If you’re a thrill seeker, a lover of Formula One or the Grand Prix then surely Nurburgring Race track in Germany  is  on your bucket list.
Nurburgring is a famous racetrack in Western Germany, the name comes from ‘Nurburg’ the small town that the ring circuit surrounds. Nrburgring is famous for it’s deadly corners and turns, competitive lap times, drastic change in elevation and for claiming several lives since it’s opening in the late 1920’s. Thousands of people risk their lives and dignities on this famous German racetrack every year to test their driving abilities. 

I’m more into  gothic castles, art, history and nature walks. But since my husbands first love was cars we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit this famous track, which can be experienced either through many of the car rentals agencies in Nurburg, driving the Green Hell in your own car, or you can put your life in a professionals hands and ride the track in a touring car. 

On the Nurburgring Nordschleife track you will find yourself racing against Porsche, Mercedes and Lamborghinis as well as transit vans, motorcycles and family wagons.

History of the Nurburgring Nordschleife Racetrack, Germany

One lap on Nurburgring is 20.81km long and scattered with 154 turns; this German racetrack is among the most dangerous racetracks in the world and has caused multiple fatalities since its opening. If you want to drive the Nurburgring track you have to understand the complexities of the Nordschleife route before even thinking of hiring a vehicle.

Why is Nurburgring so Famous?

Nurburgring was built in 1927 around Nurburg village in the Eifel Mountains, and what makes Nurburgring so famous is its incredible difficulty of terrain, elevation change and distance.
The Nordshleife track has 300 metres of elevation change from its lowest to its highest points, blind off-camber corners, crests and dips, different types of tarmac with varying levels of grip and the quick change of weather to go along with it all. You could start a section of the track in the blistering sun but enter another section drenched in rain; The Nurburgring track is so long that a number of neighbouring towns sit within the Nordschleife circuit itself.

The Famous German motorsport complex has a person capacity of 150,000 and hosts multiple events each year including Grand Prix track for Formula One.
Several car companies from around the world test prototypes of new vehicles to see how they test under different environments, speeds and cornering. If you visit Nurburgring during the week you’ll no doubt see some brand new European cars being tested on the track.

Nurburgring Nordschliefe Track

During the weekdays the track is used by car manufacturers to test new prototypes, such as Tesla, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. All other hours it’s either used for official events or for the general public to test their driving abilities and risk their dignities and lives. According to Wikipedia there are multiple accidents and several deaths each year. However track management does not release any official figures; Jeremy Clarkson stated in a Top Gear episode in 2004 that the track has claimed over 200 lives since its opening. 

Professional drivers can reach over 300km p/h on the track and public days can see speeds of over 200km p/h. The fastest time around the Nordschleife track is 6:25.91 by Stefan Bellof, in a Porsche 956 in 1983. Most people aim to complete the track in 10 minutes however timing yourself is forbidden due to the danger it can cause.

Nurburgring Public Days

Public session times are available when events are not on. Times are restricted to the afternoons so check the Official Website for Nordschleife opening hours.

During the public sessions anyone with a road legal vehicle can enter the track. This means motorcycles, low powered vehicles and supercars can be on the track at the same time. Which is another reason why so many accidents and deaths occur during public sessions.

Nurburgring Opening Times

Opening times for Nurburgring vary between weekdays and weekends, tourists drives during the weekdays can be between 5pm and 7:30pm, and for weekends you can drive Nurburgring between 6pm – 7pm. The opening hours might not seem a lot, but just one lap on Norburgring Nordschliefe can leave you exhausted and slightly car sick.

How Much Does it Cost to Drive on Nurburgring?

Each lap costs 25euros if you bring your own vehicle. Otherwise you can check out any track rental car agency in the area.  We used  Rent4Ring  and hired the BMW 125i, we did spend a couple of hundred dollars but that included a car, safety gear and access to the track.

How Fast Can You Drive on Nurburgring?

You can go as fast as your capabilities allow, but watch out for slow moving vehicles.
Normal German traffic rules apply so don’t pass on the left or you can receive a lifetime ban. If you hire a vehicle make sure you pay attention to the safety video; you didn’t pay that money to crash your car and spend the rest of your life paying off the excess. 

Nurburgring Car Rental

We stayed for two nights at the Motorsport Hotel. Its a short drive away from the ring and an easy walk to Rent4Ring where we hired our track vehicle.

