Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

BMW drivers training at the Nurburgring - trip report

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    BMW drivers training at the Nurburgring - trip report

    Here is a (very late) trip report from my August trip where I took part
    in the BMW drivers training.

    SATURDAY - August 4th:

    Left sunny Iceland on Saturday afternoon:


    Wonder how this one would perform on the ring:


    Flew to Frankfurt Hahn:


    Right on schedule:


    Had reserved a rental from Budget and this is what i got - Opel Vectra 1.8:

    A reasonably good car.

    I was going to Tauber Motorsports near Nurnberg (not Nurburg) and decided
    to try to drive as far as I could. Went well - little traffic and a moonlit autobahn:

    (it is not wise to try to photograph in the dar while driving - without seeing what
    you are doing :D )

    In the end I stopped at a roadside hotel about 50km from Tauber at 2am.
    Thordur

    1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
    1989 E30 M3 with S85

    #2
    SUNDAY - August 5th:

    Got to Tauber about noon and there the white one was waiting:


    The guys that have worked most on my car, Oliver and Sebastian were on
    vacation in the Dominican Republic so it was Gunther Tauber, Sebastians
    father that greeted me when I arrived:


    Had been painted on the inside:




    Really like the helmet containers :)


    Got Gunther to drive with me to the airport to drop off the rental and then
    I got on my way to Nurburg. There was alot of traffic and very hot (no aircon....):




    Took a while to get to Ringhaus hotel (www.ringhaus.com) - was there at
    approx. 18:30.

    Put my things in my room and went to get some gas as well as checking in
    for the driving training at the Dorint Hotel. At 20 there was a dinner for the
    participants and trainers. Here you can see Greg Dexthe who was there in
    his Evo - had met him earlier this summer when he hosted a track day at Spa.


    An "interesting" car:


    Few of these around for the training:


    Unbelievable number of people taking part in the training :shock:


    My table is in the foreground and Thorleif put me in group nr. 10 that was
    full of Norwegians. Our instructor is at the table also, second from the right.
    He used to race at the Ring around 1980 in a 2002tii. He raced for a few years
    but now works as a development driver for BMW - drives prototypes and gives
    feedback for development. Very nice guy and a competent driver.

    After the dinner I went back to Ringhaus and went early to bed to be ready
    for the action next day.
    Thordur

    1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
    1989 E30 M3 with S85

    Comment


      #3
      MONDAY - August 6th:

      Woke up early to put on the number stickers - the weather was nice:

      Hmmmm... whose M5 is that.....

      Skipped breakfast and took some refreshments with me to the track
      and was one of the first to show up - the E30 guys were first in our group:


      Then people started showing up:




      RNGTOY ready for action:




      A beautiful Wiesmann:




      Kin Mak turns up in his M5.


      Rune showing up in his C6 Z06 - awesome sound:


      Our instructor Michael and Professor Green having a discussion. The professor
      is driving the black Maserati:


      The Maserati is just an "in-between" car for him while he waits for a new M3.
      He also has 2 E30 M3's - one track car that is heavily modified and another
      that is in mint condition and has only 5.000 km on the clock. BMW borrows
      that car when they launch new M3´s in the UK and line up all the generations.

      He likes this since he gets the car back perfectly detailed.
      Alot to discuss since the professor has been to the ring for 25 years and
      has participated in the training many times before with Michael:


      Almost everyone there:


      Andrew had some fluid problems with his E36 M3 and ended up driving his
      E46 M3 CSL:


      Finally on our way:


      Since our group was to start by doing some slalom excercises on the back straight
      we "had" to drive the whole ring to get there:


      Here we are on the back straight and getting ready to do the slalom:


      Here you can see the slalom course and the car is finishing the run.
      You start at the right - drive through the 6 cones - stop and reverse back
      through - then to the left of the cones and forward. You then slalom
      through the cones and stop in the "parking space" at the end. Then you
      back out and drive back through the cones and end the run by stopping
      with your right front wheel on the green area that is at the judges feet
      on the photo:


      I won this part in my group and dit it in 58.XX seconds. I later found out that
      the best time for the slalom for all the participants was 55.XX so I was happy
      with my time.

