|
 Despite
masterfully winning a Formula One race there, Jackie Stewart
dubbed it "The Green Hell". For those who know of
it, the Nürburgring Nordschleife (or Northern Loop) is
the Mecca of racing enthusiasts. Nestled among the Eifel mountains
of western Germany, this 13-mile track has stood as the ultimate
test of driver and machine since its construction in the late
1920's. It is arguably the most difficult and dangerous track
anywhere in the world--and it's open to the public! God bless
the Germans.
This
magnificent track features sweeping curves, variable surfaces,
dramatic climbs and drops, and a back straight over a mile
long. There truly is nothing like it anywhere else in the
world. There are other tracks, but there is only one Nürburgring.
So,
you've heard of the track? Perhaps seen a video or two? Maybe
you've got a friend who's been there? Thinking of going yourself?
Well, this guide is for you. It's designed especially for
the traveler from outside Europe (e.g. Yanks) yearning for
a few days of truly unforgettable driving excitement.
Contents
Nürburgring
at a glance
 For
some reason, track maps never really communicate what's really
going on, but it's a start. Click on the image for a higher
resolution version.
As
you can see from the map, the northern loop is actually connected
to the GP circuit which replaced the Südschleife (Southern
Loop). The GP circuit was constructed following the fiery
crash of Nikki Lauda in 1976. Fittingly, the circuit is
one of the safest in the world. And just to the north...the
Green Hell.
You'll
find the track sometimes written without the umlaut over the
first 'u' (i.e. "Nurburgring") or sometimes with
the 'u' replaced by 'ue' (i.e. "Nuerburgring") as
this is a phonetic spelling of the word when the 'ü'
can't be written (like in US-ASCII, used for URLs). Most just
call it: the 'ring.
The
ring itself is located in around the Nürburg castle in
the town of Nürburg.
It's one of many small towns in and around the 'ring. Nurburg
is located in northeast Germany and should not be confused
with the famous Nürnberg,
in the south (Bavaria), which was the site for the trials
by the same name at the end of World War II.
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Facts
and resources
The
word around the paddock is that the Nordschleife sees about
one fatality per week, most of these are motorcyclists who
put themselves at greater peril than automotive pilots. For
nearly the entire track the Armco is only a few feet past
the curbs. A mistake is difficult to correct, and a big one
means that you're crashing. All the more reason to read up
on the track before you hit the paddock.
Our
successful trip and this guide would not have been possible
for several excellent websites and groups listed below:
- Ben
Lovejoy's Site -- I can't possibly say enough good
things about Ben's work on this site. It's incredibly comprehensive,
and has one of the best
histories of the track I've seen. The site pays special
attention to warnings
about the track as well as accident
procedures which should be required reading for anyone
going over. The section on car
rentals is also very good, as is his turn-by-turn photo-lap,
although you really can't underestimate how much different
it looks in person. There's a nice section on the museum
located by the GP track which you shouldn't pass up. Finally,
to get an idea of how often people go way past the limit,
the whoops!
page pretty much says it all. (The photos omit any crashes
that involve serious injury.)
- The
Ringers Discussion List -- a group of enthusiasts
who discuss and visit the Nürburgring on a regular
basis. A friend in France got us in touch with some U.S.
travelers who happened to be at the 'ring the same time
as we, and through those people we arranged the absolutely
essential component to a successful first day: an installation
lap. We'll talk about that later. But for now I'd like to
thank Gwenel, Rich, Ed, and the other Ringers who were so
incredibly kind to us on our trip.
- The
Official Nürburgring Site -- there's not much
here except the all-important
schedule.
- The
Nürburgring Fanproject Site -- a good site
in both German and English with links to local weather and
other useful tips.
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How
to get there
The
easiest way to get to the ring is to fly into either Köln
(Cologne) or Frankfurt
and drive the 2.5 hours or so to the track. The official Nürburgring
site has directions
but you can probably use your favorite map portal as well.
