Well.this is the big one. The Nordschleife or North loop. This track has been legendary for over 80 years. Even in 1925, when it was first unveiled, it was know as THE one to win. Over 14 miles and 174 corners up hills and down valleys, make this the biggest and most complex track around. Originally there was also a Sudschleife or south loop too, giving an overall length of 17.5 miles! It takes 20 or so laps just to get a general idea of the layout. Another 20 will have you gaining confidence on where the corners are.but this is the danger time. You THINK you know where you are, but you are probably wrong, and with little run-off with only grass and Armco to stop you, it can get very complicated very quickly. Between laps, which will take you 10 or so minutes as a Rookie, you will see several cars and bikes recovered after accidents.

On average one person per week still dies here.so beware!

The Track is actually NOT a Trackday at all. The German Government actually own it and you gain access via a car park style barrier system, paying for your "Rund" at the machine and inserting your ticket into the barrier.and away you go! The thing is that it's really a Toll Road and normal German road rules apply, however, the temptation for many to revel in the laps, is too great and they head off at full pelt. You can take any type of road legal vehicle on, so you could meet a high-powered motorcycle, or Porsche Cup racer.or a Coach! So keep your eyes open and watch your mirrors!

The track is far too big for a corner by corner description so a general overview is all we can give here, but I'll try to give an idea of what it's like and of scale too. Firstly the track is huge, and I do mean HUGE! It is built around four villages. From the pits (Grun Hole) at Nurburg you join the main straight and head down towards the new Nurburgring GP circuit. The 24hrs and 1000km racers drop into the Stadium here for a full lap, but we turn hard right and then drop down the valley through the forest past Quiddelbach village and on towards Adenau village. This downhill section is very fast, and as a Rookie you will be amazed at the speeds the other cars are travelling. Most corners are blind, late apex's and as you can't see the exit you will hang back. By this time you have completed the equivelent of four laps of Silverstone GP, all blind and all different, and you only roughly halfway round! The other cars will know these corners well and will be off at speed, so just keep out of the way. After dropping down the valley to Ex-Muhle (café carner) you start to climb up the Eifel Hills past Breidscheid village along the Kesselchen "straight and up to the famous Karrusel, a heavily banked corner where you drop into the bank and gain massive grip as the car hits around 30 degrees. Here you pass the third village of Herschbroich which the track circles through the final sector past Dottingen through the mini-karussell and back onto the main straight to Nurburg. Epic! The final sector from Breidscheid is where the more experienced guys will make up time. After 80 odd corners, the in-experienced are pretty much lost and will lose time on every corner, but the serious "Ringer" will still be pushing hard.

Timing is not allowed, but many still check their progress by replaying videos or using their wristwatches. Cameras have also now been banned but if put on proper mounts after the barriers they don't seem to mind. A strong Rookie session will be around 10 minutes in a tvr but you should not be clock watching until you know your way around.atleast 20 laps over 3 visits is advisable. The quickest recorded lap in the Monster Griff is an 8:55 BTG (bridge to gantry). The car is capable of much more but with only around 110 laps under my belt, I only know around 2/3 of the track well!

Be carefull here. This is THE MOST DANGEROUS of all Trackdays and insurance cover is very hard to come by. Also recovery companies such as the AA have an exclusion zone of 30km around the area, something to bear in mind if you are visiting!

Do go if you can. You don't have to go flat out, and as the track is so long, you could be passed by just one or two cars and bikes, so pick your times. My wife has driven the Ring and in fact it's the only track she has driven, but once there she felt she had too.just to say she'd done it!

The Ultimate.truly AWESOME!