      After this we got "drunk" where we got special glasses to simulate intoxication.
      First we got 1.2 promill glasses and had to walk a small course laid out with cones -
      it was bloody hard!!!!




      Then we got other glasses that are 0.8 promill and had to drive through a slalom
      course - it was quite difficult:




      When this part was finished we went back to the hotel and had a theory session
      as well as some safety training. Parked in the shade because it was getting
      damn hot.


      Here are the gurus - Walter Briel to the right (has held the BMW training for
      45 years!!!!) and to the left is Manfred Cremer who trains the fire department
      in Bonn - a specialist in first aid:


      First we learnt about the ideal line through turns and then we went through
      first aid training - some of it "hands on":






      After this we went to the skidpad that is close to the GP circuit. There we drove
      down a small hill and then over a large piece of metal that moved quickly to the
      side when the rear wheels passed over it. You never knew if it was going to the
      left or right. We then were supposed to keep the car straight.






      I didn´t do too well in this exercise (and really not anyone in a very light
      car - especially those that were light in the back). Semislicks did not help either :D

      Here is a video:
      http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...ang/skidpad.wmv

      After lunch we went out to the track again to drive different sections of the
      track. Here is a recording of the first one:
      http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah.../hatzenbach.wmv

      We were just supposed to focus on the line - not speed.

      At this time I was started to feel bad in the heat - no aircon in RNGTOY and I
      had a helmet on most of the time..... 30 degrees outside. Got a headache and
      was feeling a bit nausious.

      So after 2 sections I decided to take a break while the others drove.
      Had a sip of water and voila.... my lunch decided to take the wrong way
      through the digestion system and was promptly returned over the armco.

      After this I felt much better and drove the rest of the sections until 8 oclock
      when the training finished for the day.
      Went straight to the hotel and to bed.

      I think I got heat exhaustion that day ouich
      Thordur

      1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
      1989 E30 M3 with S85

      Comment


        #4
        TUESDAY - August 7th:

        The group met again on the straight but now the weather was not that nice - cloudy/fog:




        The professor and Andrew having a discussion - the Maserati looking good:




        The day before we had done the following sections:

        Hatzenbach
        Quiddelbacher Höhe -> Aremberg
        Fuchsröhre -> Adenauer Forst
        Kellenhardt -> Wehrseifen

        Today we were to do the following before noon:

        Exmuhle -> Bergwerk
        Kesselchen -> Klostertal
        Karussel -> Hohe Acht

        Pic with the names for those that need it.... :) :


        We really had to take it slow in the wet - here is the group at the start of
        the first section and I mentioned to our instructor Michael that Bergwerk
        could be "interesting" in the wet:


        That prediction was not long to come through - here we are finished with the
        Bergwerk section and one of the norwegians had got into trouble:


        He came in too fast into the breaking point at Bergwerk and instead of being
        able to turn in he went on straight and used the armco to turn:








        The whole side bent/scratched, both wheels scratched, the rear wheel
        looked bent and the rear control arms were bent. He had to limp back and
        exit at Breidscheid.

        The rest of the group continued and now we were at the Kesselchen to Klostertal
        part. When we arrive at a new section we put a red flag in a cone that is located
        in the center of the track at the start of the section. This basically means that
        noone is allowed to enter that section. This also means that the previous group
        has left the section because the last car takes their flag with them and puts it
        at the start of the next section.

        Here we have all driven slowly through the section to make sure it´s clear and
        here we are turning around to drive back:




        Then we park the cars at the beginning of the section:


        After everyone has parked then it´s time for a passenger ride with the instructors.

