A few laps of the Nurburgring
This 
summer myself and a couple of others (Ferrari 328 GTS
and Alfa-powered Frogeye) went on a hairpin seeking holiday. We based ourselves in a
campsite in Switzerland and spent the days looking for "interesting" roads in
the Alps. The trip confirmed a few things I already knew about the amazing versatility of
the car - on the long stretches of autoroute and autobahn in high outside temperatures
(30C), the cruising comfort with the roof closed and the aircon on was near perfect. The
luggage capacity was easily enough (barbeque, tent, 2 weeks worth of clothes, lots of
shoes, cooker, airbed, sleeping bag, 2 pillows, food) with no need for stowage in the
cabin at all (to keep space for those lone female long-legged Dutch hitch hikers...) 
On A-roads the roof comes down and the
aircon is switched off, and I had the finest sports car of all. There was plenty of
opportunity to act the goat with loads of screeching slides along mountain roads. The
confidence the car gives and its ability to remain composed when you overcook it allows
you to really go for it, even with rock faces and sheer drop on either side...
On the way home (using the excellent Channel
Tunnel), we were to stop for the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, and also camp at the
Nurburgring for a night to get a few laps in on one of the public sessions. If you don't
know about the Nurburgring, click here
for some more info. In brief, it is a 13 mile lap of every type of corner
you can think of. Increasing radius, decreasing radius, hills, cutaway banked hairpins,
complex series of bends that can take years to perfect, and one big straight. The circuit
was last used for Formula 1 in 1976, when Nikki Lauda had his horrific crash there (at
which time it was closed). The rules for the public are not too onerous: pay DM17 per lap
and wear seat belts. Racing, crashing, acting the idiot; these are all permitted. And just
to add a bit of spice, at any time there are all sorts of vehicles allowed on - bikes
(these are very fast), fast cars and rusty old Fiats. No marshals, no emergency services.
I was slightly apprehensive as I set off....
Where do I start? At the end of the first corner (for a good map of the
circuit with expandable sections click here) I was in the swing of things. Any nervousness about how the
mid-engined car would behave right on the limit vanished immediately. "Experts"
(how I loathe "experts") will tell you, because it is a FACT, that all
mid-engined cars will be very liable to spin once you're into a big drift. Well maybe on
some cars, but not the Boxster. It only takes a little time to work out how much grip
you’ve got (it’s pretty huge). Understeer sets in first, but the front is still
very keen to continue turning in. At this point there’s a lot of screeching from the
front tyres (it was dry and hot when I was there, and I had the roof and side windows
down). As you stuff the car in harder, the rear will slide, but always at a rate slightly
less than the front. So at speed 
(60 to 100) you can have big four wheel drifts, under easy
control. As you step on the power the car widens its corner slightly, and as you come off
it tightens slightly. I was doing complexes of bends in big slides and was able to tickle
the front tyres onto the rumble strips by fine tuning the steering with the throttle.
On a couple of occasions the course gets pretty hairy. You have jumps
followed by corners; the car got a bit squirmy, but never once did I feel I was going to
go off course. The brakes were perfect (the ABS going merrily into most bends) and the
gearing was spot on. Almost as if the car was partly developed for the Nurburgring….
On one occasion, things went a little awry. I was on my second lap and
felt I really had the drifting of the car in check. I had overtaken a few cars and had a
993 at a constant, but long, distance behind me. One bend was a fast (100?) uphill
left-hander. You couldn’t really see the road, but you could see the general path
(straight after this bend) by the line of the trees. Except that at the apex of this bend
I saw a sharp left-right chicane. I instantly realise I was going about 50 mph too fast,
and, while the car was sliding at about 20 degrees, I braked hard and waited for the spin.
Admittedly I was ready for an armful of opposite lock, but the strangest thing happened.
The car remained at exactly the same angle, the ABS banged away, and I just lost speed. I
was so surprised, I just had to find another gear and off I went. Totally idiot proof. [Am
I the idiot, or the proof??]
It has to be said that knowing the course is about half the skill. On my
second lap, I followed a large Merc for the second half (he was going slightly faster than
me so I got right out of his way and let him go past). He took some frightening lines
(that turned out to be correct - but you couldn't see that at the start of the corner) and
entered some blind parts at huge speeds. This was great fun because I could follow him
into blind areas with much more confidence; so I stayed with him for the remainder of the
lap.
Oh yes - I nearly forgot. There is easily enough power in this car for
these conditions. Any lack of torque didn't matter at all. The engine felt bullet proof
and nothing got hot nor bothered with the whole event.
Back at the start finish I managed to stop, walk across the track, sit
on the pit wall and start a conversation with a local before the others arrived.
Admittedly the Ferrari was having a trickier time because a) the car was not so confidence
inspiring on the limit, and b) he had no intention of smacking it (quite right too,
because it's so sexy). Likewise the Sprite was running badly, so I just had to
sit back and listen to the torrent of excuses. Still, the passenger in the Sprite got a
good photo of the Boxster as I overtook it near the beginning of the circuit…
If ever you get the opportunity to get to the ring, you have to do it.
But do watch out for the bikes and Audi 80s!
