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/news/news ... news1b.jpg

and got a view of is amazing collection of model cars.
Here is a Masaraati Bird Cage in all its glory, well if you could see it than is!


And just to prove there are some nice parts of Belgium and no it’s not the suspension test track by Eupen






Eventually on to Germany, via Holland.
I noticed that both Holland and Germany has sun shine. May be it was one of those European directives that we boycotted?


Anyway a few mile munching Autobahn kilometers later and turn off as Sat Nav dictates only to find the kindly road building Germans had dug up the A412. Fail. Sat Nav woman is now doing her nut saying we should return immediately to Dover, take our ball with us, make un happy faces and say were not playing, or use the alternative route via Egypt. However, all was not lost. After telling Sat Nav woman that she wasn’t holding the map upside down, that I wasn’t cross with her and that I loved her and that after all this she could have a new pair of downloads she started speaking to me again. She must have forgiven me as she then took me on so epic back roads like these, and I mean the little ones
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en ... 9&t=h&z=15

This also gave me the first real chance to try the new suspension set up. Worked well, turn into corners was very fast. I have made a mental not to take it easy tomorrow until I am familiar with it.

Time for a little stop. The moon was just low over the mountains You can’t see it at all well here; this picture is just to make you jealous. I believe it might actually be the same moon as we have in the UK even!


Anyway, I stopped outside the Burgtube, trying to nick their internet, but although I got a signal, it looks like Martin has still not defeated T Com and his internet remains down. However I did partake in a bit of boy scout cooking. It was a shame to let the excess of last nights dinner, the one fitted in between getting home from work at 10 and leaving home a 2:45 go to waste so I used my special hot plate. Very tasty



Which I ate in my then office.



After which I thought sod this and booked into the Am Tiergarten hotel and had a pint while I watched the very interesting game of sexual politics between Sabine’s sister and 3 well oiled, well to do Brits. A fun night.

Post 3, a bit beer induced so need to be carful.
Well got up, that’s exciting isn’t it! Ok, it is if you remove the space between exciting and that’s. Had breakfast. Noted that even the tractors at the Ring wear crash helmets



So sat around a bit. Noted that the German efficiency in road building has not yet arrived in Nurburg as the resurfacing of the hill has only just been completed after a year, and the top dressing would so a shot blast company proud.



Got to the hotel, tiz nice




I wandered up to the viewing point to watch some of the testing of the new Nisan V spec GTR. They certainly seem to move around a bit on the track.





I also swapped out my temporary Green Stuff font pads for new Yellow Stuff. The front brakes are ridiculously easy to change, although I have plenty of practice, I am Al Clark’s personal mechanic! Here is a quick lesson.
Remove wheels, undo bolt, swing caliper out the way, press piston back in, swap pads, put bolt back. Fit wheels, drive.








The guys then arrived. And the track opened.

Well my new suspension settings are certainly different. There is more responsiveness I think, but the sure footed handling is replaced by more twitchiness, and almost constant tyre squeal.
Anyway took the three guys around from the RX8 club, everybody happy. However did collect grass points after a loss of concentration into Metzgesfeld one time, but kept it all straight and no harm done, fortunately! I have no idea what I was thinking, but I remember thinking what am I doing in the middle of the track, oh look there’s the grass. I went for some sugar.

After that it was ok and got some more epic laps in. Done about 12 today and is there a greater feeling than killing cars 10 times the cost of your. I think the brakes have beaded in now, as they were smoking quite well when I pulled off at Adenau! 

Anyway, here is some evidence of previous trips, in August to be exact.



And here is a fine upstanding crew of Hydrocarbon consumers consuming fine fillet steak.




Now here is a question, as cows are said to be responsible for much of the worlds Methane production, a known green house gas. How many steaks should you eat to cancel out the effect of an RX8? Anyway, we’re doing our bit to remain Carbon neutral.

Finished lapping, now have a fridge full of beer. Went to the PK for steak on a brick and snails of course. However had a guy come up to me and say how impressive my driving was! You mean me? Yes, I was chasing you in an Audi RS and couldn’t get close to you apart form of the straights. The man must be a fool, but no, he manages a Radical team. So, me = total shock!!!!!

Anyway a few beers later I am now involved in philosophical debate about all things. Currently as the Haydon Collider is subject of the moment. Scientist are trying to establish were Anti-matter is as they can see the mater, but that things should balance, so we are discussing, as one of our members is asleep and snoring, is snoring the anti matter to the porn on the TV? Good old Germany, the sexy Olympics!!! FFS

However, off to bead now. More laps tomorrow.

So to Saturday.

