Attractions
Ring Werk
Grand Prix Track
Ring Gift Shop
Paddock Gift Shop
BMW M Power Tribune (Gran Prix Track Viewing Area)
After checking into my hotel and emptying my car of my entire luggage, I headed to the Ring Werk facilities located next to the Gran Prix track. The Ring Werk consists of two gift shops to stock up on Nurburgring memorabilia, arena and event center, café and family-oriented indoor theme park focusing on the world of motorsport. The BMW M Power Tribune is the access to get to the Grand Prix track bleachers. When I was there, this track was being used as a practice day by teams entered in the upcoming 6 Hours of Nurburgring FIA World Endurance Championship race. My main interest was to shop in the gift shops and I bought a cap, mug and some Nurburgring stickers for my car.
Nurburgring Track Access
Attractions
Nordschleife (North Track - tourist drive track)
Ticket Office
Devil’s Diner / Restrooms
Gift Fan Shop
BMW M Ring Taxi rental
Parking Lots
I left the Ring Werk and drove to the Nordschleife track entry area which was 5 minutes away. This is the track used for the tourist drives and was open from 5:15pm to 7:30pm when I visited on a weekday in July. The Nordschleife track is clockwise in direction and 20.8 km (12.9 mi.) long with 300 meters (1,000 feet) of elevation change and 70+ corners. What makes this track unique is the fairly large elevation change combined with many challenging corners. It was raining on and off on the day that I visited which kept the number of tourist drivers low. Make sure you leave all your luggage at the hotel because you want to avoid driving around the track with objects sliding around in the car.
Refer to the image below for a map of the Nordschleife track entry area. The paved parking lots A and B were being used by the professional instructors and Ring taxis using the track prior to the track being available for the tourist drive. I parked in gravel parking lot C and there is additional space in the gravel parking lot D. I walked over to the ticket office which is located right next to the track entry gates and bought a 4 lap Ring Card for 100 euros which I thought was a relative bargain. It looks like a credit card and is used to access the track using a card reader. It also makes for a nice souvenir. There were no waivers to sign and no security check. The only thing that the track marshal would look for and prohibit is a noisy vehicle. Based on complaints from neighbors living adjacent to the track, they have prohibited vehicles that emit sounds over a specific decibel rating and are equipped with SPL meters to check on noisy vehicles. You should not have to worry about any new BMW vehicle. Expect all types of vehicles during tourist drive days from high performance sports cars to basic economy cars and motorcycles.
There is the Devil’s Diner which you can grab a burger and fries if you are hungry. There are free restrooms right below the diner on the ground level. Next to the diner is the BMW M Ring Taxi office if you want to get a taxi ride around the track. A pop up Nurburgring Fan Shop kiosk opens up at the same time when the track is open for tourist drives and has a smaller selection of souvenirs that are available at the larger Ring Werk shops.
About an hour before the tourist ride start time, the track marshals clear the track of the instructors and Ring Taxis. About 5 minutes before the tourist ride start time, the marshals allow the tourists to start a queuing line which is shown as a dashed green line on the map. The track marshals will reconfigure the entry access area with cones for the tourist setup. Once you get to the entry gate, you press your Ring Card on a card reader located on the left-side at each of the two entry gates until it lights up green and the gate opens. Drive forward slowly thru the zig-zag cones and you are on are now on the Ring!
At the end of the lap, slow down on the straight away following the posted speed limits. Keep to the right-hand side of the track to exit. You are required to exit the track following each lap. There may be a long line to exit so be patient. Keep to the left-hand side of the track if you want to immediately do another lap. There will likely be a line here as well but shorter. Pull up to the entry gates and swipe your card again. When the gate opens, proceed with your next lap.
On occasions, the track marshals will be forced to close the entire track down due to severe accidents. This happened to me after completing my third lap, which they closed the track down for 30 minutes. They will make an announcement over the PA system and then put up a barrier near the track entrance. This is your chance to let the car cool down, eat, stare at other interesting cars and motorcycles, meet fellow car nuts from all over the world, or go refuel your car. Once the track reopens you will know because they will make another announcement but also because many cars will all suddenly start in unison to que and create an instant traffic jam headed to the entry gates.
As I entered the track for the first time, it was pouring rain. After 10 minutes, it cleared up but the track was wet so I took my laps easy. The track is so large that it can be raining in one portion and sunny and clear in another portion. I was able to do my 4 laps with one 30 minute track closure and no incidents on my end. When doing my laps, I noticed several Ring photographers located at strategic places along the track taking photos of every vehicle as they passed by. It turned out to be a great and truly memorable experience being able to drive my own car on the Ring, which can only be done on an ED.
After arriving back from ED, I checked the following Ring Photographer web site to see if there were any photos of me driving on the Ring based on the specific day I was there and I found that two photographers were working that day. I selected two photos of me that I liked in the photo galleries and bought digital jpg copies online.
Ring Photographers:
http://www.ringportal.nl/en/calendar