No trip to Germany is complete with a visit to the Nurburgring. I am not talking about the resort, casino, and theme park. I am talking about the public road/racetrack that you can drive for 29 euros per lap. The track is open on most weekdays from 5:30pm - 7:30pm. On the weekends it open almost all day, but is very crowded in the summer. Another reality of the Nordchleife is that the weather can change quickly on different parts of the track. My session would start in the rain.
I was somewhat anxious about driving this track. I have road raced cars for 14 years on various tracks in the U.S., but this one is completely different. Other than watching YouTube videos and playing the track on Gran Turismo, I had no experience on this course. Add to that I am driving my one week old BMW and you can understand the source of my anxiety. THe best advice I heard was simply this: take it slow. You are not going to win a trophy during the Touristenfahrten (Tourist Laps). Take you time, learn the track, and don't be offended when you are overtaken by a Golf.
I switched the drive mode to Sport and headed out. I wasn't going to push the car past my comfort level. The car was very quick on acceleration and doesn't seem to run out of breath. This is something I learned on the the unlimited speed sections of the Autobahn. (How fast did I go? Fast enough to realize I don't have to pass EVERYONE on the road.)
The Nurburgring is a different story. You have almost no time to relax. Just when your confidence level and speed increases, the next turn comes up. Remember, I am on track with people who have no experience and some who have hundreds of laps.
The car never lost its composure, even when I missed my line. The brakes, while a little touchy, were strong throughout each session. The grip through the transitions was very good, although I wasn't pushing hard on a damp to wet track. I know there are complaints of a lack of steering feel. Again, not driving the car at 10/10ths, I can't say if that is an issue or not.
I don't have pics of my car on track yet, but I can share some that I have taken.
Look what was parked next to us at the hotel. He just picked his ED on Monday.
Tomorrow, day 2 from the Nurburgring. We are going to take another shot at the track. Hopefully, I can upload the rest of the pictures as well.