That said, we flew into Frankfurt on three hours sleep and
missed the turn off the Autobahn. We made it almost all the
way to Köln before we realized our mistake. There is
a nice brown and white sign along the side of the road that
you can't miss--this is where you should turn. We didn't.
Oops.
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Where
to stay
 There
are quite a few small inns and hotels around the track, several
of which are actually inside the ring. There is nothing
like waking up to the sound of cars being tested early in
the morning while the mist still hangs low. We stayed in the
Tiergarten hotel
which was very reasonable at about $80 a night for a double,
and it's less than a mile from the paddock. The rooms were
very clean and the breakfast was tasty. At the base of the
hotel there is a race-themed (what else?) restaurant run by
a German/Italian couple. It's a great way to wind down the
evening, have a few pints, and talk about your exploits. Or,
more likely, your near misses.
And
remember, driving on the track is more physical than you might
imagine; you need fuel just like your car, so take and extra
15 minutes and have a good breakfast.
We
arrived at the height of the tourist season, only a few weeks
before Oktoberfest, and we had no trouble getting a room.
However, I would recommend calling ahead, as you might not
be so lucky. Do it before you leave for your trip; we had
planned to call from Italy, but we were unavoidably detained
for four straight days in a little town called Monza. My,
how time flies.
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How
to get a car
This
is a conundrum. You've got three choices here:
- Bring
your own car -- this is only really an option for either
European delivery of your new car (offered by BMW, Porsche,
etc.) or by shipping your car by boat. If you've got the
time and the money to do this sort of thing, please take
me with you next time you go.
- Drive
a local friend's car -- not strictly a bad idea, and
a better one if you don't really like your friend at all.
If your buddy has a hot ride and doesn't mind you pounding
on it for a few days, then more power to you! But this is
an unlikely option for most people traveling from overseas.
Also, consider the guilt factor if you suddenly restyle
the bodywork.
- Rent
a car -- this is the most realistic option for out-of-towners,
and offers the most flexibility and freedom to the driver(s).
You can rent anything from a subcompact up to a Ferrari
F40 in Germany, but insurance coverage varies among the
companies. Ask to see a rental agreement in English first.
Pay special attention to the deposit on the collision damage
waiver--this can be thousands of Euro and may not be refundable
upon an accident. A good place to start (especially if you're
over 30) is Avis, as you
can just call their main US number and ask about specialty
rentals in Germany. Cars offered include the SLK, the TT,
the Boxter, and the 996.
 What
about auto insurance? Officially, the ring is a one-way public
toll road, so the insurance on your rental car is supposed
to cover you. However, I wouldn't recommend letting the rental
agency know what you're planning. And again, check that contract
to see if the Nürburgring is specifically mentioned.
As an aside, my US insurance did not offer me any additional
coverage, but yours may. Make sure you check. Crashing Porsches
can get pricey. You're also liable for damage to the 'ring
as well, including Armco, cleanup, and other amenities. Crashing
Ferraris is even worse.
People
who use their credit cards to cover auto insurance should
also be very careful here. Most cards specifically exclude
sports cars or vehicles over $50,000 in value. I found that
my American Express Platinum didn't cover most of the cars
I had in mind. My US auto insurance similarly did not offer
any coverage. Make sure that you know the facts before you
get behind the wheel.
 So,
what kind of car should you drive? This decision is should
be a balance between caution, testosterone, and knowledge
of your own driving ability. In a display of nothing but the
second quality, Shane and I were originally aiming for the
360
F1 or an F40
(478 bhp, 2400lbs!) because, well, why not? But some very
helpful and experienced ringers told us that we'd be better
off in a 325 or similar. We settled on a Porsche
996, and this turned out to be (in principle) a very good
decision. (For actual driving impressions, see my postscript
for details.)
