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Yeh the transit time sux. The UK is changing their Teir 1 Visa requirements 1 April which means i cant get work there so was lucky i didnt put a deposit on an M3 last weekend. I get 5 day holidays per month so if i go before July then transit time is critical. Post July i have free time vut looks like i will be in the South of France and Spain if friend gets leave

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Im booked to do the ring the week after easter, hiring a car from rent-racecar (370eu for half day) and contemplating getting a taxi ride in the gt3 clubsport (another 295euro!). Crossing fingers the weather is decent and its fairly quiet being the week after a holiday.

Only costing 2k all up so far not including the porsche - advantages of living in Europe!

I'm told the bmw ring taxi's book out months in advance so if your considering that you'l have to get in early.

I think hiring a car is a no no for under 25's, and most places have restrictions on under 30's for the more expensive cars (m3's etc). Hence I've gone with a golf.

  • 3 weeks later...

What was the weather like? I was keen to go until i read that if the track is closed because of weather /accident then you dont get a refund. Buggered if i am going to hand over $1500 without knowing i am a good chance of getting my 8 hours of solid driving :ninja: Fark, its going to be exhausting :D

I went April 6th last year. Sure it was wet for most of it but it was open all day and I did all the laps I wanted.

But then a week earlier the whole thing was covered in snow so it is a risk. I'll (hopefully) be back around the same time next year :ninja:

If you are doing 2 days with the same guys as me my 100% advice on cars would be 1st the Golf, then the 135i.

If I go back again it will be in the Golf - they are amazingly good around that track and the DSG just means one less thing to think about on your 1st day there (rather than thinking about the whole gear-shift on the wrong side of the car thing).

When I go back next year I'll be getting the Golf (unless they have a GT-R by then! ;) )

But the 135i is fun. Short wheel base so its much more twitchy than the M3's I've driven so it keeps you on your toes.

The Satuday was foggy/overcast and very wet which suited me fine watching a 4hour race from behind the fence :)

There was rain overnight so the Sunday morning was very wet and cold (stuff all grip) but within a few hours the track had dried out in the sun and it was 20odd deg - in the end I got in 11laps, 2 were wet (before 830), one with a drying line and the rest completely dry. There were three hour long track closures during the day to clean up big spills and for most of the day various parts were flagged so it was difficult to get a complete clear lap in - despite that I could have easily done twice the laps if not for a km limit on the car (11laps totalled 260km including two trips for fuel) and knackered tyres that I had to spell for 30min+ after each lap (they'd start to go off by the 6-7k mark towards the end of the day). The track was open from 8am till 720pm.

I found pushing on the wet laps was pretty daunting - the golf wanted to swap ends under brakes, but the upside of a wet track is its completely empty while the bikes and guys on r-comps wait for it to clear up. Pushing the golf in the dry was the most fun I've had in a car by a long shot.

btw I take back the cheap part - not even close!

194_2401.jpg

The Satuday was foggy/overcast and very wet which suited me fine watching a 4hour race from behind the fence :P

There was rain overnight so the Sunday morning was very wet and cold (stuff all grip) but within a few hours the track had dried out in the sun and it was 20odd deg - in the end I got in 11laps, 2 were wet (before 830), one with a drying line and the rest completely dry. There were three hour long track closures during the day to clean up big spills and for most of the day various parts were flagged so it was difficult to get a complete clear lap in - despite that I could have easily done twice the laps if not for a km limit on the car (11laps totalled 260km including two trips for fuel) and knackered tyres that I had to spell for 30min+ after each lap (they'd start to go off by the 6-7k mark towards the end of the day). The track was open from 8am till 720pm.

I found pushing on the wet laps was pretty daunting - the golf wanted to swap ends under brakes, but the upside of a wet track is its completely empty while the bikes and guys on r-comps wait for it to clear up. Pushing the golf in the dry was the most fun I've had in a car by a long shot.

btw I take back the cheap part - not even close!

194_2401.jpg

Did Theo take you for a hot lap 1st? Who needs the Ring Taxi when a lap with Theo is as insane as you could ever want to experience! LOL

I think an experienced driver would enjoy the wet, just takes the track from being fun to downright scary. And the upside is the bikes stay away - once the day got sunny/dry I didnt get a single clear lap.

Btw if your considering the golf - maybe look into the scirocco (sp), not sure if its any quicker with the same engine etc but it just looks soo damn good.

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