johnfm

Oh, any news on the drivers from the 5 car smash on Sunday? Hope they were OK.

JW Hubbers

Hi John,

I already have a room booked for the weekend of 16-18 September. A whole bunch of Swedes will be there too, mostly in Porsches, mostly very well-driven
That weekend I'll be driving the 964 instead of the Ibiza

Ben usually drives a black 944, but its engine is dead. Last weekend (and the rest of this year) he drives a shared Golf, either this one



or its red cousin Both cars are stripped and fully race-prepped

My Seat is black:



Cheers,

JW

JW Hubbers

That seems to be a UK-only rumour. I haven't heard anything like that (and I was there until 18.00 hours), and haven't read anything about such a thing on the German boards.

What did happen is that a biker went down, and an Ariel Atom went into the embankment to avoid him.

Cheers,

JW

johnfm

I arrived at about 12.30ish on Sunday. Track was closed for a minor smash. Re-opened for 10 minutes then closed for about an hour or so - two ambulances went on plus three of the little paramedic cars. I'd heard the Atom was involved too. Hopefully nobody badly hurt.

Re; 16-18 Sept, whats weather like in Sept? I may tru to come along.

JW Hubbers

Hi,

AFAIK everybody was more or less OK.

Predicting the weather at the Ring is more or less impossible. The weather forecast for last weekend is an excellent example. The forecast was along the lines of "wet, wet, wet" and a few thunderstorms to liven things up. What we had from Saturday morning to Sunday evening was quite a bit of sunshine, some short showers, and no thunderstorms.

Anyway, the weather in September is usually pretty good. Maybe the Swedes are just lucky: the "Swedish Weekend" has enjoyed nice weather for the past few years.

Cheers,

JW

Morty

Don't jinx it!

(Hope to see you there! I will be driving my new green 964 RS.)

JW Hubbers

OK, disregard my previous post: the weather at the Ring is awful in September. Always. It rains cats and dogs, there's a 90% chance of snow, and you'll have thunderstorms every few hours. And because of the frost opening times will be limited.

964RS...

If you PM me your license plate, I'll keep an eye out for you when taking pictures

Cheers,

JW

Winston

So what is required to drive on the "Ring?" Any passenger can enter? Is rollbar/cage needed? Helmets? Are there rental agencies that will rent a car for the day at the "Ring?"

Greg_L

Anyone with a license. rollbar/cage not needed. Helmets not needed. Not sure about the rental agencies. I imagine not though. I know of one guy who crashed a rental car on the ring. When he took it back, he 'elaborated' the wherabouts of the accident. All seemed fine until they found a used public day ticket under the mat. Then they politely told him he was going to have to pay

Jean

I was there last week-end too with some Rennlisters from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Norway! I shipped my 993TT there from Saudi Arabia.

An unforgettable experience for sure. No matter what people can tell you , you will be overwhelmed by the track , the town and the whole atmosphere.
It has to be driven with a lot of respect until you learn it properly, a lot of blind turns and many cars and bikes around you.

The Dorint is amazing, as the track is right under your balcony, on a Saturday or Sunday it is real fun. The Tiergarden is a very nice smaller hotel where the food is fantastic and you deal with very nice people. You cannot go wrong with either.
The first day we witnessed a bike accident where the biker unfortunately died afterwards, we have it on video not knowing that he would loose his life afterwards. I am not sure whether it is the same one mentioned above. The track was closed down.

On the other hand it is a very humbling experience, you can witness how your 600hp turbo 993 is being tailed by a mini cooper S even on the straights, I could not believe it, needless to say that the first turn after the straight he was already ahead of me, and I ran an 8:40 time!! BTW I think that 964RS in the picture was being prepped at the same race shop as mine in Backnang near Stuttgart, I saw that car there.

A friend of mine who was there with a rented 996 C4 crashed twice!
From what I have witnessed, the biggest mistake that some people do is to feel too comfortable after the first few laps and think that they can go faster. You have to be very respectful of the other tourists, you can fund a bus behind a sharp turn, if you misbehave you can be reported and thrown out, there is an implicit code of conduct, which is great.
Video cameras are not allowed, although I managed to film by fitting it on my roll cage after the start
Here is a picture of the car and track.
Enjoy it, it is a unique experience!

Johnny G Pipe

Next year, maybe..
- I am in trouble for spending a week in Europe and wilting my credit card immediately prior to becoming unemployed, but hopefully she'll get over it by 2006 ..indeed, hopefully I'll have a job by 2006!

Have a grand time!