Why
not the Ferrari? Well, the surface of the track is very bumpy
and uneven in places, so cars with stiff suspensions can be
harder to control. Armco may be in your future. More power
is always nice, but with even 200 bhp you can get moving fast
enough to scare the hell out of yourself, or at least your
co-driver. What you're looking for in your first run is a
high-quality and solid car that inspires confidence and control.
Maybe the next trip we'll get a little crazy...
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Doing
your homework
 Rule
number one: memorize the track. Rule number two: memorize
the track. I can't stress this enough. Nearly every problem
you can get yourself into stems from not knowing what is going
to happen next before it happens. You may not be able
to control the cars around you, or the weather, or even luck,
but you can make sure that you know the course like
the back of your hand. Many, if not most of the turns are
blind and feature abrupt camber variation and breathtaking
changes in elevation. Carrying too much speed into a single
corner is all it takes to turn your day into misery. Study
the track. Watch the videos. Play the simulators. Memorize
the track. Or end up like the Renault on the right.
To
this end, I've collected some tools that may be useful to
your quest to stay alive:
- A
large
map of the track
- A
large,
colorful map of the track
- An
aerial
photo with annotated turns
- A
series of track notes that covers about 80% of the turns
(these are excellent, detailed, and very valuable)
[ 1 | 2
| 3 |
4 | 5
| 6 |
7 | 8
]
I
should note that a great tool to help learn this track is
the Sierra game Grand
Prix Legends, a great F1 sim from way back in 1998. It
features cars and tracks from the 1967 season, and the old
Nürburgring is among them along with greats like
Spa and Monza before the modern era. It's the only game I
know of that has the complete Nordschleife (and the small
loop by the old pits just above the Südschleife). You
might have to hunt around for it, but it's worth your time.
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What
you should bring
It's
amazing how much stuff you need on a normal trip, and how
little of it you'll need at the ring. If you're just in town
for driving, pack light, and leave everything nonessential
at the hotel room. We had stuff sliding around the interior
of the car on one of our laps; it's very distracting. Essentials
for the track:
- A
great pair of sunglasses -- they must be polarized,
and should not be too dark. Make sure they fit and cover
your eyes as completely as possible. (In my humble opinion,
Revos fit the bill perfectly.)
- A
baseball cap -- the sun gets low late in the day, and
the sun visor doesn't always do the trick. It's also nice
if you want to open the window at 150MPH and feel the breeze.
And it helps keep the sun off you as you prowl the paddock
to drool over the fine machinery that's parked all around.
And if you've recently been to a sporting event, you've
probably got about a dozen "cappi" to choose from.
- A
light pair of shoes -- preferably driving shoes, although
you don't need to be that extreme. But heavy, bulky leather
shoes are a no-no. I wore Doc Martins. Dumb. Heel-toeing
was more like heel-oh-my-god-here-comes-the-armco-ing.
- Chapstick
-- sounds silly, but your lips get pretty dry when you're
hauling ass. Really.
- Money
-- each lap is between 10 and 12 euro, and you can easily
do 10 laps in a full day. You can buy tickets inside, but
there is a dispenser outside that takes cash. There is also
a nice little restaurant in the paddock which is a great
place to rest between sessions, or when the track is closed
for accident cleanup.
- A
digital camera -- take pictures of your exploits, but
let the co-pilot do the camera work. Shane's PowerShot
S110 took ridiculously good photos, and it fits in your
pocket. Leave your SLR at home--it will only get bashed
up anyway.
 A
video camera -- we probably shouldn't have brought one
of these, as fiddling with it could have cost us time on
the track. And it's funny how you drive differently when
you know you're on camera. It took a while to put it out
of your mind. Anyway, try to plan how you're going to mount
it in the car before you arrive--holding the camera in your
hands just doesn't work very well. We wound up tying down
a tripod with zip ties donated to our cause by McLaren in
Italy the previous day. Worked like a charm. Our Canon
Elura 40MC was fantastic, and we'd like to thank Circuit
City for their unbeatable 30-day rental program.