Renting a car for Nurburgring is easy, there are several car rental companies in the town which hire out vehicles specifically for driving on the Nurburgring track. We rented a BMW125i from Rent4Ring along with balaclavas and helmets. Luckily this was Pauls second time driving the track, so he knew what he was getting himself into, but we were still required to watch a safety video before we were given the keys to our BMW.

Passengers are free of charge with a rented vehicle, but no loose items are allowed in the vehicle, anything you take with you must be securely fastened to yourself.
Each lap is tallied up via a swipe card you use to open the track barrier and you pay for these once you return the vehicle.

When on the track normal German Road rules apply so don’t be a dick and sit in the middle of the track; always allow faster cars to overtake on the left and only overtake on the left or risk being banned for life, orange signals mean an accident has occurred ahead and you must slow down, but all of these should be covered in the safety video.

We did two laps around Nordschleife and Paul drove both of them (obviously). He successfully met speeds of 200km p/h and made the corners at around 130-140km p/h. All while I was sitting in the passenger seat trying to keep my breakfast contained.
We overtook a van, a MX5 and a crashed corvette. But were overtaken by a Vitz; that almost made me think we were back in West Auckland

Being a passenger on the ring isn’t for someone who suffers easily from motion sickness ; the constant change in speed and sharp or sudden corners makes for a bumpy and dizzying ride. It was an awesome afternoon and I’m so thankful I did it. I’m not a huge car fanatic but I’m also not one to pass up an opportunity which I will probably never have the chance to experience again.

Rules when Driving Nurburgring

The Nurburgring is technically a German toll road therefore normal traffic laws apply. Keep right and only overtake on the left, allow all faster vehicles to overtake and use your indicators when doing so.
During the public sessions any road legal vehicle is allowed on the track; everything from motorbikes, to vans and super cars can be seen sharing the road. You don’t have to be an experienced track driver to enter the ring so levels of experience vary drastically each day.

Nurburgring Touring Car Ring Taxi

The ring taxi is a great way to experience the ring at high speeds without driving the car yourself. Ring Taxi drivers have the ability of driving the track in around 8 minutes.
Prices range from 269 Euros to 299 Euros depending on the vehicle you choose.

One of the most well known drivers of Nurburgring is Sabine Schmitz; nicknamed the ‘fastest taxi driver in the world’. Sabine was a German TV personality and a professional racing driver for BMW and Porsche. Growing up within the circuit at Nurburg, Sabine would frequently drive the track in her family car which eventually lead her to taking part in and earning herself the first place title for the 24 Hour Nurgburgring Race, Twice!

Sabine has previously estimated to have driven the track over 20,000 times, so if there was anyone to learn off it was definitely Sabine! She frequently appeared on Top Gear where she gave Jeremy Clarkson a run for his money after wiping out his time in a Jaguar S-Type. Then later on ripping up the track in a Ford transit van.

Accidents and Deaths on Nurburgring

The Nurburgring Nordschleife track is scattered with 154 corners and turns so being distracted for 1 second could cost you your car, dignity or life. Coming to the end of our first lap an MX5 was chugging along the right barrier with it’s exhaust scraping and sparking on the ground. On our second lap a Corvette and a Starlet had collided and had both spun out into the sand.

There has been over 78 deaths at Nurburgring involving competitors, spectators, race officials and during unofficial vehicle testing. The most recent fatal accident being a spectator in 2015. The track is extremely unforgiving where rules and faster vehicles should always be respected in order to avoid a disaster.

Spectating at Nurburgring

Viewing the track is easy and free. There is usually something going on whether its prototype testing or various other commercial uses; so you’ll usually spot a supercar or two on the track on any given day.
There are two popular viewing spots not far from each other:

Brunnchen (“Small Well”)  is the larger of the popular viewing points for spectators. Walk through the bush to the left to get a great view of the corner famous on YouTube for inexperienced drivers.

Pflanzgarten (“Planting Garden”)  is a smaller area for viewing but great for watching cars come down the slope at speed and navigating the corners. This is one of the most difficult sections and getting this right is crucial to getting a good lap time. This section is the scene of Peter Collins‘ fatal crash in 1958 during Grand Prix. It is also where a number of career ending crashes in Formula One occurred in the 1970’s.

To find either of these areas simply search the name in Google Maps followed by ‘Nurburg’.