News, laptimes, gossip,videos and photos from the Nürburgring Nordschleife

In case you missed it, BTG has a weekly column on the thoroughly awesome Pistonheads.com. This week we're discussing a Welsh Nürburging. Genius or madness?

Read more here >>>

It's easy to get carried away when you're planning modifications to your car. I want to modify my RX8 to be faster around the Nürburgring than Mazda originally made it. Some people would start with turbochargers, superchargers or engine tuning. Others with racing coil-over suspension and big wheels. My approach is going to be much smaller, more methodical, but I hope no less interesting...

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That's right. Buy One Get One Free. It's a corny line for selling a trackday, but it's interesting right? Buy a day, get a day free? It's Destination Nürburgring on March 20th and 21st for £649 per car. Yes, £649 might sound like a lot of money for that trackday place. BUT... consider these points:

• This is for the über-rare Nürburgring Nordschleife and Nürburgring sprint-track combined. The 'VLN' course.
• The exact same configuration will cost around €100 more for only ONE day of driving on March 23rd (see our list of 2012 Nürburgring trackday dates here)
• There is NO CHARGE for extra drivers (up to 4 drivers per entry and 4 passengers too*)
• It's for TWO days on the 'Ring
• AND Rent4Ring can offer you a package deal for a Swift for both days from just €1169 including two days of car rental and entry on both days. So you can fly in, drive the VLN course, eat steak on the stone, bullshit about cars, drive it AGAIN the second day, then fly home.

Still not convinced? Watch this... or this... or maybe this?

*Not all 4 drivers and all 4 passengers at once though. Don't be silly!

Last week I was honoured enough to have a column published on Pistonheads.com. A 'column' being an opinion piece, an editorial soapbox upon which to air my opinion; and thanks to the wonders of the internet also a place to gauge feedback and opinion from other people too.

Unfortunately, it's sometimes too easy to get hold of the wrong end of the stick. Even worse is when other media outlets sieze upon my opinion piece and treat it as fact...

>> read more here >>

It may come as no surprise at all that I just love driving the Nürburgring Nordschleife in the wet. I appreciate that it's not a popular choice, but I'm going to try and show you why it's so good, and why it doesn't have to be as dangerous as many drivers make it...

More photos and videos after the jump >>

Sorry, no Nürburgring Ring Taxi this weekend. In fact no public driving on the Nordschleife at all this weekend, I'm willing to bet. I might get some more snow photos though...

>>full-size wallpaper after the 'read more' jump>>

Brünchenn is one of the biggest viewing points on the whole Nordschleife. And after a big race it's also a filthy festering pile of discarded food and camping equipment. Because people can watch for free, there's no money in the pot to keep it clean. Nürburgring don't own the land, they don't have any responsibility for it. The small village that does 'own' it is justa  huddle of houses with no big budget.

So members of the German touristenfahrerforum.de took matters in to their own hands last weekend... >>read more>>

Being asked to come back to work early might not sound like too much of hardship when you work at the Nürburgring and the weather is unseasonably warm. But no matter how 'good' you have it, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. This is what I missed... Lambos, GTRs, Camaros and GT3s going flat-stick over an ice lake in Norway. 

Awesome video from the Ferdinand Ice Festival 2012 after the jump >>