obd

Greetings all,

Last year I took a trip to Germany and, just for fun, visited the Nurburgring as I had heard so much about it from magazines such as Evo and Top Gear as well as from the TV series "Top Gear" and Japanese hit "Best Motoring".

Well, to make a long story short, I hooked a ride on the "ring taxi" which was basically a slightly modified (I think anyway) BMW M-5. No, unfortunately I didnt get that famous and hot blonde as my driver but I will try to next time!!!! (She holds the record lap time for a stock M-5 I believe). It was SO much fun and amazingly cheap. I think the America equivilant was something like $20-$30. And it takes a LONG time to get around one lap at least as far as most tracks go. I estimate it took us at least 8-9 minutes for the lap.

Anyway, after the trip in the taxi I hung around and checked out all the AMAZING cars there for a few hours...Literally, nearly every car you could think of was there. I saw alot of European cars I had never seen before like TVR's, Alfa, "SEATs","Smarts", Lotus's, as well as a shitload of really hot rides like Ferrari, tons and tons of Porsche's of all kinds and ages, and many rides I never actually identified but that were clearly "supercars" or track cars. I also saw some cars very popular in America like various models of Mitsu Evo's and Sub. WRX/STI, as well as alot of mazda Miatas. There were a ton of people from England and Spain and France there which was surprising. I had assumed it would be 90% German....... Quite oddly, I also saw a helluva alot of cars that I wouldnt have expected to find at a famous race track....It was as if they just let anybody with the Euro's who wanted a lap to do it.........In fact, I saw more fugly *** old crap cars there than sports cars!!!!! (Also a shitload of motorcylces which were ANNOYING AS ALL HELL!!!!!!!!!!)

After looking around and chatting with some people I could find who spoke english (my german is ****), I managed to bum a ride in a Porsche 911 turbo and a Ferrari 360 modena (both English drivers and the nicest people I met in all of Germany..no offense to Germans who were also very nice but didnt enthusiastically let a lame "Yank" hitch a ride in thier nice car!!!!!). AMAZING AS HELL!!!!! EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. Too bad it took me so damn long to work up the guts to bum a ride. Ounce I did, it seemed people were more than willing, even happy, to let me come along. I think if I had started asking eariler I might have been able to take more than two rides......oh well, always next time!

The guy drving the porsche took it easy (I would say my "taxi" ride was faster) but the Ferrari guy was amazing. Bastard almost killed us both. He was running around people that had no idea of track manners and would swerve and brake and almost cause accidents (which really scared me because the barrier was really close and it was pretty narrow) but this Ferrari driver (Ben, or as he told me "Ben-ja-min") wouldnt slow down, even though the track was pretty damn crowded and they had already closed it down to clear some accident eariler..... (There were ALOT of accidents too!!!! In America, some idiots would probably try to close down a track like Nurburgring as a "hazard"). One guy wrecked his Ferrari (456???) and acted like it was nothing....I wonder if he was just super rich or really did have a carefree attitude or was just putting on a brave face and than cried his eyes out as soon as he was alone!!!!

Anyway, since that one trip and ride I have been absolutey obsessed with the Nurburgring. I have been planning to go back for months now.

I was just wondering a few things: First, is anyone on this forum a 350z owner from Europe? Second, have you ever taken your 350z to the Nurburgring? Third, how did it do?

Finally, if you are planning to make a trip to the Nurburgring from England let me know. Im going to be in London from next January 20th - May 15 or so and would love to get together for a trip. I know how you Europeans like to go in those huge convoys and Im all for that!!!!! I would be willing to put in for gas and food just for the trip!!! Im sure we could arange something.

Being the 350z fanatic (and owner) that I am, I would especially love to go do "the ring" with some 350z guys but I will settle for anyone and anything thats going.

If you have taken your 350z to the ring, please post here about your experience and maybe also post some pictures!!!!

Thanks in advance.

Also, if you are just going to the ring anytime between 1/20 and 5/12 and you have a 350z but dont want to give some Yank stranger a ride across Europe just let me know and I will try to meet you there. I have just purchased a top of line digital camera and would love to take pics of your ride at the track!!!! If you bring your laptop with USB port I can give them to you right there!

ALong

iTrader: (12)

OBD,
With the exception of days when the whole track is rented for private testing, the Nurburgring is open to anyone who wants to pay the DM to lap it. That is why you saw everything from exotics to junkers to Tour Buses on an open public day.

I have never been to it, but have had friends go to driving schools there and another friend acutally race several times in the 24 Hour race and several 6 Hour races there.

obd

Yeah, I figured that. I was just surprised to see so much variety there. It was great. I have never been to ANY track in the US (on the east coast anyway) that had anywhere near that kind of variety.

I would really like to know if anyone has taken thier 350z to the "Ring". That is one car I did not see there which is surprising because I saw just about every other car known to humankind between 1960-2003 there!!!! Where were the 350's????

Kolia

iTrader: (2)

The 350Z is not very common in Europe. I’ve been in Italy for the past year and half and the only one I saw belonged to a friend who had had his shipped from Canada...

I was at the Nurburgring last April and did’nt see any Z either. Shame ‘cuz it would be great to drive one on that track !

Did you drive on the circuit ? We had rented a BMW 318i to drive the ring. Impressive how fast that little car could go