Quote:
Originally Posted by Rameus
I went in summer 2011. Driving the Nordschleife was a bucket list item for me too, so I rented a Suzuki Swift stage 1 from RentRaceCar with one other friend. We did 6 laps each and it felt just right. Doing just one or two laps would have left us wanting more. At that time, one was only permitted to use cameras rented from a little kiosk in the main entry area. Don't know if that's changed since then.
The Nordschleife has the status it has amongst enthusiasts for a few reasons: not just because its dangerous but also because it is simply amazing to drive. I would have trouble being at the Nurburgring and then opting for a GP track run instead of a Nordschleife run. That would be a huge missed opportunity to me.
I was quite nervous before my first lap. At risk of sounding like a complete idiot, I went with no prior track experience and only about 10 hours experience driving a manual transmission. Everyone followed the passing rules very well. I watched my mirrors carefully so I could give faster cars space on the left when safe. Nobody pushed me aggressively. The most dangerous weapons were those who obviously did not know the track. It would be a very good idea to do a few dozen laps on a simulator first, if you can. I'd expect there's more traffic now than ~6 years ago too.
I had a little chase behind a EP2 Civic Si. The Suzuki Swift felt perfect for someone like me. Forgiving, and not fast enough to get into too much trouble. Many corners only required light braking and a downshift. In a car like that, the whole course just flowed together really nicely. Doesn't look like the Swift is available from RentRaceCar anymore, but I had a good experience with them.
Walking through the parking lot was pretty nuts in itself: Carrera GT, GT3 RS4.0s (I saw two), modified GTRs, Corvettes, and endless porsches and bimmers, but lots of interesting other stuff too. Actually, the gas station just on the other side of the main straight had constant interesting traffic too. There's really no replacement to spending your time driving the Nordschleife though.
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So cool, thank you for the input! Getting me excited to go
Also, I apologize for the separate replies, technical difficulties with + button on phone