Similar to many this is a trip I have been wanting to do for many years. My father would join me and I convinced my parents to pay for the trip as a birthday present.
The day before leaving for this trip, I had just returned from an 800 mile Yorkshire Dales extravaganza so it was a quick turnaround!
Some of the photos have had to be compressed to be uploaded hence the lower quality.
Day 1 - Home to Germany
An 5am start for a 10am Dover-Calais ferry.
Nothing much more to say here to be honest! It was my first time driving on the "wrong" side of the road so that took some getting used to. It took about 5 hours to get from Calais to our AirBnB in Germany. It almost entirely motorway so it did make think more about retrofitting cruise, a 6 speed box and air con! But 38mpg I can't complain really. Oooo and the luxury of undercover parking at the BnB was much appreciated!
Day 2 - Oldtimer GP
It was about a 1 hour drive to the Nurburgring which goes by quickly on the fast flowing roads of Germany.
This was a great day out! Really quite hot so we tried to stay out the sun. There was some great racing from the classic DRM cars (Zakspeed Capri, M1 procar etc), an enormous 50+ size touring car race, and a dragster show. Lots of interesting cars dotted around the infield like one big car meet!
Later that evening we drove into Adenau for dinner and stumbled across a car meet/live band event which was brilliant.
Then back to the same AirBnB for the night.
Day 3 - The main event
I took the morning to take a few photos around the Nurburgring outskirts.
Then it was showtime, the Nordschleife!
Fortunately I knew the track off by heart from the racing simulator I have at home, meaning I could focus on the cars around me and the driving more than the track itself. I treated the car to some 102 octane fuel which it of course loved!
Across the day I did a total of 3 laps, making sure to give the car a good rest in between. I felt a bit of brake fade at some points throughout (EBC yellowstuff and BMW discs) but nothing too crazy and overall I was very pleased with how the car performed. You can definitely feel the compromised rear suspension design of the Z3 when on the track as the rear can feel a bit floaty. Although I am sure some new rear dampers would help!
The atmosphere in the ring carpark was exceptional. Everyone was really chatty and friendly.
Later in the afternoon after the laps had been completed we made our way towards the Belgium border and our place for the night. I couldn't help but stop for some photos.
And then we arrived in the very picturesque town of Monshau
Simply lovely!
Day 4
Of course no picturesque town would be complete without some car photos....
Afterwards we set off for Spa-Francorchamps our final stop.
Of course a few photos along the way.
And then the famous circuit!
It wasn't a long stop here as we had to dash off to Calais for the ferry home.
We arrived home late into the evening having done 1100 miles of driving in 4 days and combined with my Yorkshire Dales trip the days prior 1900 miles in 11 days! I am very proud of the car and very pleased with the work I have done to it. I don't think we could have done much more in the 4 days and we both came back very tired. I would highly recommend a trip like this, especially if you are not paying!
The day before leaving for this trip, I had just returned from an 800 mile Yorkshire Dales extravaganza so it was a quick turnaround!
Some of the photos have had to be compressed to be uploaded hence the lower quality.
Day 1 - Home to Germany
An 5am start for a 10am Dover-Calais ferry.
Nothing much more to say here to be honest! It was my first time driving on the "wrong" side of the road so that took some getting used to. It took about 5 hours to get from Calais to our AirBnB in Germany. It almost entirely motorway so it did make think more about retrofitting cruise, a 6 speed box and air con! But 38mpg I can't complain really. Oooo and the luxury of undercover parking at the BnB was much appreciated!
Day 2 - Oldtimer GP
It was about a 1 hour drive to the Nurburgring which goes by quickly on the fast flowing roads of Germany.
This was a great day out! Really quite hot so we tried to stay out the sun. There was some great racing from the classic DRM cars (Zakspeed Capri, M1 procar etc), an enormous 50+ size touring car race, and a dragster show. Lots of interesting cars dotted around the infield like one big car meet!
Later that evening we drove into Adenau for dinner and stumbled across a car meet/live band event which was brilliant.
Then back to the same AirBnB for the night.
Day 3 - The main event
I took the morning to take a few photos around the Nurburgring outskirts.
Then it was showtime, the Nordschleife!
Fortunately I knew the track off by heart from the racing simulator I have at home, meaning I could focus on the cars around me and the driving more than the track itself. I treated the car to some 102 octane fuel which it of course loved!
Across the day I did a total of 3 laps, making sure to give the car a good rest in between. I felt a bit of brake fade at some points throughout (EBC yellowstuff and BMW discs) but nothing too crazy and overall I was very pleased with how the car performed. You can definitely feel the compromised rear suspension design of the Z3 when on the track as the rear can feel a bit floaty. Although I am sure some new rear dampers would help!
The atmosphere in the ring carpark was exceptional. Everyone was really chatty and friendly.
Later in the afternoon after the laps had been completed we made our way towards the Belgium border and our place for the night. I couldn't help but stop for some photos.
And then we arrived in the very picturesque town of Monshau
Simply lovely!
Day 4
Of course no picturesque town would be complete without some car photos....
Afterwards we set off for Spa-Francorchamps our final stop.
Of course a few photos along the way.
And then the famous circuit!
It wasn't a long stop here as we had to dash off to Calais for the ferry home.
We arrived home late into the evening having done 1100 miles of driving in 4 days and combined with my Yorkshire Dales trip the days prior 1900 miles in 11 days! I am very proud of the car and very pleased with the work I have done to it. I don't think we could have done much more in the 4 days and we both came back very tired. I would highly recommend a trip like this, especially if you are not paying!
