Enjoy your trip, it's a fantastic place
James,
Hope you have a great time there – I went two weeks ago for two days and did about 25 laps (300+miles) and had a blast!
For those of you who don’t know about the Nordshleife, it’s the old German Grand Prix track. 12 miles of blind crests, super fast sections and many very tight corners through forests and mountains. It’s where Nicki Lauda had his famous crash and burn accident. They don’t use it for Formula 1 anymore as it would be far too dangerous – no gravel traps or run-off areas, just miles of Armco barrier.
Because it’s technically a public road, anyone can go on it – just pay your $17 and head out for a lap. So you get vans (and even coaches sometimes) mixing it with fast road cars and even the odd racing car.
James, if you want the contact details of a very experienced instructor for an hour or so to tell you the main points of the circuit, let me know. Stephan Klepkens has done about 15,000kms round the circuit and trains industry drivers there, does tyre tests etc.
Anyway, have fun
William