IMU

This is my 'Ring report that i wrote for another forum after our long weekend trip to the 'Ring, some of the references may not be completely clear, but I hope you will enjoy the read all the same

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My 'Ring report:

Friday:

After an early start we make good progress on the m-ways from Calais reaching AC Schnitzer in time for a wonderful tour around their factory and the BMW dealer in which they are situated (those pics are already posted), our convoy then departs from AC Schnitzer in Aachen to our hotel. We arrive at the hotel and are pleased with the parking we have found:



Pictured: me; alex, ian_79a; paul.

We then spent our friday early evening sampling the delightful hotel food and were welcomed with a lovely champagne reception with cheesy nibbles. Then we headed off to the hotel bar to sample some more local brew. Paul decided to get holy on us and developed a taste for a monks beer which can only be described as the german's answer to potpourri

Saturday:

We awake early on saturday ready to eat a breakfast fit for a king. Sadly, it seemed that the royal family were not visiting Bad Neuenahr this weekend, so I made do with a couple of croissants and Paul and Alex tucked into what seemed to be the German equivalent of a full english, served in a cereal bowl

The day's first mission was to ensure Alex could get some air into his tyres since his mishap with the valve caps. We head to a local BMW dealer, Baum BMW. It seemed as though they were waiting for us. They could not have been more welcoming and helpful, offering to do the full job there and then and drop us back to the hotel. BMW UK please take note.

While at the dealer, we notice that they had something special tucked away, a B7 Turbo:





We leave Alex's car at the dealer and head for the hotel. With about 2 hours to kill, I take Alex out for a little B-road blast in the tractor. A few surpised locals give us some looks, yet we continue with our own local tour of the sleepy-town, leaving our own marks where we consider it appropriate



We then return to collect Alex's car which was all nicely finished and ready for us upon arrival. What great service indeed.

While waiting for the others to finish at the karting centre, Alex and I decide to go for a quick recce to the 'Ring. Our navigation systems decided to take us to the wrong entrance for the track, so we decide to ask for directions. Luckily, the locals spoke better english than Alex's and my german put together.



After a few navigation errors, we finally find the public track entrance and price list:



We are told that the track is closed until approx 5pm due a amateur race taking place (which we already knew about). So we decide to scan the surrounding areas and take in the intensity of the atmosphere:

IMU

As we leave the entrance, Alex suggested that we stop off near the track to catch a few pics of the amateur car race. A great idea, and we manage to find this vantage point for pictures:









At this point, Alex and I consider whether driving on the ?Ring is such a good idea or not. The pics don?t properly convey the steep inclines and opposite camber road surfaces that make the ?Ring what it is. It is quite literally an awesome circuit which demands respect.

We leave the vantage point and decide to head back to the hotel to catch up with Paul after his go-karting trip.


After a short-catch up with Paul, we all head for the ?Ring again, but this time to be there for the opening to the public:



It was wet on arrival:



very wet indeed:



We were patiently awaiting news on whether or not the track would be opened. 5pm passed and no news. Nevertheless we bought our tickets and waited with baited breath. Around 6pm, the ?Ring was opened to the public and before I could consider whether or not it was a good idea to go out in the wet weather, I found myself heading for the entrance, almost unconsciously.

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I complete my first lap on the track and was pleased with the simple fact that I had not encountered any incidents.



I pushed the car in some corners and saw DSC come alive, but felt in control at all times. It was a good maiden lap and I was glad to be back in the car park unscathed too.



I then take my second lap and some passenger laps and return with more knowledge and confidence (and respect) for the ?Ring.

As the ?Ring closed for the evening, we then headed to the evening meal at the Pistenklause restaurant, as reported by Paul.

After our meal, we headed back to the hotel, Paul?s desire for more holy juice got the better of him. En route and near the hotel we decided to stop for a group angel eyes shot (featuring Paul (Mystic Sport), Mike (Nickleback), myself, Alex and Ian (Ian_79a)):



Opportunities such as these rarely present themselves back in blighty, so we decided to take advantage and leave some rubber on the bridge for the locals to remember us by

IMU

Sunday:

We make an early bee-line for the ?Ring after a quick fill-up:







The weather at the 'Ring was much the same as the day before but we now had our maiden laps under our belts and a better idea of what to expect. Again, we take numerous passenger laps and myself drove a further two laps, one of which closely followed (and video?d!) by Ian_79a

We?re lined up ready for action:





The competition ;P

IMU

The ?Ring bites back:








The ?Ring taxi:



Around 3:30pm we consider starting our trip back to Calais, not wanting to miss our train. The convoy sets-off for Calais and we make amazing progress considering the traffic levels and cross-winds blowing HGVs into our paths while travelling at high speeds. We make it back in time for our train and seem to be the only cars in sight.

The tractor rests alone in one carriage adorned with its newly acquired ?Ring sticker:



And that was the end of an amazing weekend which was filled with excitement and thrills. The 'Ring is an awesome experience and to drive it hard is one of the most exciting experiences of my life. And equal to my memories of the 'Ring, I have great memories of the laughs we all had on our trip. Everyone was in such high spirits and were such great people, which made the whole experience very memorable and enjoyable.



Thank you all.

The end.

Georgos

Terrific report and pictures!!
Thanks for sharing!!

IMU

Some more pics (borrowed from another forum ) including our visit to AC Schnitzer in Aachen and Michael Schumacher Go-Karting centre

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And another selection from my fellow members' report:

It is now over, all 892 miles of it at some frantic pace. We have met some wonderful people, made new friends and had the best weekend ever.

It all started for me at 5:30am at maidstone services where I met up with Alex (Zarnd) and Tariq (IMU) and a whole bunch of other forum members from Evotechnik where we were to convoy down to folkstone to catch the 6:58 shuttle to calais.

Once in france the pace was upped a little. Here is Alex and Tariq as we make our way into belgium