Well, I just got back last night from my euro trip. It was a great time. We started off
flying into Frankfurt and picking up the rental car. It was a newer (04?) Mercedes E 220
Turbo Diesel Wagon. They didn't have the A4 I requested, so they upgraded us. I must say
the navigation was essential driving through the Rhineland of Germany, I was able to get
everywhere with ease. The autobahn is quite an experience. Doing 140kmh is slow, fastest
we got the wagon up to was 225kmh
. Roads are super smooth and nice, when you come to a
section of the autobahn that is bumpy, they have signs saying so and requesting you slow
down, top notch.
The day going to the ring was quite the day. It started off with us heading to Burg Eltz
where I proposed to my G/F of 5 years, Sabrina. After Burg Eltz it was off to the ring.
Navigation got us right there with ease. On the way I noticed a house with an Evo 5 with
roll cage sitting in the front yard, must be nice to live 10 minutes from the ring? hehe.
So we finally find out where to get onto the Nordschleife (Northern loop) where others were
just showing up to purchase their tickets for the day. Apparently, the ring is only open
for a couple of hours during the week in the early evening. Weekends its open pretty much
all day. I park in this parking lot near the toll gate as other cars such as a TVR and
Ferrari F355 show up, along with some other golf’s. Another stand out car was this Ford
Focus RS with a cage inside and big brakes. I proceed to the ticketing machine to buy my
tickets. You can buy them one at a time for 16 Euro, or packs of 4-10 where you get better
savings. Because of time constraints I decided to buy 2 laps. Sabrina hops into the
shotgun seat with our new canon digital camcorder and we head up to the toll gate. They
have 2 lines for cars, 1 line for bikes and another line for buses/taxi's. We pull up to
the gate and I insert my ticket, the gate lifts and my heart suddenly starts racing as I
realize I'm doing something I've only dreamed of for years. We head out onto the track in
the uphill section of the enormous front straight going through an orange cone chicane
before releasing you onto the actual track. Once out I got that heavy ass diesel going as
best as I could. The car was quite slow, but was still able to get us moving. During this
time me trekking up the hill bikes start passing me and heading up into the first set of
esses. I have driven the Ring many times on PGR 2 and GT4. I must say GT4 gives the best
real world simulation. However, the game being a great simulation, it cannot account for
track texture and elevation changes. Other than that, I felt very comfortable at least
knowing my way around the track before I got out there. The bikes were very quick out
there. The rules of the track are you are not allowed to stop anywhere any time on the
track (sorry brian, no hondaswap.com tag on the carosouel ). Also, you must pass on the left and when being passed, stay to the right. There
were a few nice cars out there, Ferrari F355 for one and some TVR with a turbo 6.
I must say that track is a blast. It was quite intimidating being on such an old track
with the rails so close to you. The Benz held her own for what it was. I can't wait
to go back again.
Here are a few pictures I took with a video of my 2nd lap on the Nordschleife.
The race car:
Me in front of the track map:
The gate onto the ring:
Sequence of me putting in my ticket and heading up onto the track:
Cars and bikes on the track:
Incar footage shot by my fiance, sorry for the shakyness.
http://www.norcalmotorsports.org/users/vid...ngLetterbox.wmv
flying into Frankfurt and picking up the rental car. It was a newer (04?) Mercedes E 220
Turbo Diesel Wagon. They didn't have the A4 I requested, so they upgraded us. I must say
the navigation was essential driving through the Rhineland of Germany, I was able to get
everywhere with ease. The autobahn is quite an experience. Doing 140kmh is slow, fastest
we got the wagon up to was 225kmh
. Roads are super smooth and nice, when you come to a section of the autobahn that is bumpy, they have signs saying so and requesting you slow
down, top notch.
The day going to the ring was quite the day. It started off with us heading to Burg Eltz
where I proposed to my G/F of 5 years, Sabrina. After Burg Eltz it was off to the ring.
Navigation got us right there with ease. On the way I noticed a house with an Evo 5 with
roll cage sitting in the front yard, must be nice to live 10 minutes from the ring? hehe.
So we finally find out where to get onto the Nordschleife (Northern loop) where others were
just showing up to purchase their tickets for the day. Apparently, the ring is only open
for a couple of hours during the week in the early evening. Weekends its open pretty much
all day. I park in this parking lot near the toll gate as other cars such as a TVR and
Ferrari F355 show up, along with some other golf’s. Another stand out car was this Ford
Focus RS with a cage inside and big brakes. I proceed to the ticketing machine to buy my
tickets. You can buy them one at a time for 16 Euro, or packs of 4-10 where you get better
savings. Because of time constraints I decided to buy 2 laps. Sabrina hops into the
shotgun seat with our new canon digital camcorder and we head up to the toll gate. They
have 2 lines for cars, 1 line for bikes and another line for buses/taxi's. We pull up to
the gate and I insert my ticket, the gate lifts and my heart suddenly starts racing as I
realize I'm doing something I've only dreamed of for years. We head out onto the track in
the uphill section of the enormous front straight going through an orange cone chicane
before releasing you onto the actual track. Once out I got that heavy ass diesel going as
best as I could. The car was quite slow, but was still able to get us moving. During this
time me trekking up the hill bikes start passing me and heading up into the first set of
esses. I have driven the Ring many times on PGR 2 and GT4. I must say GT4 gives the best
real world simulation. However, the game being a great simulation, it cannot account for
track texture and elevation changes. Other than that, I felt very comfortable at least
knowing my way around the track before I got out there. The bikes were very quick out
there. The rules of the track are you are not allowed to stop anywhere any time on the
track (sorry brian, no hondaswap.com tag on the carosouel
). Also, you must pass on the left and when being passed, stay to the right. There were a few nice cars out there, Ferrari F355 for one and some TVR with a turbo 6.
I must say that track is a blast. It was quite intimidating being on such an old track
with the rails so close to you.
The Benz held her own for what it was. I can't wait to go back again.
Here are a few pictures I took with a video of my 2nd lap on the Nordschleife.
The race car:
Me in front of the track map:
The gate onto the ring:
Sequence of me putting in my ticket and heading up onto the track:
Cars and bikes on the track:
Incar footage shot by my fiance, sorry for the shakyness.
http://www.norcalmotorsports.org/users/vid...ngLetterbox.wmv
