rec.autos.simulators

Since it was my first trip to Europe, and I was right in Brussels, Belgium,
it was an absolute misson for me to get to the 'Ring.
I traded in my Renault Laguna for an Audi A4 1.6 a day before to give me
chance to get used to it.  I must say it was a very nice-handling car.  1.6
liters wasn't a whole lot of engine, but it had really powerful 4-wheel
discs, which was probably ideal for someone going for thier first on-track
driving experience  (dark blue, for anyone who was there).
I really picked a good day to go - they were holding a vintage bike/car race
on the GP circuit, so I had alot of fun walking around the pits ogling while
I waited for the Nordschlief to open.
First off - this was just incredible to me to actually be *driving* on the
'Ring.  I may get flamed for this, but to me this is the greatest racetrack
ever, where the real heroes of racing were made.  What's Indianapolis? -
four left turns and a yard of brick ;).  Just amazing that you can still
drive here.
I was surprised at what good shape the track surface was in - the oncar
videos I'd seen made it look like it was going to be a bit torn up (have
they re-paved recently?)  Forgive me for not knowing the corner names...

Low points -
-Being one of the stupid newbie tourists that got in line without a ticket
and held up the serious folks early in line.
-Only having money for 2 laps, and the track closing early by the time I'd
got back from a money machine - I guess someone wrecked?  I saw a race car
on a trailer with front end damage.

'Oh Shit' moments -
-Almost every time I practiced in GPL, the downhill into a right, that
encourages you to use the elevation change to take advantage of the added
grip, but is followed by a really tight left at the top of the hill.
 Anyway - I kept missing this turn in GPL, and sure enough it caught me out
the first lap - both right wheels up on the curbing (OK- the entire right
half of the car...).
-Following a Lotus Elise into a turn and letting myself get sucked into way
too much speed at the apex.  I spent the entire exit plowing the speed off
till the curbing on the left before I touched the gas again.
-Letting a pair of bikes by into the second banked turn, and having to get
back onto the banking <2ft behind the last bike because I felt like I had
too much speed to make it through on the flat outside of the curve.
-Wanting to give the folks at one of the spectating points a nice show, and
banging the car against the rev-limiter on a downshift to second (I was
already keeping the engine between 4500-6000rpms most of the time).

Good moments -
-Following up the bungled downshift with a nice exit from the complex - in
3rd ;)...
-Giving the folks at the next complex a nice show, hopefully - I know I got
the suspension completely unloaded at the crest of the hill, and just made
the turn-in point.
-Finding a rythm through the left-right-left turns, and really using all the
turns: kissing the curbs at the apexes and running it right out to the curbs
on the exits of the individual turns.
-Taking the Karussel in 3rd gear, looking out the side window to look far
enough through the turn.
-Being a good citizen and signalling right, and letting the other drivers
make clean passes.
-Only getting caught up by obviously faster cars, and even having a
'Ring-taxi BMW M-wagon follow me for a few turns even though I'd signalled
right initially.  Don't know if he was content with the pace I was holding,
or scared to enter a turn near me ;).

All in all just an incredible experience!  I'm going to do all I can to make
sure I go back for the next system upgrade, and try to schedule around a
long day with the  'Ring.

I have worshipped at the altar of motorsport and I am forever changed :)...

PS - Give both the museum at the GP course (too touristy for the money), and
the Grun Holle restaurant (unless you just want a beer) a miss if you go...

I am totally envious. But what we really want to know, is what were
your lap times?

--
Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.
GPLRank -1.90

Come see how you rate, at the GPLRank site
http://newgplrank.schuerkamp.de/

I was there by myself, so I didn't try to get times.  It's hard to get a
real laptime anyway - especially to compare to GPL.  You come out onto the
main straight, cut off part of the track (the part that became the new GP
circuit), and have to stop every lap to put in another toll ticket.  You
make a right before the end of the straight and go into Hatzenbach (I dug
out my track map).  It was a little disorienting to get to the Flugplatz
well before I expected it.  That first problem section was Kallenhard, I
think.  I'm trying to match up my memory, GPL, and a printed track map.