- Optional
-- a helmet, a fire extinguisher (strap it down!), driving
gloves, a water bottle, a tyre pressure gauge, a pyrometer,
a small set of tools, and some gum.
- Don't
bring
-- a driving suit or fireproof nomex underwear. You poser.
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Arriving
at the track
 The
paddock is divided into two areas by the restaurant and bathrooms.
The BMW-sponsored "ringtaxi" office is attached
to this building. The paddock is in the middle of the long
back straight (Dottinger-Hohe and Antonisbuche) and is called
"Grüne Hölle" (Green Hell). This is where
you'll be waiting for the track to open, or in our case watching
the smoke billow from our brakes after a few moderately quick
laps.
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Your
zeroth lap
So
after watching the videos, studying the maps, reading the
lists, and playing the simulators, we thought we were ready
to face the track. All I can say is that nothing, absolutely
nothing will prepare you for your first time around the track.
I've been on a few GP circuits in my day, including tracks
like Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA.
It
is nothing like those courses. It is nothing like anything
you've ever driven on. The track is so much bigger,
so much steeper, so much faster than you can
possibly imagine.
I
don't think I can explain this in strong enough terms. You
will be blown away. It is really an indescribable feeling
as you work your way around for the first time. It looks like
the track you've seen, but somehow it's completely different.
And for some reason, video and pictures never communicate
the vertical component of the track at all.
The
first time through Flugplatz your stomach is in your throat
as the rear wheels leave the ground. You are pushing desperately
in the passenger footwell looking for a brake pedal as you
dive into Fuchsröhre and climb up to Adenauer-Forst. Kesselchen
will take your breath away, as it is pretty much flat out.
As you approach Hohe Acht, which in all seriousness looks
like a wall you're about to hit, you will think that the track
was designed by a madman. Pflanzgarten will loose you with
its long, sweeping, blind curves that meander through the
forest. By the time you come sliding out of Galgenkopf onto
the back straight, you feel like you've just surfaced from
a deep underwater dive.
You
wonder what the hell you were watching in those videos, because
is couldn't possibly be what you just rode on.
 It's
amazing. And you don't want to be the one behind the wheel
for your first lap. Get a ride with a seasoned driver.
Rent a ringtaxi from the paddock (about 120 euro), or bum
a ride with someone else. Most people there were very friendly
and would give you a ride if you asked. For us, I can't stress
how helpful it was for us to have a true ring nut, Ed Healy,
take us around in his blue Williams Clio (like the one on
the right). What a ride! You learn three things from this
experience:
- The
track is very confusing, and it's easy to forget where you
are (and what's coming up next)
- It's
really easy to let your car get out of control, especially
over the bumps and off camber turns
- This
guy in his tiny hot hatch will beat you in your 911 without
even trying
Which
leads us to that magical point when you put the ticket in
the machine and pass through the starting gates for the first
time...
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Your
first lap
 Remember
the hot hatch that smokes your 911? That's because you are
not fast. You're not going to be fast, and even if you were,
you won't be that fast. You could be driving an F1
car (if only Toyota had said yes!) but you're still
going to get beaten. We were passed by a BMW M1 in Kesselchen;
we were going about 120, he was going about 170. Guys on 150HP
bikes blew us away every lap. Hell, the M5 ring taxi passed
us on the outside of Aremburg.
You
are not fast. Learn the track, learn your car, and keep it
safe. If you manage to do this, you will have more fun than
you have ever had in a car, and you'll come back in one piece.
Pay
attention to your mirrors. People can overtake you very quickly.
Cars appear out of nowhere. Use your corner signals and let
people pass on the left only.
There
are lots of cars that will be slower than you, too. There
will be guys poking along in their S-class Merc. There will
be vans. There might be a bus. (There was.) Wait to get a
blinker or hand signal to pass unless you are totally sure
that there is room and that they see you coming. Remember,
pass on the left only.
If
you see an accident or any other problem on the track, slow
down immediately and turn your hazards on. Follow
the accident procedures, but above all make sure that
you don't cause (or become) another accident.
