The Nurburgring trip.... My story... & 91pics!
15-09-2005, 05:24 PM
#1
The Nurburgring trip.... My story... & 91pics!
Sorry its so late, been busy after my week off so works been hectic today and i had my own car to modify too... 
First of all, i have to say a HUGE thanks to Nick Lopez (Sonic) as he helped me night after night after night to get my saff ready for teh journey and at the final hour he had a problem crop up and he couldnt make it on teh trip with us. Gutted.
Thursday:
We set off from Blackpool at lunchtime on Thursday and made the trip down to Folkestone via Turbosystems to get some Tony Tea and witness desert storms existence for ourselves, and sure enough, here she is in teh metal!!
After some fine tea and the expected banter with Tony and Mike we then headed down to meet up with Dan from Jamsport in the Focus Rs and Gracie / XR Craig in the Saff 4x4.
And proceeded down to the travel inn we had booked for our first night near the Eurotunnel... It had taken 8hrs to get there from Blackpool
Beer, food and giggles ensued...
And we met a mystery couple.... who are they? Any Ideas?!
Brilliant night, very memorable with great company. Thanks for Coming along Mr and Mrs X
Friday:
We get up bright and early and head across to teh Eurotunnel with Sticker Paul and his last minute passenger, SevenEighths who booked into our travel Inn at 2am after getting stuck on a closed Motorway for half the night! 
The tunnel is quite interesting for anyone whos never done it. Drive onto a train and then get out and chat with your pals for 30mins, then get back in, drive off it and your in France... 35mins and done, bizzare!
This pic shows it was 333miles to teh tunnel from Blackpool, and we re-brimmed the tank at the station there which took £49.50. A quick calculation shows on Uk Motorways the cossie did the journey at 31mpg. Im sure thats about to plummet downwards....
We all Re-Group at the fuel station just off the tunnel in Calais, now the trip really begins and teh atmosphere is truly electric.
But where is Mike R and family?
Turns out they had been delayed at customs for number plate problems... some 1hr or so later they arrive to bows and cheers from the assembled masses 
And the high speed convoy through France and Belgium begins...
And onwards into the German Mountains....
Finally we reach the hotel we are staying at and meet the owner who speaks great English and treats us incredibly well.. top man, we will stay there next time for sure
Our Rooms were damn fine too and very cheap
Friday Night we go to the Rings grand prix circuit bar and eat there with the whole group.. its a great night apart from an issue with lighting, service speed and bleeding steaks
Saturday:
Sadly, the ring is closed for most of Saturday so we have to endure a few hours watching some driver training thing and do some looking around and exploring... has to be said, it was fun in the end and we saw some serious machinery!!
Met up with a few of the folks you all know... and also went Go-karting, which was top fun
This is our group of friends from left to right:
Rocco's passenger (sorry, dont recall your name), Graceland, Sticker Paul, Jamsport Dan, Rocco's head, Nicole, Seveneights & XR Craig.
We spent lots of time with the other groups too, (Mad Mac ands Bazza swere with us most the time too, top pair of lads) but as a group of friends we never really split up and i enjoyed all your company immensely, so thank you all so much again for an incredible trip and your excellent company which made the trip what it was IMO
Finally Saturday evening came and we got to take our first 5 laps of the ring
I went out first and to my horror, the brand new discs and DS2500 pads were totally destroyed within 1/2 lap and sadly never recovered the whole trip But we soldiered on.... 
Only pic i have from that Evening is of Nicole driving
We spent saturday night at a place in Adenah village called "Pinnochios" This is a well recomended place as they sold great food and beer at very impressive prices and were friendly too, even when confronted with odd stories about "Poo in a box" and being subjected to wordgames about "Boys" Another great night.....
Sunday:
The big day arrives
Im out of bed and tapping my feet at 6am ready to go, but it soon transpires i will be alone... bloody pissheads Im downstairs, oil level checked, crap unloaded and windows cleaned by 7am and out at the ring toll gates by 7:30
Sadly, its very very poor weather with both heavy fog and rain.. what a drainer Still, it gives me an opportunity for a rare photo of my car at the ring on its own...
7:50 comes and the tolls turn on, im outa there at once and onto teh ring.. its very spooky out on the ring in the fog when your all alone and it crosses my mind what would happen if i had a serious smash at that time of teh morning?!!? I slow down and take some pics....
Meet a chap from Southampton around 9am and we go for a blast around with his M3 CSL in tow... serious weaponry for teh ring
The rest of teh crew start turning up from 11am and the day unfolds without any serious hickups, but teh weather never lets up and gives us a totally dry track to play on, which is a shame if not a hidden godsend given i cant stop
I took passengers out on every one of my last 15 laps and i hope they all enjoyed it, even with us going slow due to no braking power Sorry chaps. I must say a big thanks to "Foreign Rs" Who took me for an incredible lap that had me terrified for 1/2 of it.. lol. Your an incredible driver, thanks for the lap, i owe you one pal 
I think the fact i have no more photos of teh day really shows we used all our time to full effect, driving as much as possible... next time i will get more action shots for you.
