VLN 8 2018 Autumn Leaves.

3 Days at the Nurburgring.
Might sound a short time, but it was absolutely relaxed. The weather was great and the leaves were already changing their color.

The Nurburgring is very important for the region Rhineland-Palatine.
Of course the Track is managed like a bussines. Between the end of March and end of October the track is booked  almost daily. The Thursday I was there, the track was hired by a Motorsport Club.

It also give photographers the possibility to make a business of photographing all cars.

At the Ring you can also do a taxi drive. Companies offer a full speed drive with an experienced driver in a fast car around the Track.

And almost every evening, the track is open for the famous Touristen Fahrten.

But then again, for the spectators there is still the possibility to watch the cars for free, during practice and big part of the track are also free of entrance for VLN races.

Saturday is raceday for the 4 hours of VLN8. A few photos taken in the pits and on the grid.

the video shows BMW driver Augusto Farfus preparing for the 4 hours. Without a Co-Driver, he was testing the BMW M6 GT3 for next years race: the 24h of the Nurburgring.

It took some bandaid and gaffer tape, but this Aston Martin made it to the Finish.

I think this was it for 2018. I dont know what will happen in 2019. We will see.

GT Masters In Most april 2018

The first Race for me to visit this Season.

I have never been in the Czech Republik. No Idea what to expect, but it has been a pleasent Trip.

The Track is situated not far from the german Border. And sits in the middle of an Open Pit Mining Area.

From just around the corner of my Hotel Zamek Cerveny Hradek, you can see the mining area in the distance.

And just on the other site of the Mine Pit is the circuit located.

Therefore I dont want to know on what kind of debris the track has been built.

But, when you choose the right camera position, nobody has to know what so ever.

So a nice picture of a beautiful track under a nice sun and in the back ground a Castle that reminds me of the Castle of Nurburg. As a matter of fact. The complete track layout, looks like the GP Track of the Nurburgring.

But it sure lacks parkingspace for the visitors. This is the parking lot on thursday.

 That made me buy on beforehand a ticket for a campingplace just 200mtr. further down the road. There I had a great spot for the next 3 days.

Friday was already a full day of driving for all teams. With the main event for the GT-Masters

Here we spot Dutch Driver Indy Dontje just before he has to go his driverseat. He looks very happy. Did he get a pay rise?

Well, perhaps. But definately a decent cup of coffee!

The Garages are unfortunately rather privat. All doors well kept closed down, or the cars are hidden by pit walls.

But at the Track it is all well organized for the visitors. And the Czechs sure like a decent meal.

And so do I!

Big fun for the Fans is always the pitwalk. With lots of give a way items, Autographs and photo moments.

But it is in the End all about Racing.

Unfortunately, Most isnt a Track where the fast GT3 cars can easily overtake. The only real place where it could happen is at the first hairpin after the straight. And just after the start.

https://www.facebook.com/100015627195199/videos/309189656278605/

And after the start, the Porsche of Kevin Estre, that had been strugling all weekend, remained behind.

But that doesnt mean overtaking is absolutely impossible. In the Skoda RS race, overtaking was all included.

And when Race Day is over, Drivers rush to their rental cars,  the teams hurry to put down their Tents and pack up their gear.

Only Timo Scheider takes his moment, to watch the start again.

And if you are a professional GT-Masters driver or a Skoda Octavio club racer, they all deserve a drink after.

A great weekend, great crowd, great races and beautiful weather.

See you all next time!

A Visit to VLN 7 2017

Only a short holiday to visit the VNL7 race at the Nurburgring.


I spent the 2 nights in Hotel Hohe Acht. A very nice Hotel with a friendly Host and at a very reasonable price. And visited by Guests with one thing in common: a passion for the Nordschleife.

As I arrived at Thursday I wanted to do a few laps during Touristenfahren, but the track and entrance with very crowded.

The reason was that the previous two days, Touristenfahren had been cancelled because Porsche AG. where setting a laprecord with their new Porsche GT 2 .

During Touristenfahren one visitor stood out of the crowd: A long distance cyclist.

When I woke up on Friday, testing day for the VLN race, my car was already sunbathing in a glorious morning Sun.

At the Track, I walked straight in to a Pitstop of the Nismo Team. They used this race to test their new Nissan GT-R for next season.

The Sun gave the scenery this day a glorious light. I must admit, for me Autumn light is my favourite: warm, glowing and it gives everything a softness. Less harsh then the light in high Summer.

Porsches Factory Driver Kevin Estre takes his time to adjust his Desk to his liking.

And at the Track you can also small remarkable moments:

Like Dutch company Intrax, helping out with the setup of a car, sponsered by the competition. But it gave the team the class championship 2017.

And nobody can ad Oil as good as the teamowner himself: Franz Konrad.

Autumn has started but the leaves still show a high degree of green.  Fullcourse Yellow (who gets this joke.) is still some weeks away

You dont see a lot of track photos on this Blog, but the weather was good and there were not many spectator. So I went to Brunchen, parked my car at this corner at the track and walked a few miles along the track.

Saturday, Race Day started Foggy. 

So no reason to rush to the Circuit. Normally the Track is closed when there is too much fog. But the Sun put all its effort in making the fog disappear. So business as usual. 

Cars do their Qualifying and then everybody (drivers, teammembers, media and a big part of the crowd) go to the Starting Grid, where the final interviews are made.

During the Race, when there is no car pitting, the crew is in the back of the garage keeping a watch on the monitors and tv.

Nismo Driver Tom Coronel has a doorway conversation with the Team. Perhaps we will see them again this season.

I dont know if this will be the last blog of VLN this season. We will see.