Kendt

A couple more questions from a curious disciple. If they wanted to
allow it for some special reason, would it still be possible to lap
the original configuration, or has it been permanently changed? Also,
how much do you feel learning the Ring through gpl actually helped
when doing it for real? Did you know where you were going on that
first lap?

--
Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.
GPLRank -1.90

Come see how you rate, at the GPLRank site
http://newgplrank.schuerkamp.de/

Andre

Come see how you rate, at the GPLRank site
http://newgplrank.schuerkamp.de/

Andre

Thats German efficiency for you

You should see the tall fence just before Hatzenbach, glorious! - so flat,
tall, smooth and imposible to climb

but of course if you walk round the edge of the track 'till you get to the
steep slope down into Hatzenbach 1 you can hop over a 3ft high bit of wire
and get onto the track!

then you wouldn't have a vehicle though...

Perhaps you could post those photos on alt.binaries.simulators.autos, I'm
sure we'd all like to see them :)

--
Cheers,

Robin Lord - Trance DJ & Sim Racer.

http://www.oppositelock.co.uk

Nrburgring and Grand Prix Legends

Oh yes, I forgot that beauty, the spikes on top were the icing on the
cake!

I realized that too after I climbed the wire...

You could have told me that one a little bit earlier...

Andre

The start finish loop is no longer there because they built the new circuit
over the top of it ... the circuit is now <only> 13.1 miles. They also
planed off one or two of the major jumps slightly, but it is still very
close to what it was in 67

They do still race on it though .... the 24hr race of the nordschleife is
this coming weekend .......  look out for a certain David Mercer driving a
BMW M3 E36 ;)

Marc

Also, last time I was there the outside of the lefthander of Hocheichen was
cordoned off by those plastic pylons, because of a previous accident.  (I
managed not to see the yellow flashing light and yellow flag that were
posted off-track in three laps I drove.  Keep your eyes on the track!  I
thought.  I saw the pylons, though.)  I tried to identify the car that
crashed there from pieces of headlights that were scattered around the
countryside, but failed.

There were a few guys sitting there trackside (inside the armco), which I
considered extremely wise because a) there were loud German signs everywhere
saying it was, to put it mildly, not allowed and b) it was obvious they'd
have been killed by the car that crashed there earlier if it happened again.

None of this surprised me, however.  A track official appeared and I thought
he'd send those spectactors away.  But no!  All he did was pick up those
pylons and left.

Of course!  Those pylons cost _money_!  If spectators want to sit where
they're likely to get themselves killed, that's their business.

So much in the spirit of the 'Ring... I shouldn't have been surprised but I
was.

Yes, they sure do.  I like how they open so I can go on the track.  Of
course, that's something you'll never see, Andre.  Make sure you stay well
away from the Ring next time I go!  Ha ha.  Just joking.  I think.

-Laurens de Jong, The Netherlands.

If you haven't already, you could check out
http://fgplc.figc.net/Nordschleife/nordschleife.htm
for my 'Ring report.

Hena

I don't think so - the armco barrier looked pretty permanent ;)...

I'd definitely say it helped - I was able to recognize certain
combinations of curves.  I was far from memorizing the track in GPL,
though.  One of the things I noticed, and had only read about in racing
books, is the idea of "attention budget".  In GPL, the only input you
receive is through your eyes and hands, so you have attention available
to spend on checking out the scenery.  Once I was actually driving, I
was spending alot of that attention budget on feeling what the car was
doing through my body, so all I could really concentrate on visually was
the track itself - and watching my mirrors ;)...  It's a very, very
focusing experience.

Kendt

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

LOL!  Thanks Andre - I missed the gates, so now I *have* to go back :)!
Looking at the schedule, there's a number of weekends in August/Sept
with entire days open.  We'll have to organize a R.A.S. track day!

Kendt

PS - I've spent lots of time in GPL with my car pointed right into one
of the fences - do you feel this helps with being ready for the 'Ring
Gates ;)?

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Wow, excellent report and comparison. Certainly answered my question.
Thank you very much. I pulled out my Ring map and was riding it with
you, with a pit in my stomach!
That's a much better Ring map you used than the one I have. Is that
downloadable from somewhere?
--
Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.
GPLRank -1.90

Come see how you rate, at the GPLRank site
http://newgplrank.schuerkamp.de/