Know how to ride the Nurburgring
Content
20 meters of track, 832 turns, 73 meters of elevation: the ultimate scheme for adrenaline fans
Traffic management, rules to know, state of mind to approach this challenge ...
The Nurburgring can be played on a game console. It's simple. You can also go there: it's not very difficult (see this other article: Go to Nürbruggring already published in Den) and spend an enjoyable day watching funny cars driven by crazy people.
Therefore, the next step is to travel there. Because the Nürburgring is unique in a landscape of speed and adrenaline fans. It is a timeless place that goes beyond the current logic of super-security. For bikers, this is undoubtedly a dangerous place, as you will find yourself on the track with all kinds of users at the same time. In addition, there are few (if any) gaps and the biker is very helpless in the face of possible splashes of earth, oil and water leaks from previous vehicles. It's hard to find the right tone here between dramatization and moral lesson, but let's say the Nürburgring is not recommended for beginners. Indeed, you have to control movement, bumps, terrain, blind turns, and all this at fairly high speeds: it takes composure and control!
So we can say that the Nürburgring is a bit of an ultimate circuit for adrenaline lovers: up a notch, there is the Macau Grand Prix circuit and the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. And it's all!
So, all you have to do is refuel, check the condition of your tires and pads, call a few friends and go!
By law, the Nurburgring is a closed, toll, one-way and no-speed departmental road. And, just like on the road, you only double to the left. Therefore, it is not a track, even if it is under high surveillance by many of the runway's stewards. What is surprising is that paid workers (remember that this is € 29 per lap, with reduced rates thereafter, down to € 1900 for an annual pass) only look discreetly at your motorcycle) but still check that you are made of reinforced jeans or leather and boots. You are not asked for a license or insurance. On the other hand, if you hit a hit, you will have the opportunity to discover German austerity in all its splendor, and you will be charged a fee for the intervention of commissioners (€ 100), a tow truck (€ 400) or even a rail meter that you folded, cleaning the track, and a bag to close the runway if needed.
Closed, toll, one-way departmental road without speed limit
Once you pass the toll barrier, you will have to supply gas and in bulk. And do not get too lost in conjectures: because around you it is nonsense. Indeed everything. You will leave in the middle of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and McLaren 570S, as well as an Opel Corsa Diesel, two grandfathers in an old Mercedes 230 D with a grandson hanging in a child seat in the back, a pimp after a teenage in an ageless Subaru, a raised Toyota Land Cruiser 4 × 4 with a tent on the roof
Rock'n'roll? Of course!
Along the way, hierarchy often defies appearance: at the Nüburgring, this is the only place to see a Fiat Panda outside the Lamborghini Gallardo. If you are a regular member Nordschleife on the game console, you will discover a different reality: Gran Turismo and Forza have a good idea of the layout and its decor (even panels and graffiti blatant truth), but the virtual does not restore the intensity of the elevation changes, and the proximity of the rails seriously changes the perception of the experience.
And experience, she's a depot! With a sports car, the first big braking has already reached a speed of 250 km / h.
Friend's tip: make sure you leave with hot tires, because one day while driving in a car, I saw an Aprilia RSV4 on the rail at that time. The connection to the F1 contour then allows brushing the inner rail with a shoulder stroke. Keeps track of tight left and right with roll and release braking, then a succession of bang-bangs (attention, a big difference in height at the point of the angle change on the second), and there we enter into real courage.
It is called airfieldand this is not a coast, but a damn wall, preceded by a rift that runs between two narrow rails. At the top of the coast, there is a completely blind right turn, but it goes very quickly. The success of not cutting too much at a time requires a real habit. Then we find ourselves in a very fast section (a good GTI or Megane RS is then at over 230 km / h - and some end up on the track after losing the rear end because we have to apply a big brake during the bend and downhill); but suddenly it's less touchingly on motorcycles.
On the other hand, there was a new piece of courage after that: Adenauer-Frost cup... It's bang-bang, but at over 220 km / h, downhill and then uphill. Be careful, this results in two very hard right turns that cause a lot of straights. As a bonus, the vibrators are 70 centimeters high at this point. In fact, these are sidewalks, or rather launch pads if you get out of the trajectory. Too cute, right?
Concrete or not?
Do you still want a piece of courage: a tight descent into the village of Adenau: high, the rail next to it, from the dense and full of people at the end, on the hill. Here, as a rule, this is the place where cars are much faster. I got inside in a black BMW M5, which I have not seen in my retro. Hot…
After humiliation comes a moment of revenge: the great climbing between Bergwerk and turn in front of the famous Carussell... Two kilometers to get all the horses out, with twists and turns that are actually breakthroughs that go through to the fullest. This is where female athletes express themselves, but don't think that you are the master of the world. I stumbled upon a Porsche 911 Turbo (550 horsepower and four-wheel drive, that helps!), Especially since there was a bit of traffic to double up and the brazen didn't leave the seat. Still: it's crazy, 911 Turbo!
