[Superhatch]

I got to drive the ring last year, and also rented from rent4ring.com (great group of guys there) but was in a Stage 2 Suzuki Swift. Still loads of fun, and I suggest if anyone is in the area they try to incorporate it into their trip. I'm SUPER jealous that you got to drive it in a BRZ...that would have been extreme joy for me. Thanks for sharing!

Gonna hijack for a bit and share my experience.

Here is my write-up that I did on another site, also have some pics there:
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=3025104

So, short write up before I post pics and video.

It was AMAZING! I ended up doing 12 laps instead of the planned 4-6 simply because I was having such an awesome time driving. The first 4-5 laps were dry for most of the track and the 2nd half had some damp spots but nothing that made me lift at all. The second half of the day had some decent rain though. I started driving at 9am and from 9-10 the track was virtually empty. There were maybe 10 other cars on track at that point and we were all spread out, I didn't see anyone on my first couple of laps...really perfect conditions.

The car was great. It had Toyo 888's, race pads, braided brake lines and a solid suspension setup. Without those tires and race pads the day would have been much, much less fun. Most of the guys who brought their rented 3 series, or the like could do 1-1.5 laps before their brakes were gone. Renting a track prepped car meant that I could do 3 laps at a time w/o any brake fade and only came in because the tires were getting a little too hot. Keep in mind at that point you're at about 35 miles of straight racing with just a tiny slow down on the main straight to swipe your ring card again. One guy I met that was also renting a Swift took his MS3 on track just to say he did it and his brakes were gone 1/2 way through the course!

In my little, 130hp Swift sport I was easily keeping pace with M3's and a couple of the Porsches that were there. On my last lap I actually had to slow down twice because a Z4 and an M5 were holding me up and not letting me pass. I know many of you suggested that I rent something with more power, but honestly a smaller car with upgraded brakes and semi-slick tires could hang with most other things on the track that day. There was a Mini Cooper S that was all over a Ferrari 599 every time they passed me.

The fastest cars on track when I was on were a GTI, a Mini Cooper S, and a GT3 RS which was a full blown race car. The other thing is that many of the M3's and Porsches that I was hanging with were at 7-8/10 because 1. It was a little wet most of the day, 2. They were driving their own cars which were not really track prepped, 3. They had to drive home. So hanging with an M3 in a Swift wasn't specifically a victory of any sorts, but I spent WAY less money renting a Swift and ended up being just as fast or faster than the majority of the cars on track.

Crashes. Oh, there were crashes. The first victim the Green Hell claimed was a beautiful early 90's, mint condition, black Porsche 911. Back end came out after a corner and he continued into the barrier. Head down I saw him walking in the grass on his cell phone totally dejected. He was on maybe his 2nd lap. After that the cars I saw in the wall were:

E36 M3 Sedan
Rental GTI
New Audi TT
E36 M3 Coupe

Those cars all took serious damage and wouldn't be driving home. I was on the tail of a yellow/black TT ("tuner graphics") in the first part of Hatzenbach that went in too hot in the rain and slid off and then he let me pass and I didn't see him after a couple corners. I think he was a bit shaken. There were a few offs where you could see tire marks, but no impact marks.

I drove from 9-2pm usually in 2-3 lap segments, stopping for lunch at the diner there, and getting a 1/2 tank of fuel once out on the main road.

Costs:

Gas: $120 (15 gallons @ $8/gal)
Track tickets: $408 (12 @ $34/lap)
Car rental: $375 (Rental of the car from 9-5, full insurance coverage included).
Hotel: $78 (stayed at the Tiergarten)
Rental car + Gas from Darmstadt to Nurburg: $215 (two day rental of a Ford C-Max from Avis)

These are just the costs added to any normal trip you are on (assuming you didn't rent a car). It's not cheap, at all.

Final I'll note that throughout the day I kept hearing about the "fastest man on track" and how he would likely show up at some point on opening day. He's 65, and drives a track prepped VW Polo, on the public days he is almost always the fastest guy around, wished I would have seen him.