For my youngest son’s 18th I’m planning a trip in the MX-5 to visit (not track) Nurburgring. I wondered if anyone has any tips on the best route from Calais, places to stay, where to park and when to visit?
We’ll be taking the Euro tunnel to Calais and I’d thought of heading to Aachen where we’d stay the night before driving on to Nurburgring.
We’d like to experience the Autobahn on route and I think there’s a section of the A1 from Aachen. I also read the route includes smaller Eifel roads that are often more enjoyable.
We’d probably head to YouTubers corner in Brünnchen, but I’ve no idea what to expect. If there’s an event on will it be super packed or if we go midweek will it be empty on track and no action?
If you’re going to drive all the way over there, may as well splash the tax for a tourist lap.
When I went there were Espaces, Jimnys and fully-laden Jaguar XJ’s going around. Dont let influencers on YouTube scare you into thinking it’s a constant fight of drivers -v- sense.
From Brunnchen, you’re a short walk away from the Karoussel, which is worth a wander.
Go grab some lunch from the cafe at the top of the hill, by the castle (And notice how every house in the village has a 911 or M3 in the driveway)
There’s a villa-park nearby which is the default place to look for accomodation, but as such it’s quickly booked out.
And have a mooch around the carpark next to Devils Diner (next to the starting point for Tourist laps) to see what’s doing laps today.
But, really, go do a lap while you’re there. Do you go to Tescos just to push the trolley around?
Done it several times, we usually go on the motorway (E40) via Brussels/ Liege then drop off the motorway near Eupen, cross country from there to the Ring has some fantastic roads, we often go via Monschau as the roads around there are great, I don’t agree with those saying drive the Ring, as every time I’ve been there the tourist laps have been carnage, I think a track day there would be fantastic. We try and tie our trips in with some sort of race/event, the spectating is great and you can get very close to the action.
For the return journey it’s well worth checking out Spa as there are often practice days, and you can wander through the pit lanes.
We have been most years since the 2000’s, we love the region and the roads without driving the track at all (did TF and trackday years ago), going to the area and soaking up the atmosphere is enough for us. I agree with Glug69 on this, but I did a trackday at the Ring and saw lots of risky things on track that made me call it a day before late afternoon due to self preservation (M2 written off right in front of me)
Anyway, I wouldn’t stop off over night unless you really want to, its not that far (5 hours from Calais) head straight out of France and across to Brussels Liege/Luik then down via Kerpen and the 61 to Adeanu. I go by the simplest route avoiding touring B roads on my journey to just get it done (plenty of nice roads when you arrive).
You can go via Malmedy E42 (Spa Francorchamps) nicer roads a little more B road near the end towards Adenau, but very nice to drive.
We have stayed in a few places near but just go to Drees Ferienpark and stay 1.5 miles from the Ring in the houses specific for it (don’t like hotels too restrictive) . Rewe Supermarket at Breidschied is great for all your needs, and a Rewe Beer supermarket opposite is perfect! Fill up at Eds petrol station near the Dottinger Hohe and you will see lots of special cars near the weekends.
Brunchen is never busy unless it’s a German holiday or car event but they are normally in the eve, so you will be fine. Walk up to the right from Brunnchen follow the circuit and you get to the Karousell after a 15 min walk. During the day it’s normally industry pool days so manufacturers use it to lap current and camo covered cars to test. You will need a TF day to see the chaos, these are often in the evening these days, but check the calendar at the Nurburgring website.
L92 Adenau to Ring is a nice road, L10 from Brunnchen to Seibenbach is a nice little road, 257 from Adeanu to Kelberg all nice little short runs, 258 from Nurburg to Virneburg and the hairpins after. I could go on and on but these are nice to drive close to the Ring without too much adventure if time is limited.
I too would take the motorway and come off at Eupen. The long straight out of Eupen into Germany used to be referred to as the ‘road to hell’ and it was obvious why. It was bumpy, poorly surfaced and badly repaired and you immediately knew when you’d crossed into Germany because the road became like a billiard table, the houses and gardens were immaculate and everything suddenly became a more pleasant experience. That and there were now Porsche’s and BMW’s dotted around.
The B258 towards Adenau is a joy to drive, winding through some lovely Eifel countryside and passing by some lovely towns and villages. I no longer ‘do the Ring’ but I would highly recommend that if this is a first time, you drive the Nordschleif at least once if you can. Then drive up to the petrol station that appears in the above photos and buy a Ring sticker for the car, it’s a memory you’ll keep and something few if any of Your Lads mates will have experienced. All I’d say is drive it like a road not a track, keep a keen eye on your mirrors and don’t be tempted to drive too fast, you need the car to get home.
The road from the Nordschleif down into Cochem (259 if memory serves) is also and absolute joy, and when you get to the roundabout, left or right will give you a nice drive along the Mosel Valley. If you find yourself with a few hours to kill, look up Berg Elzt, or Vogelsang. Both are worth a visit.
Do a lap, it’s well worth it. You only need do one for the experience, you’ll find the autobarn on the way scarier to be honest. We went last year in four MX-5s and each did between 1 and 3 laps. Everyone on the circuit appeared very disciplined, and quite honestly it was the best drive I’ve had for many years. There was a huge mix of cars as well, and even in an MX-5 I had to overtake a few.
We went a very long way round to get there but we came back via Calais in a day. We stayed in Barweiler for a couple of nights which is in earshot of the track.
Our route back was pretty much straight from there to the tunnel, but crossing Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France, which was fun. Only slow bit was going around the north of Brussels where the motorways were pretty solid, but moving!
Luckily you can still get separate cover by specialist insurers for TF, including barrier cover and vehicle recovery.
It’s your typical first party cover only, the same as track days in the UK , but if the premium and excess appear reasonable it seems better than nothing.
