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Nürburgring trip, September 1993

It all started early in the year when, inspired by an article on Top Gear, it was decided to run our own trip across Europe to the legendary Nürburgring. The reasons were many, but mainly the thrill of having the freedom of a racing circuit to push our V8s to the limit on one of the most daunting circuits in the world.

According to Tiff Needell, it was a simple case of paying the equivalent of £7 and you're free to do as you wish. Was it really that simple? Read on.....

Time went by and it soon became apparent that the only weekend that the six of us (three cars) were going to be available was this particular weekend in September. It was considered that four days would be sufficient to complete our objectives with some time to spare; one day to get there, two days there and one day to get back. This may sound very easy but this simple plan was not exactly adhered to. Firstly, however, we had to establish where the Nürburgring actually was, We all had our own ideas on where we thought it was and for those of you who don't know, it is in western Germany, the nearest major towns/cities being Koblenz and Bonn.

I won' t dwell too much on the boring preparation details, but we basically made sure that our cars were equipped with the necessary gadgets required for driving in Europe, and that our green cards and personal insurance were all arranged in good time. It was felt that with the past reliability of all three of our cars, and the level of "know-how" amongst us, that it was not worth the expense of an AA 5-star recovery insurance (or RAC equivalent). This later turned out to be a sensible (??) and cost effective omission although there are probably many members reading this that would beg to differ. .

The Friday morning saw us dragging ourselves out of bed at the unearthly hour of  04.30 in order to be at Ramsgate in good time for the 09.00 ferry. We convened at Gill's  house in Luton (five out of the six of us live in Luton) with the intention of getting on the road at 05.30. Amazingly, we were all on time and ready to go at 05.30! A very foggy journey  ensued. The ferry crossing was calm and we arrived at Dunkirque in glorious sunshine which  was to follow us throughout Belgium. The basic route took us via Ghent, around Brussels, via Liege and into Aaehen (Germany), It was around this time that we encountered the rain which  was to play such a dominant role in the subsequent proceedings; for the whole weekend in fact. From the time it started, it did not stop - except once, which I shall come on to shortly.

We found ourselves some accommodation in Schleiden and joined the locals for a drink  in the local that evening. It had been a VERY long drive and on reflection, would have probably split the journey somewhere in  Belgium as most of us were very tired.

 We awoke that Saturday morning to find the deluge continuing. Not wishing to let the  weather dampen our spirits or our enthusiasm, the three V8s set off in search of the Nürburgring. It was not difficult to find, but, as we expected, it was shut. At least the race track was shut, but the museum was open. Not the most comprehensive of museums, it must be said, but probably worth the 8 mark entrance fee just for the dry and warmth alone. That afternoon I had the bright idea of driving to the River Mosel, which is not far from the  Nürburgring and is very picturesque. We arrived at Cochem and having had afternoon tea by the river, we set off, on foot, with our umbrellas, to find some accommodation. We happened to choose the weekend of their annual wine festival and after a considerable amount of time gave up the fruitless search for a B + B. This problem was to manifest itself within a 15 mile radius of Cochem but we eventually found somewhere in a village by the name of Dries very apt, I don't think!

After a rather sad Pizza that evening, we awoke on the Sunday to blue skies and sunshine. Not believing our luck we again set off for the Nürburgring this time to find it open. Without wasting too much time we made our way up to the entrance and gave a man on the gate 14 marks. Was it really this simple? The answer was "yes" and we were given a green  ticket in exchange with a lot of German small print on the back. This was it, a wide open 13 mile race track was beckoning with nothing to stop us! I couldn't wait any longer and went for it! I have never known 13 miles fly by so quickly. It was all over in a little over 10 minutes. It was the most amazing driving experience of my life on what must be one of the most spectacular circuits in the world. 13 miles through amazing countryside - long downhill straights - twisting 2nd/3rd gear sections - banked corners - breathtaking dips - long sweeping left and right handers - wet corners - dry corners - the circuit has everything. We reconvened with the adrenalin still pumping. The drivers were OK but the passengers felt a little on the queezy side. After 20 minutes I could wait no longer and with the skies beginning to threaten again, I went for a second lap. This time it was just two cars; Paul's 1974 V8 and Gill (with the video camera), and my 1973 V8 with a masochistic girlfriend who had barely recovered from the first lap. This was taken slightly slower with a view to obtaining some good photographs. The third driver, Peter, our secretary with his 1978 converted MG BV8, was not
too keen on a second lap as his tyres had given him cause for concern first time round.  Probably a wise decision.

The most astonishing feature of the Nürburgring is the freedom that one is granted.  Anybody, of any age, in any car, in any state can just pay his or her fee and let loose. I passed a family in a Sierra, a family in a BMW and I was passed by a Ferrari F40. There were MK2 rally Escorts and even a coach party. There is no concern for the safety and  welfare of any driver once you're past the gate! I could now guess at the small print on the back of the ticket - something along the lines of ".. it being at your own risk..." and "...we do not accept any responsibility for any damage/death etc..."

During our second lap it started to spit with rain. This was to shortly turn in to the continuing downpour that was to accompany us all the way back to England.

It was about midday on the Sunday when we started to make our way back to England through the Ardennes of Belgium. It was this day (apart from the race track) that was to prove the most interesting. Our ferry was booked for 12.00 on the Monday so we intended to get to within a mornings drive of Dunkirque by Sunday evening, Having done battle with the centre of Brussels we then proceeded to Ghent. It was now 18.30 and VERY wet and I was coming rapidly to the conclusion that no suitable accommodation was going to be found in Ghent. The others were going to try once more in Ostend, but with no Belgian currency I was keen on just getting back to good old England - our holiday was effectively over so myself and Stephanie made a bee-line for the late night ferry. We didn't know ferry times so were amazed to find one waiting for us at Dunkirque at 10 o'clock. Peter, Paul & Co. found themselves accomodation and a bar (in that order) in Ostend and we stayed at Stephanies parent's flat in Broadstairs before the final leg of the journey on Monday back to Luton.

If any members have considered a trip to the Nürburgring, don' t miss the chance. It can easily be achieved in four days and we would not have had any problems if the weather  had not been so inclement. Our main error was to do too much driving in one day. We didn't need to get to the track for Saturday morning and we didn't need to drive all the way home in one go. It was just the prevailing circumstances (i.e. the weather) that forced most of the issues. Finding accommodation is not too difficult provided one does not leave it too late in the day and it is not the main holiday season. The million dollar question is, "would we do it again?" The answer is "yes" and the club intends to organize a similar trip next year with some minor timing modifications learnt from our experiences.

 Footnote:

All three V8s performed the 1000 or so miles without missing a beat or having any mechanical problems. On our journey to and from Germany, we easily managed 30+ MPG. Peter in his roadster averaged 30+ for the whole weekend, and I managed the high 20s. Who says we drive gas guzzlers?

Dave Asquith, Luton and Dunstable MGOC.