Got a trip to Nurburgring this year with my mate, first time for the both of us.
I am wondering how I can indicate to others that it is my first time (and hence going a bit slow)
I was thinking a hi vis vest or something like trackdays use to indicate first timers.
Or does the track have something similar?
Ta
Just keep to the right hand side of the track and glued to your mirrors. When something comes up behind you indicate to the right that you’ve seen them and that you won’t be moving to the left (the overtaking side) so they can get safely past you.
Most drivers are considerate of those going more slowly than them. If they’ve caught up with you let them past, don’t try to overtake them on the next straight / coming out of the corner.
If you go for an evening session mid-week its usually massively more quiet, so don’t have to worry about volume of traffic. Alternatively if you get there early on the weekend you can have some quieter laps. Otherwise a sunny Saturday / Sunday afternoon is pretty rammed!
+1:cool: and you will get the odd loony:w00t:
ONly been round once and they closed the track to all other traffic for that lap so can’t be of much help, sorry
Take lots of money - the price of a lap has skyrocketed.
yeah unless you committe to quite a few it is fairly expensive nowadays. Got to be done though if you haven’t purely for the sticker although the below might be a cheaper and safer option??
Thanks guys! Should be a good crack can’t wait
If in doubt, just stick to the RHS of the track, be aware its easy to get fixated on whats behind you, so although it might sound stupid look where you’re going, i’ve seen many people have a moment cos they’re too busy looking behind them.
Use your indicators to let people know you’ve seen them and won’t be moving across their line and remember to cancel them after they’ve safely passed. Also seen some near misses when somebody has forgotten to switch their indicator off, then moved across onto the line just as someone was about to pass thinking they’d been spotted.
Also, where possible look as far ahead as possible, there are loads of blind crests/corners, expect the unexpected, you may have to stop, avoid debris/oil/coolant or there may be a car/bike stopped/spun on the circuit which you may not be able to see until the last second. Keep an eye out for yellow flags or people at the side of the track waving, usually passengers or drivers will run back down the side of the track waving to warn following traffic.
If a faster car passes you just before a corner, ease off straight away as they often pull in straight in front of you and they can brake a damn sight harder than most bikes, especially schincter tightening in the wet, lol.
Also worth playing a few laps on playstation/xbox just to familiarise yourself with the general layout, though it takes years to learn properly. I’ve done 39 laps on the bike and still sometimes I get surprised by the layout as some corners look very similar on approach.
And most importantly, don’t get into a dick waving contest with your mates about who’s quickest and start comparing laptimes, things can and regularly do go tragically wrong in an instant. Bear in mind almost all of the corners have no run off areas whatsoever except a metal armco barrier. Ride within your own personal limits and always have a bit in reserve.
Even more importantly, have fun, its the best fun i’ve ever had on a bike (including racing) it really is the most technically demanding lap you can imagine. Expensive as hell but worth every penny. The ultimate test for machine and rider.
And i’m off tomorrow for trip number 6, for 4 full days on track including the GP circuit on Easter monday.
Its very addictive and trackdays/racing for me are just boring in comparison.