A little bit of a lay in as the track did not open till 5:45 and also we had electric shutters on the windows, that became known as the blast shutters due to the 20 or so Saxo lads that there sharing our hotel. The shut out all the light, but we could hear the giggling going on. Oh the evils of beer ! LOL






Anyway, we were 5 minutes late for breakfast, which our host quickly pointed out, however we did get accommodated. Which was a good job as, and no disrespect to the organizer of the accommodation at 45 Euro per night each and 3 sharing the room, I personally thought it was a bit too much especially with no internet connection. That said we did have electric blast shutters!

Anyway the guys went to have a look around and ended up at the castle and also bought some lap tickets. I went off the Comfy Corner for a coffee, internets and to write my diary.


However I ended up spending over two hours trying to sort out my phone which had decided to loose BlueTooth and I had to back up stuff which then went really slowly, reload the firmware then restore all my stuff and again that went slow, so not very productive.
However, by 3:30 the guys were back and raring to go, so we were at the main entrance for about 4:45. Jan could best be described as a little nervous and was slightly concerned his shirt wouldn’t be able to absorb enough sweat! It got no better because the track was delayed in opening as broken down cars from the H&S race event that had been going on were recovered.
It’s hard to know if the tanoy announcement “die Nordschleife ist geöffnet” was welcome or not. Anyway, people duly headed out for their inaugural laps. As there was three separate cars and drivers involved, and also there is tremendous pressure in offering any advice to people at the Nurburgring, then I elected to stand back and let them go. And then nipped off to my car and had a sneaky 3 laps. However it was also quite crowded, so much so that they put out the track side barrier too, which is pretty rare when the track is only going to be open for an hour more.
However as I had promised, after that I came in and passengered Jan as he drove his 231 RX8 around. The exhaust sounded good. It reminded me of my first laps as Jan was desperate for some good advice and although you do realise how much you know of the track compared to a novice it is hard to do much more that say the next bend goes left or right. There are painted turn-in points in the form of white dots at the side of the track but you can end up looking for these so much that you don’t actually look where you are turning too, so they can be a help and a hindrance. Jan did two laps and was enjoying himself. All was fine until he asked if I would drive his car around to show what it could do! Pressure or what?! In fack it’s pressure on so many levels. Will you drive well, you’re expected to impress, what if you break the car or far worse, damage or crash it. However it was an offer not to miss. So I think just before the track closed out we went. So, the RX8 on track and not just any track! Although it has at least a good 80bhp more than the 5, the extra weight also tells so it did not feel particularly quicker in a straight line. You also have to rev it to get to that power, which is no problem on track. Obviously the main problem is how is it going to perform, grip, handling and brake wise? But we did ok. Tentively to start with, but it had a game amount of grip on road tyres and what stood out was that it was so very adjustable on the throttle and the line could easily be tightened with a lift early in the corner. The exciting part was the braking and under heavy application for Aremburg, the road suspension caused the car to weave a little and the back to come out a few degrees, all good fun and smiles all round. The same was true for the braking for Bergwerk, where Niki Lauder had is crash, but the Karussell felt very comfortable. We got round the lap in one piece and a few scalps of the way, so a good result. After that I also went out with Dave in his red RX8 and took a similar approach to with Jan, the track goes left or righ.
The track closed shortly afterwards and we conferred as to how everyone felt. Jan and Dave, the two RX8 drivers were greatly enjoying it but Tim who has a Evo 10 said he was not really enjoying it, and might even not do more laps. Plainly ne was mad, so we went to Pinocchio’s to eat. This situation clearly taxed my navigational prowess and I said it was only a 5 minute walk, but actually it was 20. Fail! However we did see Commissioner Gordon signalling to Batman.
At Pinocchio’s, a well know pizza restaurant, we discovered Jan has a liking for bread with his soup, but actually likes it with his soup, not after they have taken the empty bowl away.
We went back to the room for some more snoring.

Sunday.
One of those wonderful mornings when the ring opens early at 8am and you can get some blissfully traffic free laps in. I filled up at the Aral station and headed up to the entrance. 5 laps before 10 am and the crowds start to build. Fantastic. I had a little tussle with a track spec Seat Leon, the new shape which was quick in a straight line. I caught him up at Aremburg only to have him out drag me down the Fox Hole however I absolutely mullered him through Adenaurer Forst as RWD has the advantage out of the corner and he stayed behind on the way down to the bridge at Adenau, and it is a great joy to see faster cars falling off the back in corners. He stayed behind till partly up the hill and then went past. However in no way was I going to loose him and all through Wipperman till the end of the lap I was all over him. We liked it so much that we went round and did it all again. This time he stayed behind looking to follow lines and again went passed up the hill, with much the same result as the lap before. It all ended in the car pack with handshakes and what have you got under the bonnet, is it supercharged. No not at all, it’s standard, queue the big grin.
Then at that point Dave came over and asked if I would take his RX8, as he wanted to know if it was broken in anyway. So again no pressure!
We were a bit more confident this time and speeds were up a bit, however, towards the end of the laps, through the bends from Plfanzgarten to the mini Karussell it did get very light and it was the only time I was concerned that it wouldn’t actually go where it was pointed. But again another safely completed lap and great thanks to those two gentlemen for letting me driver their cars.
The track then shut, as it did about 6 times that day, the most times I have ever knowing it shut. On one lap when I took out the organised of the Saxo trip there were 5 separate incidents that we saw.
So in the many periods of no lappage here are some random pictures of cars


























And is there a more phallic car than this?



