I am in good spirit as I start today's stage towards another highlight: the Green Hell.
After 680 kilometres, passing Hamburg and Bremen, I arrive some 20 minutes before today's session start at the Nordschleife parking lot. Even before entering the track myself this is a very interesting place, full of quick and interesting cars of various makes. Some Evos, Imprezas, Lotuses, TVRs, Beemers and Ferraris wait for their turn to go and of course a number of GT3s and Rses are present as well - none of them as dirty as mine though.
Whenever you are near the Nurburgring I strongly recommend paying a visit, it is different from all racetracks or trackdays I have attended so far. Be cautious though when going out on the track as there are some special factors at play: During the 'Touristenfahrten' it is legally not a racetrack but a one-way toll road with no general speed limit (there are two spots with limits however) but where the STVO, Germany's road law, is in full effect.
I am remotely familiar with the Nordschleife from my forays into Playstation gaming but I can assure you that the real thing is something totally different. I decide to start carefully as you do not want to have an off here: The crash barriers are always very close and the road is full of imperfections, ups and downs, blind spots, very quick straights and a huge number of other cars. Compared to more modern tracks it appears completely crazy, which makes it all the more appealing of course. In any case, if you don't know your way well around here, you are simply slow, no matter what car.
So I first decide to follow a Focus ST with the famous Nordschleifen-sticker on the boot as I expect the guy to know his way and want to learn his line. He does however not seem to be any more familiar with the track than I and soon I overtake. Two laps later at the toll bar I position the GT3 behind an E36 3-series Beemer with welded full-cage and various other track goodies just to find out 5 bends later that the person at the wheel knows his business well and surely gave me 10 seconds already, shortly afterwards the car disappears on the horizon...
5 laps in total and I am glad to leave the track with car and driver intact. Driving in the Green Hell is an absorbing experience and I will definitely be back but next time I will come better prepared.
So, lap time? Well, officially it is forbidden to take times (actually even filming onboard) but of course I have the Sport Chrono thingie running and from the end of the cones after the toll bar to the speed limit at the end of the lap I record around 9 minutes 45 seconds. I am ok with that as I also stuck to the speed limit at Breitscheid but it is absolutely clear that the car has much much more potential on this track.
Totally enthusiastic about the experience I start today's last leg towards Köln to meet my uncle for dinner.
Nordschleife: http://www.nuerburgring.de
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