Just got back from a bit of a European road trip in the S2 which included a few laps of one infamous German race track.
After an easy trip down to Ramsgate we caught the midday ferry to Ostend (very boring ferry journey). Arrived in Belgium and headed towards Holland with our final destination being Utrecht to spend a few days with friends. Note to anyone heading to Utrecht that it is not car friendly! Driving the S2 around there at 11pm was pretty stressful to say the least!
After a few days in Utrecht we headed down into Germany. As soon as we got onto the autobahn at Venlo the driving styles changed distinctly. I love driving in Germany, I think the standards and awareness of drivers is much better than here.
We arrived in Adenau after a very picturesque drive through the mountains and dropped all of our stuff at the Blaue Ecke Hotel (as recommended by a number of people on here). The hotel is ideal for anyone heading to the Nürburgring and I can highly recommend the restaurant which was superb!
We headed to the ring at about 4.30pm and bought 4 laps for €75. I was intending to 'take it steady' particularly during the first lap but as soon as that huge straight opens up for you that all goes out the window.
The last 5 years of S2 ownership which has included various repairs and upgrades all suddenly came together. The car felt great, boosted really well and the brakes came into a league of their own. I gained a lot of confidence from the brakes alone.
I was told that you must go low on Karussell to really experience it, however I only did this once as it is so harsh to the point that my tyres were rubbing the arches significantly! Maybe my ET28 on 8J wheels is best suited to the road!
I felt a bit guilty doing all this on Toyo’s with barely a few hundred miles on them. They gripped very well although through most turns the rears were making a lot of noise which surprised me as my car has always under-steered. Better suspension would have been a big advantage but despite the body roll, the car felt great through slow and fast corners.
My 3rd lap was the one where I threw caution to the wind and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I came into the pits with the brakes literally about to burst into flames and the engine oil temp gauge reading silly figures. Some gearbox oil had decided to make an escape for it out of the breather and all over the cats so there was a fair amount of smoke coming form under the car which was alarming but soon went away.
There were three 911 GT2’s there. I have always had a huge amount of respect for these cars but seeing them on the Nordschleife left me aghast. They have obviously got the power but the way that they went through the curves was breathtaking! There was also a Nissan GTR owned by a chap who owns the unit next door to MRC. That sounded and looked fantastic too.
I found the whole experience incredible, the circuit is breathtaking, incredibly long and doesn't let up for a moment. There were a couple of places where they were repairing the track after a few accidents the day before but this didn't hamper the experience at all.
The tyres, brakes and engine had taken quite a battering but after a cool off we headed back to the Blaue Ecke.
After a few days travelling up through the Rhein valley we drove across to Belgium where the S2 felt fantastic at high speeds. We stopped off at Spa Francochamps as I have always loved that circuit. We were fortunate for the place to be completely open and saw a few more 911 GT2’s being put through their paces on the track. I have always been aware that Eau Rouge is an amazing corner but seeing it properly is even more impressive.
From here we drove onto Brugge and then caught the Ferry home, arriving yesterday evening.
So in total we did 1250 miles exactly. I lost count of the number of times I was filling up and I will let you know just how much I’ve spent on petrol when my credit card bill arrives! I found petrol to be quite expensive with V-power (or equivalent) being €1.55/l or more.
The car didn’t miss a beat and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend anyone doing a bit of a euro road trip. There are some amazing places in countries that are relatively very close and everyone we met was really friendly and didn’t mind me butchering their languages!
Thanks for reading
Dan
After an easy trip down to Ramsgate we caught the midday ferry to Ostend (very boring ferry journey). Arrived in Belgium and headed towards Holland with our final destination being Utrecht to spend a few days with friends. Note to anyone heading to Utrecht that it is not car friendly! Driving the S2 around there at 11pm was pretty stressful to say the least!
After a few days in Utrecht we headed down into Germany. As soon as we got onto the autobahn at Venlo the driving styles changed distinctly. I love driving in Germany, I think the standards and awareness of drivers is much better than here.
We arrived in Adenau after a very picturesque drive through the mountains and dropped all of our stuff at the Blaue Ecke Hotel (as recommended by a number of people on here). The hotel is ideal for anyone heading to the Nürburgring and I can highly recommend the restaurant which was superb!
We headed to the ring at about 4.30pm and bought 4 laps for €75. I was intending to 'take it steady' particularly during the first lap but as soon as that huge straight opens up for you that all goes out the window.
The last 5 years of S2 ownership which has included various repairs and upgrades all suddenly came together. The car felt great, boosted really well and the brakes came into a league of their own. I gained a lot of confidence from the brakes alone.
I was told that you must go low on Karussell to really experience it, however I only did this once as it is so harsh to the point that my tyres were rubbing the arches significantly! Maybe my ET28 on 8J wheels is best suited to the road!
I felt a bit guilty doing all this on Toyo’s with barely a few hundred miles on them. They gripped very well although through most turns the rears were making a lot of noise which surprised me as my car has always under-steered. Better suspension would have been a big advantage but despite the body roll, the car felt great through slow and fast corners.
My 3rd lap was the one where I threw caution to the wind and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I came into the pits with the brakes literally about to burst into flames and the engine oil temp gauge reading silly figures. Some gearbox oil had decided to make an escape for it out of the breather and all over the cats so there was a fair amount of smoke coming form under the car which was alarming but soon went away.
There were three 911 GT2’s there. I have always had a huge amount of respect for these cars but seeing them on the Nordschleife left me aghast. They have obviously got the power but the way that they went through the curves was breathtaking! There was also a Nissan GTR owned by a chap who owns the unit next door to MRC. That sounded and looked fantastic too.
I found the whole experience incredible, the circuit is breathtaking, incredibly long and doesn't let up for a moment. There were a couple of places where they were repairing the track after a few accidents the day before but this didn't hamper the experience at all.
The tyres, brakes and engine had taken quite a battering but after a cool off we headed back to the Blaue Ecke.
After a few days travelling up through the Rhein valley we drove across to Belgium where the S2 felt fantastic at high speeds. We stopped off at Spa Francochamps as I have always loved that circuit. We were fortunate for the place to be completely open and saw a few more 911 GT2’s being put through their paces on the track. I have always been aware that Eau Rouge is an amazing corner but seeing it properly is even more impressive.
From here we drove onto Brugge and then caught the Ferry home, arriving yesterday evening.
So in total we did 1250 miles exactly. I lost count of the number of times I was filling up and I will let you know just how much I’ve spent on petrol when my credit card bill arrives! I found petrol to be quite expensive with V-power (or equivalent) being €1.55/l or more.
The car didn’t miss a beat and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend anyone doing a bit of a euro road trip. There are some amazing places in countries that are relatively very close and everyone we met was really friendly and didn’t mind me butchering their languages!
Thanks for reading
Dan
Trying to make the trip to the ring once i get the barge sorted, but keep getting put off by nagative comments about getting in the way of faster cars etc . . . Did you have any problem?
You only make that mistake once 
)
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