theduisbergkid Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 In ’98 I took delivery of my first decent company car, a brand new Golf Gti, convinced my boss that I had an urgent appointment in Germany and dashed out of the office. Rightly suspicious of my motives, he called me later to see how I was getting on. “The engine is a bit noisy !” he shouted down the carphone. It would be. I was coming down Döttinger Höhe flat out. I didn’t last long in that job. There are many other ways to enjoy the ‘ring and over the years I’ve done it on Banger rallies, in rental cars, and various other stuff I’ve begged, borrowed or twocced. There are 2 major obstacles though: Insurance and Belgium. Most insurance policies specifically exclude the ‘ring (or derestricted toll roads as they sometimes phrase it), and even if they don’t, convincing some call centre Meerkat to pay out for what no-one could legitimately claim is a regular public road is far from ‘simples’. Then there’s the cost of Armco, track closure, cleaning up, etc… Belgium’s tedious topography isn’t an obstacle in itself, but the fact it takes half a day to cross, on potholed roads infested with unbending humourless Cops, is. Then there’s circumnavigating London/M25, the cost of crossing the channel, and lots of fuel. Don’t forget breakdown cover either. And make sure your insurance covers you abroad. And all that safety cack the EU Polizei insist you carry in your boot. Fagpacket maths tells me it costs nearly £400 to get to the ‘ring and back from the Midlands. The only fun is in racing the Eurostar train as it runs parallel to the E40. There’s a framed speeding ticket on my wall from the last time I tried that. And the train won. But you’ve still got the urge to do it, right ? 13 miles of historic zero run-off circuit, featuring every kind of corner, camber and climb you can imagine. And a few you don’t expect, had forgotten about, or are convinced they put in since your last trip to keep you on your toes. So what are you waiting for ? Check the calendar for TouristenFahrt days and get over there. Here’s the most painless way to enjoy the Green Hell: You can fly from the UK to Frankfurt Hahn or Cologne (also called Köln/Bonn) for around £50 in under an hour. BMIbaby, FlyBE, AirBerlin and Ryanair have plenty of options. Rent something cheap from the airport and drive for just over an hour to the ‘ring. Do not take your rental car on the ‘ring though. Many are fitted with GPS and local spotters at the ‘ring get paid to snitch on rental car abusers. We heard the story of one unlucky Brit having €5000 taken from his credit card before his rental had even reached Karussell. There are a handful of companies who will be happy to rent you something suitable to enjoy the ‘ring though, depending on your budget and ability. Here are 4 of the best. continued here. And there's a handy guide to rental cars available at the Nurburgring here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biscuits Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Couldn't agree more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 What a top write-up. Spot on Daz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I wrote this one. He took the pics. Edited October 11, 2011 by theduisbergkid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I wrote this one. He took the pics. It was the "flat out down Dottinger Hohe" that threw me. You. Flat out :ha: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 It was in a MK4 1.8 20v 125 bhp Golf Gti. "Flat out" was about 60 mph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Nice piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Is that Gressy's Volvo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Gressy's Volvo was still in the scrap yard last year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Good article that. I'd not really thought about the 'dangers' of the Nurburgring in that respect. I'm not sure what I'm most taken aback by though - the idiots who would try to race around it in a hire car without them knowing, or the excesses on some of those examples! If it can happen - it almost certainly will! £12,000 as an excess is up there with the excesses on Supercar club memberships! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Good article that. I'd not really thought about the 'dangers' of the Nurburgring in that respect. Ta. Gressy's Volvo was still in the scrap yard last year! Whenever I'm there I send a pic of it to Gressy, but it had gone this year, the w*nker at Auto Teile Giesen has sold the site to someone else who had had a clear up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 It was in a MK4 1.8 20v 125 bhp Golf Gti. "Flat out" was about 60 mph Oh that one - the worst incarnation of the Golf GTI ever conceived, with the Mk3 GTI lump in it. Well done VW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Oh that one - the worst incarnation of the Golf GTI ever conceived, with the Mk3 GTI lump in it. Well done VW I thought you knew your engines Mookyboy.. 1.8 20v was the new engine which they then added a whacking great big turbo to which made a lovely 25bhp more... The Mk3 engine was the 2.0 which was 115hp and even more gash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 The Mk3 engine was the 2.0 which was 115hp and even more gash! That's the puppy - that was in the New Beetle. Feck that was sloooooow. But there was a n/a engine in the MK4 as well (I'm sure it was a 2 litre) as well as the 1.8T in various states of tune? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 But there was a n/a engine in the MK4 as well (I'm sure it was a 2 litre) as well as the 1.8T in various states of tune? The early cars were 1.8 20v 125 bhp, N/A. Shortly afterwards they added a turbo to this engine to make the 150 bhp 1.8t. They dropped the 1.8 20v 125 bhp and replaced it with the old 2.0 115 bhp jobby. I've owned / driven the lot, and they were all crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 There you go - cheers for that Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 This story will be a 6 page feature in January's PPC magazine, in the shops mid Dec, ideal stocking filler (etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biscuits Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 This story will be a 6 page feature in January's PPC magazine, in the shops mid Dec, ideal stocking filler (etc) Pick Pocketers Chronicle ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Is the 'other' story still going in PPC? and Evo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 I'll text you, Tipex, save confusing things on here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazzerVR6 Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 It was the "flat out down Dottinger Hohe" that threw me.You. Flat out :ha: HAAAA. Only just seen this. Thanks Mook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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