I'm Going to the Nurburgring and 24 Hour of Le Mans Next Year!

"Egoods" (egoods) 09/24/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: None

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Well... it has been a long time since I’ve posted to Oppo... and this one is a real piece of work. Re-reading it, obviously I’m pretty excited about it... I don’t expect anyone to actually read all this, the short version is in the title! But if you’re so inclined...

For the past 7 years straight me and a good friend have road-tripped down to the 12 hours of Sebring... I’ve actually always wanted to tell my favorite stories from Sebring. From John Hindhaugh announcing the end of the race to me, my dad, and my best friend... just the 4 of us at a table (it was surreal). Or eating dinner with McNish, or standing next the pit wall during Tom Kristensen’s last ever pit stop at Sebring (I have video proof of that one)... I should write those up.

ANYWAY... The point of this post is that I decided a few weeks ago that I need to go to the 24 hours of Le Mans as soon as I possibly could. I can tell I’m starting to want to settle down, not even against my will! So, before I do that I need to have the epic European racing trip I’ve been dreaming of since my first year at Sebring.

I’ve been doing a ton of flying for work lately, and I finally went over how many frequent flier miles I have... So, last night I went ahead and booked the flights. I’ve had a rough idea of what I want to do for a while, it’s just a matter of nailing everything down in the next 275 days (it’s a really busy time of year in Europe... gotta book early!).

As of right now this is all solo- I plan to meet people along the way. Anyway my rough outline is this: Staring on June 12th -

Flying on Virgin Atlantic’s “Upper Class” service across the pond, connecting from London to Amsterdam.

Renting a car in Amsterdam (I’ve already put a call in to Hertz about getting an F-Type... hope they’ll take my points for it!)

Driving to the Nurburgring, and staying one of two places, Slider’s Guest House (he’s a Brit that fell in love with the ring and started a gear-head B&B very nearby). OR I’ll stay at Sabine’s new boutique hotel Longhorn Saloon. I have inquires out to both.

I’ll most certainly rent rent a car or two from RSR. The ring makes me nervous so I’m thinking of starting with one of the slower (cheaper) cars and an instructor. Judge it from there... I’m not inexperienced on a track but THAT track is a bit different.

Racing, exploring, hanging around the ring until the 16th

16th I drive whatever ludacris rental car I’m able to squeeze out of my Hertz points back to AMS (they don’t usually let you return specialty cars to other locations), take a couple of high-speed trains for 3-4 hours and boom I’m in Le Mans... yes I believe the TGV is one of those trains. Or I might fly... I don’t know yet.

This is where I’m not yet set on what to do. Either I go with Travel Destination’s Glamping/cottage package (UK travel agency that specializes in travel to racing events, they’re pretty awesome!) or AirBnB... if anybody has input I’m open to it.

Watch the race, love the race, weep for the race.

20th - Head to Paris and spend the next 3 nights in an apartment that overlooks the Eiffel tower and Seine river. That I already booked, it was on AirBnB (with instant book) for $150 a night... the pictures look unbelieveable.

23rd CDG-LHR-DTW home. Done. Fin.

So, there you have it Oppo, my rambly possibly hard to follow trip I’m beyond excited for. OH! If any of you are reading this and are thinking “holy shit I NEED to do this” I’m totally open to travel buddies for part/all of this.

RWS Motorsport > Egoods 09/24/2015 at 08:11

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Might I suggest an extra layer of awesome for what sounds like an Epic road trip. Spa Francorchamps is only an hour and a half from the Nurburgring. Might be worth popping into on the way from Amsterdam.

Also, I should also be at Le Mans in 2016, Oppo Meetup for those of us not in the states!

Egoods > RWS Motorsport 09/24/2015 at 08:55

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Sounds good to me! Thanks for the Spa Francorchamps suggestion... it hadn’t yet occurred to me.

Jobjoris > Egoods 09/24/2015 at 08:57

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Few things come to mind:

One, maybe two days around the ring is enough if you ask me. Doing a few rounds will cost you quite some energy, believe me.

Did you check those dates for Touristenfahrten? As far as I know they have yet to be published. Usually during the summer it’s no problem. Best is the weekends though as the Parkings are filled with awesomeness, during the week I’m not so sure.

Driving back to Amsterdam (4 hours), returning car getting to the Station (1 hour) and getting a HighSpeed Thalys will get you in 3 hours in Gare du Nord (Paris) allright but you need to go to Le Mans. Schiphol-Le Mans will take at least 5 hours. So just take a car from Adenau or wherever you’re staying and drive up to Le Mans.

Not sure what your budget is but driving a car in Europe is expensive. Renting an Audi A5 will take you over 700$ already for such a short period, 800 kms free. You’ll almost need those anyway for getting from Schiphol to Adenau and back. Imagine what that F-type would cost you. Enjoying that F-type for getting from Amsterdam to Adenau is debatable as well: Mainly highway. And yes: Germany still has partly “Freihe Fahrt” but looking at my prior point I still think: Why doesn’t he just get a Focus.