Karussell is famous for its 210 ° radius concrete slabs: each has its own technique, some take it, others go outside. The next long section runs at medium speed and consists of a series of rows in very hilly terrain. More than pure speed for a given turn, this is pulse whole, which should be preferred. I can brake the 911 Turbo around the corner in front of the little Carussell (we can take it inside because it beats less than the first one). The last straight side and you will come to the last straight line, which cars usually idle to cool the engine and brakes. A problem that motorcycles don't know and you can drive 300 km / h before returning to the parking lot empty but happy!
To be safe, you must go fast!
If our ego is to get hit, we have to admit that the bike only has one advantage over cars: the ability to accelerate (and possibly a smoother trajectory in tight bangs and more!). Otherwise, we tend to lose, both in braking and in curve speed.
This has a consequence: since cars constantly enter the track (the chain closes in accidents, i.e. often), you will be in a traffic jam. We've seen the guys ride a 125 KTM Duke or Yamaha 600 XT: to be honest, we don't recommend you because you'll be wasting your time getting ahead of them, and not necessarily in a clean way. Everyone finds his pleasure where he can, but I personally do not see there.
Don't be surprised by the Youtube entries or even the official track table: the absolute record is 6'11 in a race car (Porsche 962) and 6'48 in a production car (Radical SR8) versus 7'10 on a motorcycle (Yamaha R1). But this is for the loose chain professionals. On the move, in BTG (Bridge to Gantry, or both landmarks, signs, at the beginning and end of the main straight line), with less than 10 ′, you are not slow, less than 9'30, that's right, less than 9 ″, that's fast. So we should aim for a car that gives you that kind of time for just one reason: don't suffer from all the Sunday student drivers, with their patched GTIs and non-aging BMW 328i, who make up the bulk of the customers who visit the rails.
Trust me, you don't want to be overtaken by this type of vehicle.
Then there are supercars: the pros and regulars who often drive cars like the BMW M3, Porsche 911 GT3 and other fighter jets are likely to be faster than you. The tricky part is spotting them in your retro and letting them go from a small gap in the trajectory or a small blinking shot, being big throttle on this devilish slide! But during this trip, I also saw a BMW M5 "Ring Taxi" (thus driven by a professional), also on the tracks. So you have to be suspicious all the time ...
In the second round on Saturday night, the track, covered with a thick cloudy carpet, became rainy, but since it is huge, it started to rain while I was already running. Experienced: A large square during re-acceleration in a fast section (just after seeing the Ducati Multistrada in a double-turn rail), barely caught by the sophisticated electronics of the R1. Friend's tip: the e-package of modern motorcycles is your ally!
In asui or track mode?
To go fast, everyone has their own technique! Some feel comfortable in road rally mode, focusing on improvisation and liveliness, “others are more in road mode, knee on the ground and full width trajectory. Everyone has their own feelings. As for me, I'm more on the road on the circles, but increasing its speed reveals a new problem: the chain is extremely uneven. All experts say it takes a hundred laps to pretend to know the Nurburgring!
But even before you get to this point, riding this mythical and historical route will be a source of extreme sensations! Brake the Megane RS with the brakes on your own on the Nissan GTR, smell the hot spots (unprepared cars suffer a lot on this track) in the tight descent to Adenau, discreetly guess the crowded hills in the surrounding area, cross the photographer's eyes as you enter Karussell, feel the bitumen rising to heaven, all this contributes to making the Norsdchleife an absolutely unique experience.
Try it at least once in the course of any experienced biker.
To sum up
Horse riding tips on the Nurburgring
- Stay humble
- Please note, it is not open all the time: check the dates and times of the "tourist trips" at nuerburgring.de
- And not wanting to over-dramatize the thing: this is not for beginners ...
- Don't forget that there are no gaps and that if you exit, they are right in the rail
- Find out the route
- Double left and only left
- Look into its retro
- Pay attention to the beats
- Be humble and give the fastest pass
- It is advisable to take a motorcycle with ABS and traction control
- Beware of the Porsche 911 Turbo S!
- Absolute disbelief if wet!
- Pay attention to the difference in elevation
- Ride secure and equipped (and an airbag is a good idea ...)
- Is the weather good and the track open? Take a ride (there will definitely be a box soon, it will close and you won't know how long it will last).
- Get the most out of your experience!
