I was there on bikes - probably about the same time as @Oblongbob - and it was fun. Stayed locally and a few bumbling, slow laps of the track. I remember it being very slippery when it was wet; a showery day was a nightmare as you'd wait for it to dry then another band of rain would come over. Or you'd decide it was dry enough and do a lap to discover a mix of grippy dry and wet slippery tarmac.
Great fun but I don't think I'm desperate to go back again. It seems getting an adrenaline fix is much safer and cheaper on the mountain bike!
i've been loads over the years. In various french hot hatches, a couple of Impreza's and mates in various cars.
I've never taken out insurance and touch wood never had any issues. I can do a 8:30ish lap in a modified Clio (thats not a lame willy wave, more of an indication that whilst not super fast, not hanging around either).
For me the only thing that has changed over the years is the speed of the other cars. back in the day a hot hatch wasnt much slower than the usual stuff you would see there. RS4's, M3's etc. These days it feels like everyone that used to be in am M3 is now in a GT3RS. And those who used to be in a RS Clio or Megane are now in an M3 or 4. So this means things in the rearview come up quite a bit faster than they used to.
Oh and the lap prices.... was 8 euros for a single lap when i first went..... what is it now, 36 or something?!
As mentioned, its a public road, so if you hit someone, quite often the police will investigate to see who is at fault. This could clear or condemn you!
There are still plenty of cars going round slowly and plenty of people who arent seasoned racers.
'Learning' the track on Gran Tourismo will give you an idea of which way it goes, but wont replicate the undulations or G forces your body goes through.
Also it helps if you are a confident driver. IE, know not to jam the brakes on mid corner, or add some opposite lock if required. (you dont need to be colin McRae, but equally not a nervous wreck).
Again, as others have said, its a magical place, a pure petrolheads dream. You can lose hours of the day standing at a corner watching cars go past.
Despite the risks, i would highly recommend going, driving it, enjoying the experience.
Plenty of guesthouses to stay at. The Foxhole always used to be good, tho not sure if it still exists. The Gantry is run by an english bloke and is nice. Or go full hotel and stay in Blau Ecke in Adenau. A short walk from Pinoccios Pizza! Not sure if the Cherry Bar still opperates... for those who know 😀
But, yeah... go, enjoy, dont fear the reaper!
Also it helps if you are a confident driver. IE, know not to jam the brakes on mid corner, or add some opposite lock if required. (you dont need to be colin McRae, but equally not a nervous wreck).
Doing some laps at a UK circuit before heading out (track day or coaching) certainly isn’t going to hurt in that regard
Oh and the lap prices…. was 8 euros for a single lap when i first went….. what is it now, 36 or something?
Wow! That’s gone up!
So this means things in the rearview come up quite a bit faster than they used to
I remember last time a blue spec in my mirrors became a Gumpert Apollo? Very rapidl.
things can approach quickly but in general only on the really long straighter bits of track (excluding the home straight as most folks are just chilling there). The cornering speed of a fiesta vs a gt3rs isn't *that* different - a fiesta might be pulling .8g and a gt3rs 1g - that's an 8mph difference around a 100m radius corner
Great place, we used to go every year and probably did several hundred laps over many years. It makes a normal trackday seem very tame and quite boring. The first time we used to go out in the wet, it was lethal and terrifying in equal measure and several friends had big crashes in the early years, even decades ago it was possible to rack up very big Armco bills. After we’d spent a lot of time there, going out in the wet was a lot more fun and it meant a lot less traffic too. Great area too, we also used to hire bikes and got some decent rides in. If you like cars, I doubt there is anywhere else like it in the world. We stopped going because of insurance, our last visit was a decade ago…
If you can figure out a way to cover all legal and financial liabilities then definitely go. If not, I could never justify the risk financially personally and although it’s a favourite place of mine, I’m not tempted to go back. But then, I’ve been there done that.
Ring taxi is a good punt, soak up the overall experience and then hire a Caterham for a trackday at Spa, best of all worlds. 🙂
I was lucky enough to go out there, watch a 12 hr race one day then the next get a lap with a winning driver (of his class) instructing me in a Peugeot RCZ (when they were new), he then gave me a lap with him driving and dear lord that was eye opening.
Even in a “slow” 200bhp car the difference having a good pro behind the wheel makes vs the punters and even the ring taxis except for one M5. We overtook everything, it was so eye opening how late he’d brake, how close he’d draft and his sheer control and knowledge of the track.
Anyway, I’m glad I’ve done it but being driven round was more fun than driving it even when it was someone else’s car at risk!
but it seems scary to think that if I crashed into a Ferrari 250 GTO, I’d have to pony up (it seems that my Admiral insurance HAS to cover me third party, but then as it’s a track, they can then claim back from me!)