What’s the sense of flying to Amsterdam and not visiting it? That’s one hell of a city, don’t skip on that one!

Le Mans staying check AirBNB for places in Arnage, should be plentyfull, near to the circuit.

Enjoy Paris, lovely city!

Have fun anyway. I may be near Le Mans myself so keep us posted!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Egoods 09/24/2015 at 09:48

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“holy shit I NEED to do this”

But there’s no way I can make it happen any time soon.

Have a great time and hook us up with lots of pictures and a detailed write-up!

Egoods > Jobjoris 09/24/2015 at 10:08

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Yeah, I figured I would fill things in, I’ve actually been the the Ring before. They haven’t released the days for Touristenfahrten that far in advance yet. At least as far as I can tell.

I’ve done Amsterdam several times, my sales manager for Europe lives just outside the city. I was thinking possible Brussels, or somewhere else in belgium. I’ve never really explored that area.

I’m very well aware that I’m going to burn an obscene amount of gas. Last year I drove an M6 from Munich to Berlin and back. My credit card company cut the card off because they assumed someone was using it to fill up multiple cars hahaha. As far as why I would go with an F-type over a Focus, in all honesty if they’re not going to let me pay for it with reward points or most of it anyway, I’ll pass.

As far as driving to Le Man, there’s some serious additional fees for even the cheapest car I can find to drop in France for some reason (I’m guessing there’s a hefty tax?).

I really appreciate the input, it’s giving me some things to mull over.

Jobjoris > Egoods 09/24/2015 at 12:47

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Brussels in Belgium is nice but I’d suggest going to Antwerp, Gent or Brugge instead. I live near Antwerp (just on the other side of the Dutch border) in Breda (awesome as well) so I know that town pretty well. And love it dearly. Coastal towns like Oostende and Blankenbergen could be nice as well, a bit outdated though.

Good story about that M6/credit card hahaha! Both Avis and Europcar offer different country drop-offs, getting a 308 would set you back between 800 and 1000 euros from 12th-24th of June. Not sure if that’s what you mean with that hefty fee, it’s 12 days so not even that bad in my book. Remember, these are different countries, the car truly needs to be transported back. Getting from the Ring to Le Mans could direct you passing by Reims/Gueux as well, a nice road-circuit that isn’t used anymore but the buildings are still there.

The total track still is drivable, public roads.

While your in France in June anyway maybe visit the Normandy region as well: that’s always great because lots of memorials going on then. And if you want to spot nice cars just go to Deauville, lots of Porsches, Ferraris and other exotics there as well. Nice town anyway (lots of rich Parisians have a beachhouse over there, as it is just a two-hour drive). Honfleur and Cabourg are nice as well.

RallyWrench > Egoods 09/24/2015 at 13:05

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Sounds like a fantastic trip. I worked the N24 last year, it’s incredible and I desperately want to go back. Working Le Mans as a mechanic is my ultimate goal, I hope to be there within a few years. Worth noting for your trip, the tourist drives are not available during the week of the race, as the track is closed for preparation, practice, and the numerous support events, so plan to give yourself some time either well before or during the week following the race.

Egoods > RallyWrench 09/24/2015 at 15:46

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

My previous job out in Philly was as a service manager at a *a major retail pep automotive repair chain boys * (well, several, and opened one, but I digress). Would you believe me if I told you two... TWO of the guys I hired went on to work in racing? One burned out pretty quick (two or so years and he was working at a Merc or BMW dealership). The other guy worked his ass of at Skip Barber and evidently landed a gig wrench for *an very Italian Indy driver’s* racing team wrenching on a short American top gear host’s Rallycross bug. That guy kind of went “hollywood” after he got into racing though, I asked him for ticket to Sebring and he got exceptionally offended. Don’t be that guy you could end up looking like a fool....

It’s not that great of a story, he did in fact achieve his dream (it’s a rough life, but I think he enjoys it). It just so happens that a few years after he left, I also left, and moved back to Detroit to work with my dad. Got involved in a few projects that introduced me to some pretty influential people in the world of racing... his attitude changed drastically, again. Don’t be that dude, people will see through it and lose respect for you.

**READ THIS PART** —> BUT! I can without a doubt say that if you work hard enough, get some time in at tech school and really get as much as you can out of it, it’s not unreasonable to think you could be wrenching on a car in the pits at Le Mans.

RallyWrench > Egoods 09/24/2015 at 15:57

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Yeah, it’s not easy work, but racing is one of the few times when I feel like I’m really doing something I enjoy on a fundamental level, because otherwise I’m burned out on the automotive industry. I know some pretty cocky guys as well, they’re no fun to be around or work for. You’ve got to keep a level head and keep things in perspective, and many guys lose that, instead exuding an arrogant “I work on X car, I’ve done XYZ racing, I’m hot shit” attitude.