Unless
you rented a GT2, your car is a street car, not a race
car. You can easily destroy a set of Z-rated tyres in a few
laps if you are overdoing it. After the second hot lap our
911's rubber was really falling off. By the end of the session
there were thick beads of rubber on the edges of the tread
blocks. Car manufacturers talk about testing at the Nürburgring,
but they don't talk about replacing the tyres after each lap.
Pay attention to your tyres.
 The
same goes for your brakes. Insufficient horsepower is not
a problem, it's only annoying. Insufficient braking is
a problem. It's easy to get too aggressive under braking,
and while two laps doesn't sound like much, it's equivalent
to about 10 laps of a normal GP course. A 10-minute lap goes
by in what seems like two minutes, but to your poor car it
feels it like eternity. Take breaks often. Let you car cool
down. If you think something is wrong, check it twice. Our
911's brake dust shield started rubbing against the back of
the rotor, probably warped from the extreme heat. We had to
pull the wheel and beat the shield back with the jack crank.
Amateur day at the 'ring, eh?
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Your
last lap
There
are two ways to do your last lap:
- As
the day draws to a close, you concentrate on the few sections
of the track you keep missing. You hit one corner perfectly.
You finish your lap with a smile on your face and head back
to Tiergarten for a beer and a nice plate of pasta. Return
your rental, get on the plane, have a cocktail and pass
out.
- You
get it in your head that lap times are important. You become
frustrated as subcompacts are kicking your ass. You're convinced
that you can drive like 'sideways Stephan' from Ruf. You
loose your concentration and drive your shiny Porsche into
the Armco. You lose $3000. And you have to pay for the Armco,
too. You have to get a lift back to the airport. You break
your digital camera in the crash. You have to deal with
the German police. You go to bed asking yourself why you
thought going too fast was so important.
I
recommend option number one. Seriously, there will always
be someone faster than you. The best time to drive flat out
is in a car you know very well after you've done a few hundred
laps on the course. There are plenty of people who get away
with driving like an idiot, but there are plenty who don't.
Play it safe; the money you save by not crashing will pay
for you to come back in six months and do it all over again.
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Other
things to do in the area
Nürburg
and the surrounding little villages don't really offer that
much in the way of hopping night life or entertainment, which
is probably a good thing. You don't see any video arcades
outside of Mecca, do you? Anyway, there are a few restaurants
about, and there is a great gas station just north of the
GP track that has a huge collection of minatures. You'll
be filling your car up anyway, so drop by and check it out.
The
best thing to do with half a day (the track is often open
only in the afternoon) is visit the great museum at the GP
track. Admission is 10 euro, and it's well worth your time
and money. There is a guided tour via headset (5 euro, I think)
that you shouldn't pass up. Ben has some
pictures of the museum, but they don't convey how cool
it really is. There is also a hall of BMW cars (the track
is sponsored by BMW) as well as a caffeteria, a gift shop,
and an indoor kart track! We didn't have time for the karts
the last time around; a error we'll correct in the future.
 The
country side is really beautiful, and if you have time you
might want to just noodle around taking it all in. Drive easy
on the roads, though. The people are very friendly in the
area, and are willing to try to communicate with you despite
your total lack of German proficiency. We had to do some,
ahem, detailing of our rental car (score one for motorcycle
handles!) and we found a random petrol station to be of great
service.
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Postscript:
Porsche 996, shitbox extraordinaire
 If
you own a new Porsche 911 type 996, you should probably stop
reading now. If you own a Boxter (986), you should have your
Internet connection taken away forever, but that's another
issue altogether.
I
remember when the 996 was first released. You couldn't buy
a car magazine without reading five articles about how great
the new 911 was, and how much better it was than the old aircooled
993. I believe there was even some kind of competition between
magazine editors to see how many positive superlatives they
could fit into a single page regarding this car. It was the
quintessential sports car. It was the perfect evolution of
the venerable 911.