Yeah, that’s a Euromillions amount of money. I know someone with one, lives a couple of miles away, rough estimate $72million…
…this one, in fact, outside his house, with another couple of his Ferrari’s next to it:
Sorry..that should hav said "if i crash MY Ferrai 250 GTO...."
😉
DrP
(lovely car innit!)
I've been wanting to do it for a while- I do 3 or 4 trackdays a year here so am not really a novice, but the lack of insurance makes me think I might not do the ring- having an accident could be life ruining financially. If I did go I'd probably stump out to hire a car out there that includes insurance cover. Love the idea of a passenger lap in a taxi but at £360ish for a lap I could do a summer trackday including fuel and consumables for the same price, so doesn't make sense.
i've not done a ring taxi before, but if you look at it from a cost vs number of laps, it will always seem expensive. Whereas if you look at it as cost vs experience, then it makes it more palatable. Still expensive, but i suspect it will be the best 8 minutes of your life (or one of).
Management summary:
You can't get 3rd party insurance cover for a UK car on Touristenfahrten (TF), turn up and drive days. Full stop. So you injure or kills someone else and the liability is as good as endless. The road is a public road, so accidents are 100% a police matter and under same rules as rest of German roads.
You can hire cars there, to drive yourself. It's a good shout as they are well prepped and come with insurance. Excess is high though, so read small print - usually over £10k.
Bang for buck, although it looks expensive per lap on paper, in reality, a good taxi lap is probably by far the best bet. I had never actually had a taxi lap until I'd been doing track days there for a good few years. So I'd already racked up 100 odd laps myself and probably 20 to 30 more as pax with mates. Even so, having a professional driver take the wheel was immense fun. They are usually extremely decent drivers. The guy I had was an old hand, raced there first when he was 17 and had been an instructor for about 30 years. Equally though, a year or two back, I was in the queue at the Döttinger ED Tankstelle filling station and next to me was Célia Martin who was fuelling up the Jaguar RingTaxi - she's now racing for the Iron Dames team in the Le Mans Cup this year.
I've only been round once when i was on a business trip and a colleague (who i'd only ever exchanged emails with, never actually met) decided to do a lap in the hire car. A Seat Hatch. I thought it'd be fun.
What i didn't know is in his career before Aston Martin, he'd spent 15 odd years racing professionally in closed wheel and GT classes before retiring and going into vehicle engineering.
Yeah, the car was totally cooked after a single lap on a damp November afternoon. No idea what the hire car place said when he took it back.
Have also been there twice on manufacturer "only" days doing engine/transmission monitoring. We were only there with half a dozen Jag and LR products. Fairly dull. But AMG, Porsche and Pagani were driving the same day i was there the first time, and BMW Motorsport plus Maserati the following trip.
‘Learning’ the track on Gran Tourismo will give you an idea of which way it goes, but wont replicate the undulations or G forces your body goes through.
Yeah I probably did several hundred laps on the XBox before going to the 'Ring for the first time. It possibly helped a little in terms of knowing which way the track went but did not prepare you at all for the changes in elevation.
Interestingly, when I went back to the XBox, the real life experience on the track made me much better at the game. Quite an expensive way of improving your video game scores though...
No idea what the hire car place said when he took it back.
When we've returned hire cars after "use" the decent thing to do is to open the bonnet and slap on a Nürburgring sticker somewhere so when the mechanics have a look at servicing time it'll give them a heads-up.
I'm just keenly aware that it took me half a day to learn my local track to anything like comfort levels and to start really driving and enjoying it, and it has all of 6 corners and zero gradiant change, and like 7 or 8 cars on track at a time.
I’m amazed that they let you on without third party insurance. Is that not a requirement on German roads?
I’m not saying anyone is wrong here. There is clearly a huge amount of knowledge in this thread
As far as I understand it, insurance companies have a legal obligation to cover third party costs.
But, and this is the issue for UK insured drivers, UK insurance companies have claimed these costs back from the driver, because the ring is prohibited in their TS&C's.
Thanks for the response
I thinking what i meant was that when you turn up at the ring I’m suprised that they don’t ask for evidence of insurance before you drive. Or at least ask you to at least sign to say you have insurance. I’m sure that happened at an off road venue i went to
I’m amazed that they let you on without third party insurance. Is that not a requirement on German roads?
I’m not saying anyone is wrong here. There is clearly a huge amount of knowledge in this thread
BITD my insurance company T&Cs didn’t specify “Thou shalt not drive on the Ring”.
Just a drive on a German toll road where the rules of the road apply, unlike a track day…
Ironically they included something like 3 track days per year. But I realistically probably had no cover on the Ring.