Later that day, Tim then offered me a drive in his Evo 10, wow! But also mainly because Linda, his partner felt she would be too scared to come out in the 5. However we had just all got in when the track closed yet again, so we had to wait.
However when the track duly re-opened out we went and what a hoot! That car is bloody fantastic, fast, short gearing, adjustable in the corners. Where the 5 is showing 80 this was at 120 with 3 in the car, and it’s the low power version! I want one. It was everything you needed in a car, certainly power wise, capable of just dispatching slower traffic with a press of the pedal. And he let we have two laps! I just giggled all the way round. I want one!




After this, Linda trusted me enough to come out in the five. But just as we got to the front of the queue the track shut again and we had to go right out to the overflow car park. The track was shut for a little while, but Jan came in very ashen faced and he said that it was a Porsche that had rolled right in front of him and he was the first to help. The passenger was very injured medical help got there quickly. The track reopened, me and Linda went out. I gave it some beans and after the first lap she said “are you holding back?” Women, they know how to burst your bubble. Lol.
Jan then asked if he could come out again as he was still shaking from thinking about the crash. He seemed calmer afterwards.

Shortly after this I had a trip across the grass at Hocheichen, mainly because I was looking in my mirrors and not at the track thinking I won’t let this Integra catch me. I stopped, gave myself a talking too, realising I was trying too hard and had an ice cream.
It was around 4 o’clock and a French lad came over and asked if he could have a lap, at which point the track closed again.
When it reopened we duly went out. I did my best to keep the British end up and we did two laps. This caused us to come across the best racing driver excuse I have heard. A yellow British Porsche GT3 came past us somewhere before the Fox Hole, but we caught it up at Adenauer Forst, we were tight on it’s backside on the exit only for it to disappear into the distance again we caught it at Kallenhard for it again to pull away, now this is all down hill and even with a huge gap in the gear ratios on my 5 due to having the wrong gear box I was not giving up and through the fast Miss hit Miss we nearly drove through him and fail play to him, he jumped out of the way before Wehrseifen and we raced down to the bridge, and there was no way in the world I was going to lift for Exmuhle as we screeched round and stayed ahead for Bergwerk. Naturally he shot by up the hill but we chased hard and by Brunchen we were behind again allowing us to put the left hand, over taking, indicator on and make the god he’s holding me up gestures to the crowd. I think this might be known as Porsche bating! And we chased him right down to the finish line. If we had more power of more suitable gearing we may have had him.
Anyway, we pulled along side and waved, and then he pulled back level, wound the window down and said, “I’ve just had new tyres on the back, they’re 60% down on grip. But your going quite well it that!”
We laughed. Bless him.

Anyway, time was getting on and I managed to take my French passengers friend out before the headed off back to Paris. And then one of the lads I have been talking to from the Saxo group, Dave.
Now I have a GPS tracking device which had decided it was going to turn its self off each time after 5 minutes so I couldn’t use the Race Chrono software on my phone so I ask if he could time a lap, the last but two of the day as I had never been timed, which he kindly did on his phone stop watch. I though I must really concentrate, get the lines and gearing as right as I can and fortunately we had a pretty clear lap. Just one car came by, a vary fast Porsche and I wasn’t about to jump out of his way through Metzgesfeld and Kallenhard but he cleared us in time to not really affect the left right before Miss Hit Miss and we cleared passing other cars without too much issue. Dave stopped the clock under the gantry and we went off for another lap. He also said could his friend have a lap so we rushed in at the end had a mad scramble to change over and got through the barrier before it closed.
The last lap of this trip, it was great, mist was just starting to form.

Back to the hotel so tyres etc could be changed for the trip home, not sure why, there loads of life left in this one



Then as there were 5 of us and only one 5 seat car I sacrificed myself for the good of the others and drove, well, it was the Evo 

We went to the Lindenhoff. Linda got extra bread with her soup! I was a good night.

More snoring. Blast shutters were lowered.

Next morning I packed and dispelled the myth that a 5’s boot is no good because golf clubs won’t fit




Then pretty mountains, Belgium, ferry. Which is lucky since my Sat Nav thinks the Dunkirque Ferry terminal is in Calais





The End