Max Power

congratulations!

carrering

great pics!
oh man, that is so depressing! all the while I'm stuck in my office in LA. GT3 sleeping in the garage

i love the atmosphere around the ring. every local town is full of gear heads. even the inn keepers have track cars hidden in a barn somewhere. porschemeister phrased it something like nurburg and driving is similar to aspen and skiing. everyone skiis in aspen and everyone has a set of skiis ready to go. everyone in nurburg has a track machine and they all drive their cars simply to drive them!

RR

Hi John,

If that is your white GT3, my wife and I both saw you there! You were busy helping you wife into the car. We stayed a few hours. It was my first time at the track so I really took it slow - basically I was being passed by almost everything - but with my new RS and my new wife with me I didn't want to take any chances.

tetzlafh

Congrats on the wedding and your pick-up of the GT3RS!

Sadly the 'Ring is becoming another tourist trap and has become IMO dangerously over crowded on nice weekends. It was a lot different just a few years ago. Hell it's still a great place just to drool at cars though.

John Boggiano

Yes, that was us. What I pity I didn't spot you - I don't think I've yet seen an RS in your colours in real life. We were there with out friend Barry in a 964 C4, who described on-track conditions (it was his first visit to the 'Ring) as 'carnage'...

Great fun, though.

Here's a shot in a more tranquil setting nearby.

RR

Yes the track was a bit sketchy when I was on it.
One of those Alfa's hit hard into one of the turns before Hohe Acht I think - he smashed up pretty good.
Also there was a blue Volvo out there with UK plates, blazing up the track and a white A3, that was running on 3 wheels in front of us.
It seems to me a lot of younger drivers are playing Grand Tourismo on Playstation, learning the track, and then borrowing their parents station wagon to try it out in real life - they have more guts than I have..
Anyways, both my wife and I enjoyed ourselves - even though my wife is not particularily a car nut it was still fun.

hammerwerfer

You have to think outside the box, and plan your visit in order to avoid the crowds. Weekday evenings, 0800 or late in the day on weekends and holidays. Although the carpark and access roads are crowded, often the track is pretty much clear. Remember it is 20km around, and there is room for a lot of cars out there.

Still, the cost effective and safer approach is to have a local or experienced driver show you around.

As far as Nuerburg being a tourist trap, I beg to differ. Prices are reasonable and the people are friendly. Te surrounding countryside whilst no the Alps is picturesque, and ther are some really interesting roads for those who like curves.

RR

I have to agree with hammerwerfer. When I was there the parking lot was full but the track was almost empty. And the countryside is very beautiful around there, I was really impressed, it really is a beautiful place to visit. I drove into Nurburg from the A60 or 61 on the way to Koln. When you get off that you travel west into Nurburg and that in itself was a gorgeous drive.

Hammerwerfer, do you know the guy with the White/blue 996GT3RS? I noticed he had his gas cap cover signed by Walter Rohrl, pretty cool.

hammerwerfer

A few weeks back there was a private track day. Walter Rohrl signed a bunch of cars.

He also signed a British Army Major's chest.

A female British Army Major.

Alan Lage

I have gone to the Ring on sunny weekdays after work, usually light traffic on the track. I will be there in my US spec Meteor Grey GT3 on Labor Day when the track opens at 1715 provided it is a dry day. Look me up if anyone else is there. After a few couple of laps and checking out the car show, I usually have a great steak in the village of Nurburg.

John Boggiano

It's a matter of fighting your way to the front - the track access is a bit chaotic, vehicles trying to get on from literally left, right and centre. Took me about thirty minutes from where you can see my car out on the road.

RR

I drove in at about 3pm and drove right on the track, there was no wait for me.
I think a lot of the wait is when people start lining up at 1pm for the track to open up at 2:15, takes some time to get all those people through.

rexav8r

That is just FANTASTIC that you can take your own Porsche on the Ring !!!

Make sure that you introduce yourself to people there. "Most" everyone that shows up there is a true car/motorcycle gear head. Not the, I'm better than you because I've got a cool car, type of people... -at least that's been my experience.

My first ride in a 996 RS was with I guy I met on a slow day. I showed up in a rental Mercedes A-class (chicks dig a guy with a nice A-class - HA) just to see what was going on. Ring was almost empty. A few laps around cost me the grand price of a cappucino! -and now I've got a bud that I stay in touch with to boot !

I was hoping to make it back over sometime in October...

hammerwerfer

Get in touch next time. I should be able to get you a ride in one of the faster cars.