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Ride Report Nürburgring (and how to get there)

Having just completed a day riding on the Nürburgring I thought it may be a good idea to share the experience with you all.

The Thames Vale Advanced Motorcycle club (TVAM) hires the Ring for one day every year and organises a full days riding for IAM members. This is a superbly organised and controlled event riding the 14 mile Nordschleife circuit. But more about that later.

Saturday 30th Oct saw me leading a group of 12 bikes across France, Belgium and into the Eifel in Germany. This is the first time I have planned and lead a group across Europe. I had completed the IAM Group Leader training only the weekend before which I found very useful. The only hic-cup on the trip out was when we stopped for lunch at Mons where we discovered that the auto route restaurant was a pile of rubble making way for a new building. We had to move onto the next rest stop. The weather was very wet to start with but did dry out by the time we got into the Eifel.

On Sunday 31st Oct I organised a 113 mile ride around the Eifel. The weather was superb, the scenery excellent and it was all capped off with a lovely alfresco lunch in the Mosel Valley. It could not have been better.

The BIG day cometh - Monday 1st Nov. We nervously rode down to the Ring in brilliant sunshine. The Ring was closed to the public for the day and we had it all to ourselves from 8am to 5pm. I stripped everything that I could off the bike (a BMW K1300GT for those who do not know). Lowered the screen, dropped the handle bars and switched to sport mode. I had fitted the latest Bridgestone 023’s a week earlier. I was ready to go.

The riders were split into15 groups. Each group had a Ring Guide leading. He would set the pace and give instructions on how best to ride the circuit. There was to be no overtaking and groups must stay in the same order as they left the pits. It was superbly organised. Groups 1 and 2 were the very advanced and experienced track day riders who where first out. Groups 3 and 5 were the intermediate track day riders who followed on at one minute intervals. Groups 6 to 15 had no track day experience and ranged from experienced senior observers down to raw novices and associates. (Associate is a rider undergoing training to become advanced). I had no bench mark to how the groups would perform or where I would best fit in. On my entry form, some 2 months earlier, I had chosen to be rated low down the pecking order and was therefore put into group 14. The first and only mistake of the day.

We went onto the track at 9.30am. It was a wonderful experience riding a racing circuit for the first time. No oncoming traffic and the whole road to ourselves. However I have been on faster ride outs with the Knights Templar MTC. I enjoyed the scenery and waved at the spectators who were taking photos. Not quite what I expected. I know we were riding slowly to learn the circuit but by mid-morning I was becoming rather frustrated. I made this known to my guide, Geoff, and to the organisers. But they where having a little difficulty shuffling riders around. So it was not until after lunch that I was told that I would be moving up to group 4.

I was gob-smacked. That was a jump of 10 groups! This would put me right in the middle of the track experienced riders! I can’t manage that. I started to plead that this was far too high for me. Geoff pulled me to one side away from the organiser’s ears and said ‘you can do it, get your head down, concentrate and get a smooth flow to your ride. Let the track come to you’. Who was I to argue with one of the fastest men around the Ring. I signed up for group 4 and said a quiet pray as I walked away from the organisers tent.

Ten minutes later I was sat on my bike in the pit lane with 7 of the most hair rising bikes behind me you could imagine. Some had the baffles removed from the exhausts, all where sports bikes with handle bars so low I thought they were connected to the front wheel hub. Stickers from Oulton Park and Brands Hatch were everywhere. The riders were all dressed in very tight leathers, when they got of their bikes they looked like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame. I thought what am I doing here sat on my BMW tourer. My knees where trembling so much that they were banging against the tank and I felt quite sick. I though about hitting the kill switch and saying sorry guys but the bike has broken you will have to go with out me. Then Barry, our guide, dropped in front of me on a BMW RT1200. That made me feel a little better. At least I had enough power to catch him on the straight. Barry came and spoke to me. ‘Keith I want you tight behind me. I will do very little braking so do not worry about hitting me. Follow my line exactly and I will govern the speed according to your riding ability. After one lap we will have a chat to see if you can stay in this group.’

The barrier was raised and away we went. Little did I know that I had just started the most exciting afternoons riding of my life. I was now going to find out why riders speak so highly of the Ring. Very quickly Barry upped the pace and I soon had the big 1300cc engine revelling in the 7k to 10k power band. It was the first time I had ever invited the full 160 horses to come out and play. Waving to spectators and enjoying the scenery was not an option any more. The sides of the road had become a blur. Concentrating was the order of the day. I stayed very close to his rear and followed his line exactly.

First lap done and we pulled into the pit lane where Barry asked me if I was ok. To which I replied yes in a very squeaky voice. ‘You’re staying in this group’ he said ‘Move to middle of the pack’. One of the other riders gave me the thumbs up and said ‘that was the fastest lap we have done today’. I managed a smile back. At least me knees had stopped trembling.

Out we went again and I felt so much better on this 2nd lap. Head down and concentrate on the smooth flow. Follow the line and throw my vision forward. My approach to the ride changed on this lap - yes guys I can match anything you can do. As the afternoon went on the speed was ramped up, but at no time did I feel out of my comfort zone. Most of the cornering was between 60 to 110mph, with a few much slower. The side of my boots have become worn and a few cm has gone from the foot rest stops. Later in the day I was seeing over 130mph regularly and on one occasion, on the long home straight, I manage to see 150mph. And the bike was still accelerating. It occurred to me how speed was very relevant to what you get use to as anything below 100mph was starting to seem slow.

The afternoon passed very quickly and soon it was time for the last lap. Barry called for me to come behind him. He smiled and said ‘keep close’. That became the lap of the day. I do not believe either I or the bike could have gone any faster. Well the bike might do in the hands of Rossi but not with me on board. My brand new Bridgestone’s have taken a hammering and I just managed to touch the chicken strips. What a day.

Tuesday 2nd we woke up to another glorious day. An early start saw us back at Sangatte to catch a mid afternoon train into UK. We were home before dark

So what did I gain from the day? Well I believe we live within our comfort zones and we never really know ourselves. This applies to our biking. Sometimes we need to break those barriers and delve into the unknown. I certainly delved deep at the Ring. I learnt for the first time exactly at what level my riding skills where. I had pushed the bike far beyond anything I could accomplish on the road and found it still handled very well. I learnt an awful lot about cornering skills from the line to use of acceleration. You can only dream of riding like this on roads. But most of all it gave me a real confidence in my riding skills and the bikes superb handling ability. I have come away with a lot more knowledge and understanding to make use of on the roads.

This brings me to a very interesting conclusion. The TVAM will allow organised groups from other clubs. The only requirement is that you have to be an advanced rider or an associate. Early next year I will put up a post to see if we could organise a group of Knight Templar riders to go over to the ring. Ideally we would need at least 5 bikes. The total cost for the 4 days was about £400. This included everything, food, petrol, tunnel, hotel, ring charges, etc. Although I ended up in a very rapid group you can request to go where you want. From very slow to ballistic. It is very safe, this year the riders covered a total of 27,000 miles with no incident and only one mechanical breakdown. So I throw it open to discussion over the next few months to see what interest there is within the Knights Templar MTC. Believe me - it is the ride of your life.

Keith (Kontiki) 09/11/2010