        Michael is driving a new 335i (petrol twinturbo) touring, four wheel drive.
        Very nice car and he knows how to handle it :)

        After a quick passenger ride the instructor drives slowly back commenting on
        all the different bends and gives tips on how to handle them.
        When all the participants have had their rides with the instructor it´s time for
        3-4 rides on our own. Michael then reviews our performance at different points
        on the section. He then gives us instructions on what to improve on our way
        back between runs.

        Each section took about an hour and a quarter.
        A real interesting part about all this were the drives back between runs - the track is VERY
        different backwards. Parts that do not feel very steep when going
        the right way are suddenly very steep when going backwards - strange :)


        At this time it was getting wetter and I found out that an E30 is by no means
        watertight:


        Water was coming in both on the passenger and the drivers side.....
        Here we are going for lunch:


        After lunch we started by driving the whole lap for an hour. First 2 laps in a
        formation but after that we were allowed to overtake. This was "interesting"
        to say the least on semislicks :)

        That did not stop me though from finally blasting the back straight :thumbsup:
        at 200+++ kmh

        After the free session we continued with the sections and now it was:

        Wippermann -> Brunnchen
        Pflanzgarten
        Schwalbenschwanz -> Galgenkopf

        Here we are starting the final section:


        By this time I was hearing weird clicking sounds from the inside of my car and
        they seemed to originate from the left of the pedals - inside a hole in the side
        of the car in front of the drivers door. What was also disturbing is that the
        noises were also coming when the car was switched off. They seemed to be
        the same noise that comes from relays when they click. It seemed to be
        rather random but was occurring more and more. I figured that this was hardly
        good but there was nothing else to do but hope it would stay ok and be able
        to finish the day.

        Here we have finished the last section and the last cars are finishing the run:






        Finally the instructor shows up and everyone starts their cars..... and the
        drama starts. RNGTOY will not start. Completely dead.
        Fun... fun...... :ooohhh:

        Anyways - the car was towed to Ringhaus and pushed into the garage.
        I started trying to figure out what was the problem but didn´t find anything
        at first - all fuses ok. I then thought it had to do with the clicking noises.
        Put my hand into the hole where it had come from and pushed the wires/boxes
        around. After this I could get the car to turn the engine over but it would not
        fire at all.

        I tried to figure out what this stuff was and found one relay box and one bigger
        box inside the hole. Opened both and they were soaking wet. After a quick
        Google session I had found that the relay was for the interior lights and the
        bigger box was a control unit for the central locking system.

        Anyways - no matter what I did the car would not start. So the only thing
        to do was to send an SMS to the Dominican Republic where Sebastian and
        Oliver were on holiday.

        After a few minutes there was a phonecall from the guys and now we started
        trying to debug the car over the Atlantic. They made me remove all kinds of
        stuff to check various connections but no success. At the end they were starting
        to suspect the anti theft module that came with the S50 engine (EWS).
        So we decided that I was going to call the BMW emergency service early next
        morning and get a technician to Ringhaus to read from the ECU and see why
        it was not starting.

        Ouch... starting to remind me of my visit last year - broken down car at Ringhaus......
        Thordur

        1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
        1989 E30 M3 with S85

        Comment


          #5
          WEDNESDAY - August 8th:

          Started the day by finding the BMW assistance number for Germany.
          Phoned and was patched through to a guy that spoke excellent english.

          He wanted a quick description of the problem and the car. When I said
          it was and E30 M3 with and E36 motor with a supercharger there was
          a silence.... followed by a very slow "Okeeeeeeeeyyyyy" :D

          Anyways - he said there would be a technician calling me shortly.
          A few minutes later there was a call from the technician and we discussed
          the problem in more detail. He said he would be over in an hour.

          So I just used the time for a quick shower and some breakfast before
          I went down to the garage:




          My new rims/tires for RNGTOY - need to have a set for the street:




          While I was waiting I could hear the engines roaring on the track where the
          other participants were enjoying their free sessions on the track :(

          The guy from BMW arrived shortly and it turns out he was from the same
          shop that worked on my M5 the year before - Kainz in Daun.


