Hotel am Tiergarten was fine (Sabine Schmitz family hotel), and very close to the ring. Weekend got a lot busier than late Friday afternoon. Was also cool to see the track being used for commercial testing before opening to the public on the Friday.
Rented GT86s (3 of them) at Cologne airport & drove to the 'ring - that was awesome fun, and the reason I'm getting an 86 now
We rented a Golf GTI from RentRaceCar (on-site) - the car was nowhere near the limiting factor for me. We left the TC on, and at one point it definitely saved us when my friend was going "very enthusiastically". DSG shifting was also welcome - there was so much else to concentrate on for me. The rental included insurance, though the excess was massive (4000 euro, IIRC?). No matter how good a driver you are, I'd say crashing is a possibility. Coming round a blind bend to find a wheel which has just been ripped of the car in front was a surprise, for example, and I wouldn't want to split costs 50/50 with a Ferrari driver. If I was to go again, I'd investigate the costs of insurance with a lower excess - perhaps 1000 euro.
It's worth taking the time to familiarise yourself on a simulator beforehand - it's nothing like driving it for real, but it's very nice to know what's coming up next and not feel completely lost. I'd recommend Assetto Corsa, but so long as it's not completely wrong anything would be a help. I used Forza on the Xbox (I think), and bought Assetto Corsa setup when I got back so I could keep daydreaming
It's one of the most fun things I have ever done, and I would love to do it again. I'd even like to have a go in my old yank classic, but preferably on a day when all the other cars are overpowered & don't handle and their owners are terrified of damaging them!
Simonnnn got a reaction from Nemo in Strange rattle from rear
Simonnnn got a reaction from Omer86 in Info Wanted - Nurburgring 2017