Let
me be absolutely clear: I am not a professional test driver,
nor do I have a tremendous amount of driving experience. I'll
not pretend that I have driven even one tenth as many cars
as the people who pen Car and Driver or Road &
Track. But I'll be equally clear about this: the 996 is
a complete piece of shit. It is easily the most underwhelming
car I have ever driven.
I
would have rather driven a 3 series BMW. I would rather have
driven a Corvette. I would have rather driven a Mustang with
its cavitating power steering rack. I would have rather driven
my girlfriend's Celica. I would have rather driven my Scirocco
with its coil binding springs and balding tyres.
Maybe
our rental was just trashed. But could 40,000 rental miles
really explain everything wrong with this car? It might excuse
a rough engine or a leaky transmission, but not the fundamentals.
This car never felt like a Porsche for a single second.
I've
driven several 911s over the years. Early 70's, Early 80's,
late 80's, early 90's. Turbos and non-turbos. All of them
were fantastic cars to drive that gave you a visceral feeling
of the road. When you turned the wheel it was as if your hands
extended down the steering column into the tyres themselves.
The cars were not easy to drive, but if you respected their
style they returned the favor.
The
first thing you notice as you sit down in the 996 is that
the interior looks, well, cheap. Plastic where there should
be metal. The shift throw is long. The seats are more comfortable
than supportive. Thank god the pedals have been overhauled,
but they're still not as good as an M3. And the steering wheel
still isn't adjustable even after the entire car was
completely redesigned. You think that if they had to make
the car look like a soap bar the least they could do is give
you an adjustable steering column. Seriously.
But
I honestly don't care about the interior. All I want is a
car that goes fast and inspires confidence.
Turn
the key (still on the left, thank goodness) and it almost
sounds like a real 911. And I will hand it to Porsche on this
point: the engine is really fantastic. It sounds good, it's
much smoother than the aircooled motor and it pulls strong
right up to the redline. A big improvement over the old 3.6L.
We hit the limiter quite a few times during our hot laps.
But
that's where the fun ends. The traction control would engage
when the car was nowhere near losing grip. The ABS would kick
in at the most random times and stay engaged until you completely
let off the pedal. My lowly MR2's ABS is about a hundred times
better than this. Maybe it's tuned for Michigan winters or
something.
The
steering has almost no feedback whatsoever. The suspension,
while very good over the bumps, has the more of the feeling
of a touring car than a sports car. The steering used to be
the high point of the 911, and now it's completely unremarkable.
Booo.
When
you shifted out of gear at low speed the transmission made
a clanging sound like a large plate on the end of a spring.
I'll chalk this up to poor maintenance, but it's still disappointing.
 The
brakes, the huge monobloc 4-pot calipers on 12.5"
rotors, were smoking after two laps. Smoking. Cooked. Done.
The 255/40/17 tyres on the rear were blistered and beaded.
And the dust shield warped so much from the heat that it was
dragging on the inside face of the rotor. This is a Porsche?
I remember this same problem occurring my friend's Mitsubishi
Eclipse. And I think that was after I wrecked it...
(sorry, Brian.)
Flying
down the main straight was scary. You can see in the video
how the car would bob up and down and weave side to side.
Maybe the alignment was off? Whatever, it really didn't make
you want to go fast. At 150MPH, you wanted to hit the brakes
more than anything else. Of course, the brakes were probably
already on fire. Catch-22.
But
you know what sealed the deal? It was the worst part of all:
the door. What used to be a beautiful, solid, mechanical vault
of a door system is now as hollow, plastic, and lifeless as
my old Subaru RS was. Seriously. Go find a 993 and close its
door a few times. Find a 996 and repeat that process. You
will not think that I am nitpicking. You will begin to understand.
There
were rattles. There were squeaks. The paint was peeling off
the side-view mirrors, clearly a production defect. The paint
seemed faded, despite the car being less than two years old.