Sunday night was spent at the same place as sat night as we figured there was no point risking somewhere new when we had a good venue allready The night went very well until a couple of small telephone missunderstandings that im sure you have been bored about elsewhere, so we will leave that subject there.
Monday:
Monday was quite a subdued morning and there was a quiet air about the place with us all leaving... We grouped up at the Grand Prix circuit pit area for fast Ford photoshoot and were greeted with a German version of "This is a PAD - DOCK" as a certain white sapphire proceeded to do some doughnuts
From there it was a fast fast convoy to teh tunnel, quite short of time due to a small delay whilst a car underwent a repair in Adenhau but we all made it to teh tunnel on time with 30mins to spare!! How MadMac and bazza kept up i will never know.. top work guys, well impressed me
Once over in England again we decided we should take another night in the Folkestone hotel and make up for teh night that was spoiled previously... Another great great night was had and i have video evidence of it "So your telling me.....?"
Tuesday:
Dan had to leave early for work, so we decided to call in and see him on the way home after our well deserved lie in Unfortunately, at 140mph, disaster struck!! The sunroof in stickys car exploded
After a quick Safety making mission, they were underway for a WINDY drive home
A quick drop into see Dan and the pimp machine at JamSport and a sneak look round the new FlagShip that Jamies building.. what can i say other than "WOW... what a machine" (Sorry Dan, not the bimmer
)
And then it was the long haul home that we were all dreading....
Here are some random pictures:
All in all we covered 1659 miles, used 1/4 litre of oil and 77gallons of Super Unleaded at a cost of £346!!
The cossie averaged 21.5mpg on the entire journey, which i reckon is damn good indeed considering the high speed haul its done.
Id like to say a BIG thank you to all that went along, you were all great people and it was a pleasure to meet the new ones as well as the old, especially Paul, Seveneigths who had me in stitches the whole weekend and was kind enough to take us back to his house to meet his beautifull and very kind wife Jill, his children and brother and feed us as well before our last hours drive home. Your a star pal and a great new friend... 
Big thank you also to Mike rainbird, as always, without him a few things wouldnt have gone quite as smoothly as they did and when we were lost i was genuinely glad he was as helpfull as he always is. A great bloke and a good friend. Thanks again Mike
Thanks of course to everyone else. Im sure ive forgotten a few key people and things but this post has taken me hours to write and resize all teh pics and im tired now so will edit tomorrow...
Well chaps.. thats that, see you in April for round 2
*Any pics anyone likes, i have them ALL in 7.1mp at very high resolution
First of all, i have to say a HUGE thanks to Nick Lopez (Sonic) as he helped me night after night after night to get my saff ready for teh journey and at the final hour he had a problem crop up and he couldnt make it on teh trip with us. Gutted.
Thursday:
We set off from Blackpool at lunchtime on Thursday and made the trip down to Folkestone via Turbosystems to get some Tony Tea and witness desert storms existence for ourselves, and sure enough, here she is in teh metal!!
After some fine tea and the expected banter with Tony and Mike we then headed down to meet up with Dan from Jamsport in the Focus Rs and Gracie / XR Craig in the Saff 4x4.
And proceeded down to the travel inn we had booked for our first night near the Eurotunnel... It had taken 8hrs to get there from Blackpool
Beer, food and giggles ensued... And we met a mystery couple.... who are they? Any Ideas?!
Brilliant night, very memorable with great company. Thanks for Coming along Mr and Mrs X
Friday:
We get up bright and early and head across to teh Eurotunnel with Sticker Paul and his last minute passenger, SevenEighths who booked into our travel Inn at 2am after getting stuck on a closed Motorway for half the night!
The tunnel is quite interesting for anyone whos never done it. Drive onto a train and then get out and chat with your pals for 30mins, then get back in, drive off it and your in France... 35mins and done, bizzare!
This pic shows it was 333miles to teh tunnel from Blackpool, and we re-brimmed the tank at the station there which took £49.50. A quick calculation shows on Uk Motorways the cossie did the journey at 31mpg. Im sure thats about to plummet downwards....
We all Re-Group at the fuel station just off the tunnel in Calais, now the trip really begins and teh atmosphere is truly electric.
But where is Mike R and family?
Turns out they had been delayed at customs for number plate problems... some 1hr or so later they arrive to bows and cheers from the assembled masses
And the high speed convoy through France and Belgium begins...
And onwards into the German Mountains....