          He hooked up his computer to the car and immediatly read a fault with the
          EWS module and thought the EWS box was broken. Not what I wanted to
          hear since I was to take my exam on the ring later that day. To order a
          new EWS would take 2 days :ooohhh:

          So we went to the next used parts dealer and got an EWS box that we were going to try to code to work with the car.








          Did not work so we called for a truck to move RNGTOY to Kainz and they ordered
          a new EWS box. To order the box they needed the VIN number for the car that
          the motor came out of and I had no idea what the number was. I called the guy
          that sold me the motor and he could only check the number at his office the next
          day. But he however said I should see it on the outside of the ECU - where I
          was able to read a VIN number.

          Anyways - ordering an EWS is a 2 day process so that I was just about to take
          an exam but did not have a car :(

          Once again - Ringhaus to the rescue. Galina asked me if the car for the exam
          needed to be track prepped... and I said no. So she promptly offered me to
          use her diesel Golf for the exam (all the rentals were rented for the day).

          I of course said "thankyouverymuch" and went down to the track to get a new
          set of numbers:


          Then went back to Ringhaus:








          Then had about 10-15 minutes to get to familiarize myself with the car - went
          for a quick spin to try some roundabouts to see how it acted.

          Then I went down to the track where they were lining up the groups for the exam:




          Here you can see my group by the entrance to the track:


          Here I am about to go out on the track - the track is soaking wet and I am driving
          a car that I do not know at all!!! :ooohhh:


          The test was about driving the line that was tought. At 18 spots on the track there
          were judges that gave points for our performance. The main issue was to take
          the proper line but you could get a better score for driving faster.

          When I had gone through a few bends in the Golf I realised that this was an
          extremely tailhappy car and I decided to slow down and finish the lap without
          crashing the car. Just drove slowly and concentrated on the line.

          Managed to bring the Golf back in one piece and then I went back to Ringhaus
          where the truck was picking up RNGTOY - same truck, same driver taking the
          car to the same shop as last year with my M5 :D








          So now I basically just had to resort to being a tourist - grabbed my camera
          and headed for the track entrance:


          Really liked this white Gallardo spyder:








          This guy seems to be the real deal.... :hihi:


          People starting to head for the track - Touristfahren starting:


          Really nice car:


          Hard to miss this Lotus:


          Hardcore track weapon:


          Nice:


          This old Pcar sounded really nice:


          Yesssssss - Landcruiser FTW!!!!


          Cool touring:


          Awesome old Porsche:


          One even older:



          Also sounded nice :)

          The Wiesmann cars are so nice:




          One of the Zakspeed Vipers - these cars are silly fast




          A development car from Jaguar heading for the track:




          This guy was driving this very tasteful Porsche:






          Nice lines


          A newer model:


          Must have been a blast:


          This one came into the pits with alot of noise - had dropped his exhaust out on
          the track:


          $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$




          And finally mr. Extreme Powertech:




          Lot of police cars.....:




          Another Gallardo - this one in a gorgeous "pearlwhite" color. Much cooler in
          real life than on pictures:




          I liked this one also:


          My friend Sveinn shows up:





          Ready for anything:


          Sveinn back from his first lap and now I get a pax lap:


          Nice driving - although here we are being overtaken by his friend in a 997 Turbo:


          But greater driving skills and Toyos reeled him in:
          Thordur

          1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
          1989 E30 M3 with S85

          Comment


            #6
            After this lap I had to leave for the final dinner at the Dorint hotel. At the hotel
            they were unloading this car:




            More nice machinery:




            Participants arriving:


            Next there was a long dinner with endless awards. I was surprised at how many
            times some people had participated in the training. Some guys were being awarded
            for being there 25 and 30 times!!!!

            In our group these 3 were at the top:

            Two of them are driving instructors and the third had participated before.

            Best score for all the participants went to Thorleif who is here with nr. 2,
            Steve Gill:

            Actually these guys were driving on full race rain tires...... :dunno:

            The scores were on the scale from 1-10 where 1 is best. If you go through a
            bend taking the correct line and carry "normal" speed you get a 5,
            driving like a world champion is a 1 and if you are totally screwed you get 10:

            1 Weltmeister
            2 Ausgezeichnet
            3 Sehr Gut
            4 Gut, zugig, sauberer Streich
            5 Strich getroffen - befriedigend
            6 etwas ungenau - ausreichend
            7 Strich kaum getroffen - mangelhaft
            8 Strich gar nicht getroffen - ungenugend
            10 Blech oder totales Chaos

            I was rather consistent - got all my scores in the 3-5 range and got 61 points.

            My group was in the 52-78 range and Thorleif got 25!!!!
            Thordur

            1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
            1989 E30 M3 with S85

            Comment


              #7
              THURSDAY - August 9th.

              Slept in :)

              Nice to get a break after the busy days earlier in the week.
              Borrowed Galinas Golf to go to Daun and visit the shop to check
              on status. Discussed the car with Mr. Eckstein - the same guy I dealt
              with the year before with my M5. Just wanted to be sure that they
              looked carefully at the car now so that if it was not the EWS that was
              at fault - we would not discover that on Friday so that I would not
              be able to drive during the weekend.

              He started telling me that they did not believe maybe it was not the EWS that
              was at fault because the starter motor would turn. They thought that
              if it was the EWS it would not even turn the starter motor. I did not like
              the sound of that and made a call to the Dominican Republic and woke
              both Sebastian and Oliver, the time was 7:00 AM over there zzzzz

              They were sure it was the EWS and it was normal that the starter motor
              would turn - they had experienced the same problem before and that car
              did the same. What the guys at the dealership were referring to is a
              newer version of the EWS system, version 3, but the car had version 2.

              On my way back I got a phonecall from Eckstein where he told me that
              we had a potential problem on our hands.....

              The VIN number that was printed on the label on the ECU was not the
              same that was displayed through the computer connection to the ECU.
              It meant that the EWS on order might not work with the ECU in the car.

              So we took no chances and ordered another one with the other number.
              This way we would get another EWS on Saturday morning if the one
              coming in on Friday wouldn´t work.

              Just took it easy for the rest of the day.
              Thordur

              1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
              1989 E30 M3 with S85

              Comment


                #8
                FRIDAY - August 10th.

                The day did not start well - it was FOGGY!!!!

                Very annoying since the Oldtimer grand prix cars were supposed to drive
                on the Nordschleife and I had looked forward to see then & photograph.
                But by the looks of things - they were not driving anytime soon on the ring,
                Ringhaus in the fog.....


                Walked down to the track - where this oldtimer came out of the fog:


                Rather quiet.....






                No business anytime soon for these guys:


                Then walked back to the hotel and on the way mr. Eckstein called and said the
                car was ready :) The EWS module that had arrived did not have the correct
                number for the ECU but the computer guru at the shop managed to make it work.

                Got Galina to give me a lift to pick up the car.

                Here you can see Gaute´s CSL with it´s modest paintjob:


                When I got back to Nurburg the fog was still very thick so no cars were driving
                on the ring - they had cancelled the Oltimer drive :(


                Went and cleaned RNGTOY and then went for an early dinner at the Pistenklause.

                Parked outside was this magnificent beast:




                Went back to Ringhaus and decided to go to bed early to be well rested for the
                driving next day ;)
                Thordur

                1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
                1989 E30 M3 with S85

                Comment


                  #9
                  SATURDAY - August 11th.

                  It was rather cloudy when I woke up. The track was to open at 11 for
                  Touristfahren but before that time the oldtimers were supposed to drive.

                  Decided to go to Brunnchen and see if I could spot some nice cars on the
                  track.

                  Not many people there when I arrived:


                  Not much action on the track - it was wet:


                  The only oldtimer I saw:




                  The action on the road was more interesting than the track:




                  Endless stream of cars going to the Oltimer GP on the GP track.
                  However - finally some blue sky


                  There was a German BMW club that had a meeting at the parking place:


                  I went to the track entrance to be able to start driving asap since it was
                  approacing 11. I was looking forward to practice all the stuff I had learnt
                  on the driving course.

                  I record most of my laps with the Chasecam. There were some scots
                  that got some paxlaps with me this weekend and asked to get the videos
                  of their laps so I encoded them. I however ended up encoding all the
                  recorded laps from the weekend :)

                  Here are 4 of the 5 first laps - very wet but started to dry pretty soon.
                  One lap is missing since I forgot to press record ouich

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-01_1117.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-03_0927.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-04_0847.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-05_0838.wmv

                  After these first laps I decided to take a break and parked next to this VERY yellow car:






                  People do alot of this:


                  Many GT3RS´s - very nice




                  Then I just went on driving - here are a few pics of RNGTOY:








                  Was able to drive quite a few laps that day - all went well except one guy
                  let me know that I was spilling some fuel in turns. I went to Ringhaus and
                  looked at the car. It had spilled some gas it seemed from the cap and I
                  could not find a hole anywhere. After considerable scrutiny I figured I had
                  not screwed the gas cap on correctly when I filled up last time. After this
                  I had no problem with this (except that it is consumed very fast on the
                  track when driving full blast :) )

                  I was not consciously trying to get good lap times - just working with what
                  I had learnt on the course and having fun.

                  Here is the rest of the videos:
                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-06_0903.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-07_0849.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-08_0857.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-09_0912.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-10_0855.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-11_0851.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-12_0832.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-13_0934.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-14_0834.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-15_1240.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-16_0901.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-17_0849.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-18_0840.wmv

                  http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-19_0833.wmv

                  Did not take any photographs in between those laps but at the end of the day
                  I went for a walk around the carpark.


                  Many Cobras:










                  One down - zillion to go :biggrinbounce:

                  Saw this happen at the bend before the Karussel (Steilstrecke?) - went straight ahead into the wall.

                  Nice in this color:




                  Many Porsches seem to come crashed off the track :blink:


                  I really liked this one:








                  After this i went back to Ringhaus and reviewed the lap videos at the bar
                  having some beers. Nice to review the laps afterwards and see where I´m
                  making mistakes and where I can do better.
                  Thordur

                  1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
                  1989 E30 M3 with S85

                  Comment


                    #10
                    SUNDAY - August 12th.

                    Great weather - dry and sunny :thumbsup:

                    The night before at the Ringhaus bar I had promised the Scots staying there
                    that they could have some paxlaps. So this was the "ringtaxi" day for me :7:

                    There were alot of closures so I didn´t get as many laps as the day before.

                    Here are some of the early laps:
                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-01_0854.wmv
                    (I did not like the way the guy went through all the smoke!!! :blink: )

                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-02_0903.wmv
                    (wasn´t paying attention to my rearview mirror when Max was suddenly on my
                    tail in the Mazda... just got the f**k out of his way :) )

                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-03_0902.wmv

                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-04_0846.wmv

                    Because of the closures there was some carpark wandering.... so I took some pics.

                    Some Maranello stuff:






                    The cobras still around:




                    Nice plate:


                    Nice paintjob & car :)




                    Alot of spectators:


                    Really nice 1502:




                    Anyways - did some more laps.
                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-05_0843.wmv

                    Now my first solo lap of the day and it turned out to be the infamous lap where
                    I did some "drifting" through Wipperman :ooohhh:
                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...it_lap_0835.wmv

                    This is the guy I was "racing":




                    Next solo lap was less eventful - realized at approx. Karoussel that I was
                    almost out of gas and took it easy for the rest of the lap:

                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...tofgas_0830.wmv

                    Next came a couple of laps where there were some irish guys as passengers:
                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...-08_yi_0835.wmv

                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...-09_oi_0818.wmv
                    The latter lap was my fastest.

                    I screwed up the recording for lap 10 :(

                    Then a couple of more laps with the scots :D
                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-11_0825.wmv

                    http://www.onno.is/thordur/almennt/BMW_Fah...Lap-12_0835.wmv

                    This was the last lap I recorded since one of the guys at the gate spotted my camera
                    at the start of the next lap :(



                    It was too bad that I could not record one of my last laps since it was quite eventful.
                    I had overtaken a few cars down Fuchsröhre and was going through the
                    righthander just before Adenauer Forst when the back came loose all of a sudden
                    without any warning. So all of a sudden I was sliding across the grass and
                    basically waiting for the BANG when I would hit the armco - grass & dirt flying
                    into the car through the partially open windows.

                    Fortunately we did not hit the armco at all and stopped in the middle of the grass
                    just before Adenauer Forst. After a few seconds of digesting what had just
                    happened and also what COULD have happened - we carried on and finished
                    the lap.

                    When we came to the parking lot I looked over the car and did not see any
                    damage. But when I looked over the car again after getting something cold
                    to drink I saw this on my rear bumper:


                    It looks like someone has rubbed against the car - maybe someone "nudged" me
                    at the corner causing me to spin? Maybe. But I guess I´ll never know.

                    Here is also a pic of the interior with the Adenauer Forst grass :)


                    Anyways - I decided that I would not drive any more this day - not going to press
                    my luck any more ;)

                    So I decided to do something relaxing and safe - got some paxlaps with Thorleif
                    in Steves CSL B) Did some very nice laps until it closed for the day.

                    After that I went to Ringhaus and later met up with Thorleif and Ed for a nice
                    dinner at the Pistenklause.
                    Thordur

                    1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
                    1989 E30 M3 with S85

                    Comment


                      #11
                      MONDAY - August 13th.

                      Packed up all my stuff + the extra set of wheels:




                      One of Franks new Caterhams - can be rented at Ringhaus:


                      Ahead of me was an 830 km drive to Aarhus in Denmark where I was going
                      to drop the car off to be shipped back to Iceland.

                      Got there in 7 hours with only two 10 minute fuel stops.

                      Checked into a hotel for the night.
                      Thordur

                      1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
                      1989 E30 M3 with S85

                      Comment


                        #12
                        TUESDAY - August 14th.

                        Took the car to the shipping company and filled out all the paperwork:


                        Then took the train to Copenhagen and flew back to Iceland.

                        This trip was excellent - the training course was well worth it !!

                        Now I just have to wait for spring..... when the M3 will be shipped back to
                        the Ring and the fun begins
                        Last edited by bimmer; 10-21-2007, 08:32 AM.
                        Thordur

                        1999 E39 M5 Twin Supercharged
                        1989 E30 M3 with S85

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Holy monster posts Batman! So many great pics.....sounds like you had an absolute blast. Thanks for sharing!

                          Jon
                          Rides...
                          1991 325i - sold :(
                          2004 2WD Frontier King Cab

                          RIP #17 Jules Bianchi

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Truly amazing. Sucks about the car breaking down but at least you got the replacement to toss around the ring. :p
                            Erick Mahle | FullOpp Drift | YouTube
                            EurostopUSA | Dunlop Tires | Ireland Engineering | EnthusiastApparel | Ground Control

                            ..::Support FullOpp::..
                            FullOpp Stickers for sale!
                            NEW | Enthusiast Apparel T-Shirts! | NEW
                            Feedback Thread

                            Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
                            ...one of the most hardcore E30's around. :D

                            Comment


                              #15
                              This is the ultimate thread, great writeup!!! I could spend all day reading this. We need more of these!

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X