I went off to Germany not knowing much of what I was about to discover, but now I am bewitched - and one day I will return.
<A MX-5 Owners Club member> organised the trip, which started very late on a friday night. I drove to Dover to meet up with others to catch a ferry at stupid o'clock. Being more stupid than the rest, I got there early and ended up on the 4am ferry, then had to wait two hours at the port the other side. So it was, that at 7am in france I met up with the four other MX-5 drivers who were also heading to Germany, including Al Clark, a veteran of the Nurburgring.
Our little procession set off across Europe to drive the 250 miles to Nurburg and arrived in time to see Nick Heidfeld taking the current BMW F1 car around the track. It was the first time a F1 car has been on the main circuit for years... On saturday the track remained closed to tourists, but on Sunday I was able to queue up to buy a pass. This was a process to be repeated often over the next 48 hours.
So I drew up to the barrier for the first time, in convoy with the three other MX-5s, and off we went. It was very much a trip into the unknown, more so than any track I have been on before because you just can't get to see it, unlike Donington or Brands Hatch. The Nurburgring snakes through forests and is just so large that there is no way to get an overview. I believe the are 170 corners. The start of the circuit is easy as it's straight! You run up to the edge of the current Grand Prix circuit.
I had heard all about the hills and bumps, getting all four wheels off the ground, and the "ring taxi" BMW M5s that you can pay for a ride in, that will fly past at 150mph. So I was more than a little nervous. So many of the corners are blind; a fast sweeping left-hander can turn instantly into a sharp right. The track is actually a public toll road so subject to German traffic law, and if you have any of the incidents that you can have on a race track, you get charged for it. Touching the Armco is a no, no - even the slightest of touches, you'll receive a bill. So nothing daunting then! It's probably as well I didn't know this beforehand.
What do I remember of my first lap? Lots of bends, trees and cars going past, and it was over far quicker than I expected. You come on to the main straight not knowing where you are, and you wonder why people are slowing down. Only then does it hit you that it's all over. There is so very much to take in that even the second time round you still have very little idea where you are.
After this I hitched a passenger ride in Al's red MX-5 Mk1 which preformance-wise is pretty standard. Al was shatteringly quick, with the tyres screaming through most corners, and shaming many a car costing upwards of £100,000 more than any MX-5. But he took the time to share his knowledge of the track, pointing out the tiny paint marks at the side of some corners, showing breaking and turn-in points. He showed me where to be careful and most useful. Al said that the hill at Kesselchen is so steep - although in really does not look it - that even flat in fourth a standard MX-5 will not better 80mph up it. This is where you find the seriously fast cars blasting your wing mirrors off. And so it was onto the legendary Karussell and then on to the more demanding part of the circuit, before the run down to the finish. I remember thinking that there is no way on this planet I will go that quick!
On my fourth lap, I took Al out so he could guide me again. and my chest grew a size as he gave his seal of approval. But his words of warning were: "Beware, most people crash on their first to fifth lap". If they crash on the first lap, it is down to the driver just not knowing the way. If it is the fifth lap, it is down to the driver thinking they know the way. And so it was for me, as I merrily sailed across the kerb at Adenauer Forst, a sneaky little corner where you have to turn in really late. Look up this "Nurburgring Adenauer Forst Crashes '70" on YouTube, you'll get the idea! I'm happy to say it was my only incident of the trip.
:
