WingZombie
WingZombie New Reader
3/25/16 7:31 a.m.

I'm headed to Germany for a couple of weeks for work. I'll be a few hours from the Nurburgring and so I have the goal of checking that one off of the bucket list. I'm not confident or foolish enough to take my work provided rental car on the track, so I'm looking at ring rentals. Any advice from those on here who have done it?

Feedyurhed
Feedyurhed SuperDork
3/25/16 7:34 a.m.

I know nothing about how it works but I have always wanted to do that also. I think Sabine ( the ring queen) even does rentals. Have fun!

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
3/25/16 11:32 a.m.

get something cheap (a la Suzuki Swift) and do as many laps as your bankruptcy lawyer says you can get away with

http://www.rentracecar.com/?p=116

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
3/25/16 11:36 a.m.

More realistic advice:

Really though, cheap car and lots of laps is the way to go. Also drive the track in (insert your favorite driving simulator game here) as many times as you can, watch this video over and over, and have fun.

When I did mine, it was my first time on a track ever. I could divide the track into 4 "sections" that made things easier for me than trying to memorize every corner.

After that first elevation change, you'll never be the same

WingZombie
WingZombie New Reader
3/25/16 12:15 p.m.

Thanks for the advice. I've logged several hundred track miles on my mini so I figured something small, low power and FWD would be the way to go since that's what I'm the most comfortable with. I think I'd rather have 20 laps in a Swift than 3 laps in a GT-3.

84FSP
84FSP HalfDork
3/25/16 1:43 p.m.

I'll be trying this again in April as my January attempt failed due to a closed track for resurfacing. There are literally a ton of rent to race places there. I found these guys at RSR and they were kind enough to take me through full shop tour and invited me to join them at an event at Spa the next day. RSR Rent to race Nurburgring

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
3/25/16 2:58 p.m.

I've rented from rentracecar.de twice and I've been very happy with them. They're positioned right in the parking lot at the entrance, so it's super convenient, too. 12 laps in the renault clio rs would be my recommendation..

WingZombie
WingZombie New Reader
3/28/16 6:43 a.m.
84FSP wrote: I'll be trying this again in April as my January attempt failed due to a closed track for resurfacing. There are literally a ton of rent to race places there. I found these guys at RSR and they were kind enough to take me through full shop tour and invited me to join them at an event at Spa the next day. RSR Rent to race Nurburgring

When in April? It's looking like I'll probably be there on the 23rd or 24th.

Jerry
Jerry UltraDork
3/28/16 6:56 a.m.
WingZombie wrote: I'm headed to Germany for a couple of weeks for work. I'll be a few hours from the Nurburgring and so I have the goal of checking that one off of the bucket list. I'm not confident or foolish enough to take my work provided rental car on the track, so I'm looking at ring rentals. Any advice from those on here who have done it?

No, but a question. ...are you hiring??

WingZombie
WingZombie New Reader
3/28/16 9:51 a.m.
Jerry wrote:
WingZombie wrote: I'm headed to Germany for a couple of weeks for work. I'll be a few hours from the Nurburgring and so I have the goal of checking that one off of the bucket list. I'm not confident or foolish enough to take my work provided rental car on the track, so I'm looking at ring rentals. Any advice from those on here who have done it?
No, but a question. ...are you hiring??

We are always hiring. We have two global HQ facilities one of which is about to be in Paderborn.

WingZombie
WingZombie New Reader
4/6/16 1:37 p.m.
WonkoTheSane wrote: I've rented from rentracecar.de twice and I've been very happy with them. They're positioned right in the parking lot at the entrance, so it's super convenient, too. 12 laps in the renault clio rs would be my recommendation..

OK, reservation has been made at rentracecar for 12 laps in the Renault Clio RS, Trophy on May 1st. I'm simultaneously excited and terrified. I guess I should get a video game/simulator and start practicing.

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
4/6/16 2:39 p.m.

That's awesome! I was able to get down to a 9:07 BtG my first day there in that car :)

I didn't have any simulators to practice with, so I just watched a bunch of youtube videos.

I use RaceChrono for android to time my laps with good success. I bought the "pro" version which does telemetry overlay on the video capture.

Edit: I found video of one of my earlier runs (a 9:17).. RaceChrono has the ability to give predicted lap times, on my second visit I had 3 that were predicted to be into the 8:50s, but various factors stymied me such as random cautions or a few accidents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc-cR-caykY

WingZombie
WingZombie New Reader
5/5/16 7:51 p.m.

Just got home today. Last Sunday I ran The Ring. I'm still in disbelief that I've done it. The conditions were garbage...between 35-40 degrees, blowing wind, fog and even a few snow flakes. It didn't matter as I was grinning from ear to ear. The Renault Clio Trophy was a good choice for me and I adjusted to it quickly. I was passing 5 cars for every 1 car that was passing me. I can't wait to go back. The elevation changes are astonishing in person. The carousel is 3x rougher than it appears in youtube videos. Ring Taxi's will pass you like you're in reverse.

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/5/16 9:02 p.m.

Awesome! I'm glad you had a good time!

It's amazing how awful conditions will be at a track that still has us all excited :)

84FSP
84FSP Dork
5/6/16 6:26 a.m.

It's amazing right? I couldn't believe how long it was when I was on course. Everytime I would settle in and get a little comfy I would be surprised by it's latest twist. Finally got to run it two weeks back Sunday and it was amazing. I had similar crappy conditions which were setting my "you should know better than to be on a race track in someone elses car" meter off.

collinskl1
collinskl1 GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/6/16 6:40 a.m.

I ran it about a month ago in a Suzuki from Rent4Race. I went on Sunday in the morning with similar conditions. While it kinda sucked being cold and dreary, it did mean that there wasn't much traffic from other cars.

Having not spent any time on simulators and I only watched a few videos, I drove it like a winding mountain road that I'd never been on before.

And yeah, the carousel is way rougher than I thought it would be.

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/6/16 7:25 a.m.

I don't think I'd take any car that I owned on the inside of the carousel for sure.

By the end of my second time there (so 12th run that I drove, 24th run that I was in the car for), I was really getting the hang of "what comes next." My first day there the best I could do is remember sections at a time.. "I think this section comes next" kinda thing.

Fueled by Caffeine
Fueled by Caffeine MegaDork
5/6/16 8:24 a.m.

This is on the bucket list.

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