As our moderator is fond of saying - Gentlemen:
I'll try this again,
Since my last post about this met with such wonderful response (not), BUT I just know there are FGT guys out there that are interested in racing, how to start racing and for sure interested in what really goes on at the Nurburgring. So I'll start at the beginning; I don't pretent to be a car guy, I grew up around airplanes and have flown since before I could drive a car. Cars got me to the airport, that's it. But a few years ago my girlfriend said "you need a cool car". So, ala, and after much ado, the FGT came into the picture. Then came the FGT Forum and Rally 7, and our first ever track day at NOLA, then another track day and another and another. As things go and you meet people, things happen and 4 months later we found ourselves at the Nurburgring. I couldn't even spell Nurburgeerringg before, but it was a cool thing and we said..... well let's come back for more of this. We went back to Germany 5 times ,drove a lot of stuff and by the end of the summer we raced our first race ever, at the Nurburgring, an RCN (a fun time trial race series that is the oldest race series in Germany). We lived, didn't bend anything and did'nt finish last. Cool. So flew back to the US, looked around and the best thing we found for real skills building and just plain fun was SCCA spec Miata racing. Absolutely. We rented a couple of cars for races, then bought a couple of cars and raced and raced and raced until our head were spinning and came back to Germany for our first VLN. The VLN is a huge huge race that includes at least 10 classes from GT3 hyper cars and down with up to 215 cars on track for the rolling start. We electect to build a Porsche Cayman 981S for the mid level V6 class which normally has about 20 cars in the group. But I skipped a part; last year while at the ring, we met Sabine (needs no introduction) she and her boyfriend Klaus of Frikadelli Racing offered to build us a car for this year, so they did, so now we run the J2 Racing Cayman in their pits. So here we go...We've been here for nearly two months now and have had three races, VLN1, VLN2 and RCN1. Next week is VLN 3. In total we've finished 8,5 and 10 in class (of 20 or so) and 73,11 and 90 overall of about 200 cars. We're not on the podium yet, but we are really diggin' it and having fun. This week we add a few other adjustments as is goes with car development and we are planning to move up in the rankings. The Nordscheiffe demands a lot from a car, and street cars particularly suffer until you modify them beyond their normal existence. It's only money.
The FGT still has center stage in our garage, but we have added a couple of GT3RS for track day entertainment and a couple of Miatas for the bump and grind of club racing. The VLN at the Nurburgring is a serious affair, and unless you are in a GT3, SP9 or Cup car, your rearview mirror is far more important than than the windscreen. You simply have to experience it. Next week we start race 5 with VLN3, we are not veterans yet but we understand a lot more and have huge (grosse) respect for what goes on here. It is impressive, the matter of track etiquete only extends to the strong and those with the will to win.
A final note to Felix of Switzerland who so rightly pointed out in my last post that I should pay tribute to our brother FGT impresario Jurgen Alzen and his FGT 777 car who continues to fight so valiantly; keep the good vibes coming for all of us, Felix. Herr Alzen is doing a fine job and his car looks marvelous AND he is fast fast fast, I know because he passes me several times during the race. And yes, Felix, I 'get it' this is the GT Forum, BUT it is also about people that like performance cars and this naturally leads to racing. Hopefully you get that.
So, if any of this of interest to you, thanks for reading. If not, well then perhaps I am mistaken. I got here because of the FGT and the FGT Forum (thanks Dave). I am thankful for that. We love our FGT and think there is no cooler car (thank you Camilo). And, you should know that everyone who knows us here in the Eifel loves the FGT and have great respect for it. We will always bear the torch.
And by the way, in case you are wondering, no one here knows what the future of the Ring is since the sale. It's not even certian that the sale is final at this point. We drive on track 3-4 days a week, but during off days, I mountain bike around the ring, inside and out of all the corners (it takes all day and is a heart pounding blast). I see what the infrastructure consists of. It truly would take a government to maintain. How a private group will propose to maintain this is a wonder.
We will travel back next week, but return for the 24hr and stay through Sept. If anyone comes over to experience the ring, we can provide many contacts and help get you on the right track. Otherwise, see you at the next VLN or SCCA Southern Region race.