Finally we reach the hotel we are staying at and meet the owner who speaks great English and treats us incredibly well.. top man, we will stay there next time for sure
Our Rooms were damn fine too and very cheap
Friday Night we go to the Rings grand prix circuit bar and eat there with the whole group.. its a great night apart from an issue with lighting, service speed and bleeding steaks
Saturday:
Sadly, the ring is closed for most of Saturday so we have to endure a few hours watching some driver training thing and do some looking around and exploring... has to be said, it was fun in the end and we saw some serious machinery!!
Met up with a few of the folks you all know... and also went Go-karting, which was top fun
This is our group of friends from left to right:
Rocco's passenger (sorry, dont recall your name), Graceland, Sticker Paul, Jamsport Dan, Rocco's head, Nicole, Seveneights & XR Craig.
We spent lots of time with the other groups too, (Mad Mac ands Bazza swere with us most the time too, top pair of lads)
but as a group of friends we never really split up and i enjoyed all your company immensely, so thank you all so much again for an incredible trip and your excellent company which made the trip what it was IMO Finally Saturday evening came and we got to take our first 5 laps of the ring
I went out first and to my horror, the brand new discs and DS2500 pads were totally destroyed within 1/2 lap and sadly never recovered the whole trip
But we soldiered on.... Only pic i have from that Evening is of Nicole driving We spent saturday night at a place in Adenah village called "Pinnochios" This is a well recomended place as they sold great food and beer at very impressive prices and were friendly too, even when confronted with odd stories about "Poo in a box" and being subjected to wordgames about "Boys"
Another great night..... Sunday:
The big day arrives
Im out of bed and tapping my feet at 6am ready to go, but it soon transpires i will be alone... bloody pissheads
Im downstairs, oil level checked, crap unloaded and windows cleaned by 7am and out at the ring toll gates by 7:30 Sadly, its very very poor weather with both heavy fog and rain.. what a drainer
Still, it gives me an opportunity for a rare photo of my car at the ring on its own...7:50 comes and the tolls turn on, im outa there at once and onto teh ring.. its very spooky out on the ring in the fog when your all alone and it crosses my mind what would happen if i had a serious smash at that time of teh morning?!!? I slow down and take some pics....
Meet a chap from Southampton around 9am and we go for a blast around with his M3 CSL in tow... serious weaponry for teh ring
The rest of teh crew start turning up from 11am and the day unfolds without any serious hickups, but teh weather never lets up and gives us a totally dry track to play on, which is a shame if not a hidden godsend given i cant stop
I took passengers out on every one of my last 15 laps and i hope they all enjoyed it, even with us going slow due to no braking power
Sorry chaps. I must say a big thanks to "Foreign Rs" Who took me for an incredible lap that had me terrified for 1/2 of it.. lol. Your an incredible driver, thanks for the lap, i owe you one pal I think the fact i have no more photos of teh day really shows we used all our time to full effect, driving as much as possible... next time i will get more action shots for you.
Sunday night was spent at the same place as sat night as we figured there was no point risking somewhere new when we had a good venue allready
The night went very well until a couple of small telephone missunderstandings that im sure you have been bored about elsewhere, so we will leave that subject there. Monday:
Monday was quite a subdued morning and there was a quiet air about the place with us all leaving...
We grouped up at the Grand Prix circuit pit area for fast Ford photoshoot and were greeted with a German version of "This is a PAD - DOCK" as a certain white sapphire proceeded to do some doughnuts From there it was a fast fast convoy to teh tunnel, quite short of time due to a small delay whilst a car underwent a repair in Adenhau but we all made it to teh tunnel on time with 30mins to spare!! How MadMac and bazza kept up i will never know.. top work guys, well impressed me
Once over in England again we decided we should take another night in the Folkestone hotel and make up for teh night that was spoiled previously... Another great great night was had and i have video evidence of it
"So your telling me.....?"Tuesday:
Dan had to leave early for work, so we decided to call in and see him on the way home after our well deserved lie in
Unfortunately, at 140mph, disaster struck!! The sunroof in stickys car exploded After a quick Safety making mission, they were underway for a WINDY drive home
A quick drop into see Dan and the pimp machine at JamSport and a sneak look round the new FlagShip that Jamies building.. what can i say other than "WOW... what a machine" (Sorry Dan, not the bimmer
) And then it was the long haul home that we were all dreading....
Here are some random pictures:
All in all we covered 1659 miles, used 1/4 litre of oil and 77gallons of Super Unleaded at a cost of £346!!
The cossie averaged 21.5mpg on the entire journey, which i reckon is damn good indeed considering the high speed haul its done.
