Errrr...no.
On Monday I got back from a weekend at the Nurburgring.
The wife and I set off 0500 Friday, heading for Felixstowe to drop the kids with my mother-in-law. Got there 0845, quick cup of tea and bite of breakfast, fill tank and off again to Dover (yes, there is a ferry from Felixstowe, but it costs over three times as much).
Arrive at Dover 1230, but ferry delays meant we didn't sail until 1445.
Arrived Dunkirk 1800 local time (European Summer Time is an hour ahead of BST), refueled again and set off on the E40 toward Brussels. The route to Nurburg is very simple, involving only two changes of road, but confusing Belgian autoroute signs saw us stray from the E40 twice; once where it becomes the ring-road around Brussels and again just before Liege.
As we were staying in Cochem, 40km SW of Nurburg, we turned off the E40 shortly after Liege onto the E42.
All these delays meant that we were now running very late, meaning the throttle now stayed wide open unless there was a good reason for it not to be. Thus it was discovered that a 320i will reach an indicated 135mph (about 125 actual) at 6500rpm, given a long enough straight and a slight downslope
Finally reached the hotel in Cochem at 2220. Asleep by 2300!
Up next day at 8, lots of breakfast and off to the 'Ring. Not too much traffic about, but lots of pedestrians around Nurburg and the GP circuit entrances - it's the ADAC Truck GP this weekend and the place is heaving.
Fortunately the Nordschliefe seems to be the preserve of doers rather than spectators and isn't so crowded. Following the advice of many, I chat to a few people and arrange a passenger lap with somebody experienced.
James was kind enough to take me out for a couple of laps in his 968, cruising round initially to get an idea of conditions, then speeding up a little. The 'Ring is so big that weather conditions can change completely more than once in the course of a lap, so a sighting lap is always useful.
The wife and I lid up for our first solo lap and head cautiously out. I was prepared to be the slowest car on the track, and indeed we were passed a lot. I felt like I spent most of my time watching my mirrors for faster traffic, but still managed to have some fun, stay on the grey stuff and get an idea of where the track went.
Straight out again for another lap, a little more relaxed and confident, but still almost completely clueless about most of the circuit.
Taking advice again, we stopped for a rest and a drink (it was very hot) and to let the car cool down. An ideal opportunity to go spotting exotica in the car park...
This Ferrari was seen on the track earlier, unlike many. Lots of supercar owners come to the Nordschliefe to pose.
Nobody's impressed by them.
A pair of very shiny TVRs. They looked even better later on wearing the dust of several laps.
A Lotus Exige, possibly the perfect car for having fun on the 'Ring.
Lots of 911s about. Not many of these posing, most of them very quick.
A real rare one - Lamborghini Gallardo. Did go out, but by all accounts took it easy.
This 911 Carrera 4 belongs to Paul....more about Paul later.
On our next lap, the weather forecast finally came true and the rain came down. And bounced up before coming down again. The Eiffel mountains can put on an excellent thunderstorm, lightning and all. I stayed out as the rain had scared most of the bikes and faster cars away, making it easier to concentrate on getting the line right and learning the track.
A lightning strike about 1km away at Metzgestfeld provided a little excitement, as did the rubber deposited at the entrance to Aremberg, making it very slippery in the wet (ABS? What's that?).
Evidently not everyone had been scared away by the weather, for two laps later the track was closed by an accident. This is by way of a daily occurrence, though most closures don't last the 2+ hours this one did. With nothing to do but wait and try to stay dry, we went for lunch.
On our return, the track was still closed, but not for long and we managed another four laps on a rapidly drying track. The last lap of the day was bone-dry and felt like the fastest yet.
I was up at 0650 the next day (can't sleep - too excited!). Breakfast wasn't until eight and leaving before it was unthinkable
so I took the time to check the car over before the days lapping.Lights, OK; tyre pressures good; oil and water topped up; brake fluid still full....WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??
That was a sheared engine mount. There was a matching one on the other side
I came as prepared as I could be. I have a first-aid kit, spare bulb set and warning triangle in the car. I have a trolley jack, axle stands and a fairly comprehensive tool kit in the boot. I don't have spare engine mounts (well, would you?).
So I'm deep within Germany, I don't speak the language, I have a car in a very bad way that I can't fix and it's Sunday. Europe closes on Sunday. I go back to the hotel room and tell the wife.
She suggests trying in Nurburg. There are a few possibles I've heard mentioned, including Ringhaus in Nurburg itself and Ring-Racing down the road. After breakfast we set off, driving very smoothly and carefully.
Ringhaus, a hotel and bar on the way to the circuit does indeed have a garage, but the mechanic was on the piss last night, and won't be up until 11. At the car park we get directions to Ring-Racing from Dave of northloop.co.uk and cautiously make our way there.
We aren't the first in and we haven't booked, so we have to wait for a slot, but they've agreed to do what they can.
What they can do is impressive. They only have one e30 m20 engine mount in stock, so they make up a race style poly mount for the other side.
This done, they notice both gearbox mounts are also gone (how the engine didn't escape through the radiator I don't know), and there are no standard e30 gearbox mounts in stock. Fortunately, M3 mounts also fit (my car is now 0.01% M3 by weight
)The price for four mounts and 1.5 hours labour on a Sunday?
155 Euros (about £108). Can't recommend these guys enough.
All sorted and back to the 'Ring to put some laps in. The track stays dry and people stay (mostly) on it, meaning few yellow flags and no closures. Soon I'm up to 20 laps and getting to know the circuit. Some parts I have well locked in; I know that Aremberg can be taken at 50-60 mph in 3rd, as can the Karussell (but it's scarier) , I'm frustrated by being flat-out in 4th all the way from Bergwerk to Steilstrecke (over 2.5 km, all uphill, and I'm lucky to get up to 100mph by the end of it).
Other bits are still a problem, mainly a confidence issue. I'm always coming out of ex-Muhle thinking I could be going at least 15 mph faster, and the compression between Fuchsrohre and Adenauer-Forst is still too scary for me to take without lifting off.
But I'd rather be kicking myself for being slow than for crashing.
Higher speeds and harder cornering are also starting to affect my tyres. I can attest that Toyo Proxes T1-Rs are bloody grippy in the dry and amazing in the wet (even with half an inch of standing water) but are susceptible to overheating on the 'Ring. Three laps straight and they look like this:
Four, and they've overheated and are sliding badly. Dropping the pressure helps, but having to park up for a few minutes to do so probably helps more.
Heat (it's 33 C)and motion have done for the wife, too; she feels sick and sits out a few laps. I'm driving alone now, something I was reluctant to do as I felt that a passenger was a good 'red mist preventer'. Turns out that a healthy sense of self-preservation fortified with a dash of fear does just as good a job.
The wife's feeling better now, but she's not coming with me, not this time. We met Paul and friends that morning at Ring-Racing and talked while my car was being fixed. Paul has a 911 Carrera 4, lots of 'Ring experience, and can lap in 8:15. The wife talks herself into a lap with him, which he does in just under 9 minutes. Apparently she feels her husband now has inadequate equipment, as he can only manage this:
Her husband has put under £500 into a 17-year-old car and beaten Clarkson by 12 seconds
There's no pleasing these women
(But she still wants to go back. Soon.)