Some Pics if you are interested:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90996765@N03/
I'll try this again,
Since my last post about this met with such wonderful response (not), BUT I just know there are FGT guys out there that are interested in racing, how to start racing and for sure interested in what really goes on at the Nurburgring. So I'll start at the beginning; I don't pretent to be a car guy, I grew up around airplanes and have flown since before I could drive a car. Cars got me to the airport, that's it. But a few years ago my girlfriend said "you need a cool car". So, ala, and after much ado, the FGT came into the picture. Then came the FGT Forum and Rally 7, and our first ever track day at NOLA, then another track day and another and another. As things go and you meet people, things happen and 4 months later we found ourselves at the Nurburgring. I couldn't even spell Nurburgeerringg before, but it was a cool thing and we said..... well let's come back for more of this. We went back to Germany 5 times ,drove a lot of stuff and by the end of the summer we raced our first race ever, at the Nurburgring, an RCN (a fun time trial race series that is the oldest race series in Germany). We lived, didn't bend anything and did'nt finish last. Cool. So flew back to the US, looked around and the best thing we found for real skills building and just plain fun was SCCA spec Miata racing. Absolutely. We rented a couple of cars for races, then bought a couple of cars and raced and raced and raced until our head were spinning and came back to Germany for our first VLN. The VLN is a huge huge race that includes at least 10 classes from GT3 hyper cars and down with up to 215 cars on track for the rolling start. We electect to build a Porsche Cayman 981S for the mid level V6 class which normally has about 20 cars in the group. But I skipped a part; last year while at the ring, we met Sabine (needs no introduction) she and her boyfriend Klaus of Frikadelli Racing offered to build us a car for this year, so they did, so now we run the J2 Racing Cayman in their pits. So here we go...We've been here for nearly two months now and have had three races, VLN1, VLN2 and RCN1. Next week is VLN 3. In total we've finished 8,5 and 10 in class (of 20 or so) and 73,11 and 90 overall of about 200 cars. We're not on the podium yet, but we are really diggin' it and having fun. This week we add a few other adjustments as is goes with car development and we are planning to move up in the rankings. The Nordscheiffe demands a lot from a car, and street cars particularly suffer until you modify them beyond their normal existence. It's only money.
The FGT still has center stage in our garage, but we have added a couple of GT3RS for track day entertainment and a couple of Miatas for the bump and grind of club racing. The VLN at the Nurburgring is a serious affair, and unless you are in a GT3, SP9 or Cup car, your rearview mirror is far more important than than the windscreen. You simply have to experience it. Next week we start race 5 with VLN3, we are not veterans yet but we understand a lot more and have huge (grosse) respect for what goes on here. It is impressive, the matter of track etiquete only extends to the strong and those with the will to win.
A final note to Felix of Switzerland who so rightly pointed out in my last post that I should pay tribute to our brother FGT impresario Jurgen Alzen and his FGT 777 car who continues to fight so valiantly; keep the good vibes coming for all of us, Felix. Herr Alzen is doing a fine job and his car looks marvelous AND he is fast fast fast, I know because he passes me several times during the race. And yes, Felix, I 'get it' this is the GT Forum, BUT it is also about people that like performance cars and this naturally leads to racing. Hopefully you get that.
So, if any of this of interest to you, thanks for reading. If not, well then perhaps I am mistaken. I got here because of the FGT and the FGT Forum (thanks Dave). I am thankful for that. We love our FGT and think there is no cooler car (thank you Camilo). And, you should know that everyone who knows us here in the Eifel loves the FGT and have great respect for it. We will always bear the torch.
And by the way, in case you are wondering, no one here knows what the future of the Ring is since the sale. It's not even certian that the sale is final at this point. We drive on track 3-4 days a week, but during off days, I mountain bike around the ring, inside and out of all the corners (it takes all day and is a heart pounding blast). I see what the infrastructure consists of. It truly would take a government to maintain. How a private group will propose to maintain this is a wonder.
We will travel back next week, but return for the 24hr and stay through Sept. If anyone comes over to experience the ring, we can provide many contacts and help get you on the right track. Otherwise, see you at the next VLN or SCCA Southern Region race.
Some Pics if you are interested:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90996765@N03/
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