Id like to say a BIG thank you to all that went along, you were all great people and it was a pleasure to meet the new ones as well as the old, especially Paul, Seveneigths who had me in stitches the whole weekend and was kind enough to take us back to his house to meet his beautifull and very kind wife Jill, his children and brother and feed us as well before our last hours drive home. Your a star pal and a great new friend...
Big thank you also to Mike rainbird, as always, without him a few things wouldnt have gone quite as smoothly as they did and when we were lost i was genuinely glad he was as helpfull as he always is. A great bloke and a good friend. Thanks again Mike
Thanks of course to everyone else. Im sure ive forgotten a few key people and things but this post has taken me hours to write and resize all teh pics and im tired now so will edit tomorrow...
Well chaps.. thats that, see you in April for round 2
*Any pics anyone likes, i have them ALL in 7.1mp at very high resolution
15-09-2005, 09:29 PM
#2
PassionFord Post Troll
Blimey, what with the post on his Scottish road trip and now this one he's turning into the new John Felstead.................but with pics as well!!!
Nice post!
Nice post!
15-09-2005, 09:45 PM
#5
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nice one!! looked like a wicked trip!
will try and go next time!
Does fudgee have his own personal photographer for fast ford?!
(hangin out the red ST lol)
Everywhere i been that guy is following fudge round!!
met him a few times now and still dont know his name
will try and go next time!
Does fudgee have his own personal photographer for fast ford?!
(hangin out the red ST lol)
Everywhere i been that guy is following fudge round!!
met him a few times now and still dont know his name
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15-09-2005, 09:55 PM
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Good writeup! was good to meet you Stu even if it was brief 
Cant wait for the next trip I can make, really want to get the social side of it next time too
Cant wait for the next trip I can make, really want to get the social side of it next time too
15-09-2005, 10:05 PM
#14
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excellent post
sounded like a great trip and cool pic's but have to say turbosytem's car has to
be one of my all time favourite cossie's a true one off
sounded like a great trip and cool pic's but have to say turbosytem's car has to
be one of my all time favourite cossie's
a true one off
15-09-2005, 10:22 PM
#17
Ive edited quite extensively now, sorry chaps.
I have to add, its quite remarkable that all these old cars made the gruelling journey with ease and no real hickups whatsoever... congratulations everyone, your vehicles are all a credit to you!
I have to add, its quite remarkable that all these old cars made the gruelling journey with ease and no real hickups whatsoever... congratulations everyone, your vehicles are all a credit to you!
15-09-2005, 11:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Bosch-Man
Just a note that aint me its a cardboard cut out.
Cool writeup and pic's, Stu
15-09-2005, 11:17 PM
#22
DEYTUKURJERBS
Thats "The Beard" hanging out the ST150
Michael Whitestone Top photographer, done loadsa feature cars with him, did one on wednesday infact, and he was showing me loadsa pics he took for Fast Ford of the trip
15-09-2005, 11:19 PM
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Michael Whitestone Top photographer, done loadsa feature cars with him
15-09-2005, 11:23 PM
#27
I only did a couple of laps with the odd bit of moisture on the track.
Driving it in the full wet would be VERY interesting... big balls to get a good lap time in the wet.. ESPECIALLY on some sticky dry weather tyres.
Nice write up
RW
Driving it in the full wet would be VERY interesting... big balls to get a good lap time in the wet.. ESPECIALLY on some sticky dry weather tyres.
Nice write up
RW
16-09-2005, 01:51 AM
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Absolutely fantastic pics and story Stu. Great read, really enjoyed that. Good to put faces to names as well.
Surprised you got any driving done with all those pics
Surprised you got any driving done with all those pics
16-09-2005, 05:19 AM
#36
Originally Posted by cossiemen
yep, great read, fantastic story and high quality pics...
think i'm off to the Ring this weekend
think i'm off to the Ring this weekend
Weather forecast for saturday 12 C cloudy,better bring my winterjacket
16-09-2005, 07:15 AM
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Originally Posted by NUTS RuS
Im sure if someone organised a tour (or similar) of 3 or 4 circuits in the UK next summer it would get a good following
Top pics as ever
I am trying to get a very fast Escort to come to the Ring next year, a very fast one!!!!!
Graham
16-09-2005, 07:30 AM
#39
Testing the future
great post stu
was really good to meet you. i enjoyed our lap, but it wasn't totally flat out as i was talking too much. your car now looks like it will cope with the ring much better and should be capable of some good circuit times.
shame i didn't get the chance to take nicole round as i said i would, but the weather and circumstances conspired against us. maybe next time.
was really good to meet you. i enjoyed our lap, but it wasn't totally flat out as i was talking too much. your car now looks like it will cope with the ring much better and should be capable of some good circuit times.
shame i didn't get the chance to take nicole round as i said i would, but the weather and circumstances conspired against us. maybe next time.