Our
car had quite a few miles on it, so maybe it was just a little
beaten up. But for $70,000 I expect a little bit more. This
is supposed to be a car that can take all that you can dish
out. Two laps on the 'ring hardly qualifies.
We
understand that for an extra $13k you can buy a "carrera
package" that boosts the engine output by about 30HP.
That's an expensive air filter! My advice: save the 13 grand
and buy a nice used honda. You'll probably like it more than
the Porsche.
Listen,
if you own a 996 and you're really rather fond of it, then
by all means you may conclude one of the following:
-
Our car was a complete anomaly, probably built by trolls
in a cave somewhere, and all other 996s are just as awesome
as Road & Track says they are.
- The
mileage/abuse of rental life in Germany made the interior,
exterior, suspension, steering, ABS, traction control, and
brakes somehow perform like those of a 10-year-old Mercedes
wagon.
-
I was smoking crack the entire time and have no idea what
I am talking about1. Go directly to rehab. Do
not collect $200.
I
don't want to rain on the parade, but I think that anyone
who takes an objective look at this car for what it truly
is cannot say that it deserves to wear the Porsche badge.
Sure, it's comfy and quiet and has a nice stereo and gets
reasonable gas mileage and holds groceries, but if that's
what you want, go buy a Mercedes. The 996 is a tragedy. I
guess this is what you get from a company that quits LeMans
racing to concentrate on building
an SUV.
And
don't get me started about that one, either.
1.
To make it easier on everyone, flamers can send mail with
the letter "c" as the body of their message for
rapid processing2.
2. >>/dev/null
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Notes
and thanks
First
of all, none of this would have been possible without Richard
Fabian who first showed me the Ruf CTR video some ten years
ago. I have been enamoured with the Nürburgring ever
since. I only hope that one day he gets to take is mint '79
930 and put it through the paces of the Green Hell. You owe
it to yourself, Richard.
The
trip that brought me to the 'ring was in no small part organized
and made possible by Shane Garvey, my partner in crime. We
both managed to keep the shiny side up and the rubber on the
tarmac for two days straight, which I consider a great accomplishment.
Our time in Europe was full of perks and unexpected events.
And considering the fact that we were with the Jaguar team
until the wee hours of the morning before arriving at the
track (the party was in Milan, mind you) I think we were very
fortunate. However, for the record, next time I get to be
the one who is still drunk at 6:00am while you carry
me through the lobby of the hotel to the taxi.
To
Gwenael, Rich, Ed, and all the other ringers who helped us
prepare and made our time at the track so enjoyable, thanks
for your kindness. And Ed, remember to clean those brake rotors
off--the vibration is really kind of scary for a first-timer.
To
Ben Lovejoy, who has one of the most useful web sites I've
seen on the net. He was also kind enough to discuss options
with me over e-mail in preparation for our time at the 'ring.
The wealth of information on his site can really make the
difference between a great trip and a disaster. Your tireless
work is appreciated; keep it up.
To
McLaren International, for their selfless donation of several
nylon tie wraps that made our A/V efforts possible. And to
Damien, our driver, who helped us out with McLaren logistics.
May you never have to drive Ron Dennis in the fog ever again.
Remember, it's your license.
To
our rental car company, who gave us a shitty 911--and had
the class not to complain when we brought it back in even
worse condition. Perhaps there is justice in the world.
To
my girlfriend, who let me go despite the knowledge that I
am an idiot who cannot be trusted.
And
finally, to Germany, for being a fantastic country and home
to the greatest race track in the world. May the 'ring live
forever.
See
you there next time!
Photo
credits: 1, 4, 6, and aerial photo from Ben Lovejoy's site.
Photo 3 from Hotel am Tiergarten. Photo 13 originally courtesy
of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, modified to reflect reality.
All copyrighted photos and maps are reproduced for educational
use only. All other photos © Copyright 2002 Christopher
Heiser, heiser.net.
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