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Nubergring revisited - Kevin Turner returns to the infamous Nubergring. Will time, added experience and a more focussed bike improve the experience?

The village... pretty little place giving no indication of what is to come... My first visit to the 'Ring involved 15 minutes of utter terror aboard an SV650s on a rain-soaked oily track I'd only ever read about previously. Despite the absolute fear experienced that afternoon I vowed to return and, in sunnier conditions, to attempt a somewhat more committed, respectable lap.

Before the trip across Belgium, I spent a good couple of months lapping the 'Ring on the PS2 game Tourist Trophy (TT). TT provides an excellent way to while away the winter months and does a commendable job of recreating the twists and turns (less so the undulations) of the track.

Just one of the many high-speed corners that draw thousands every year to test their skills So it was with some disappointment that, having inserted my ticket and sped out on to the graffiti-ridden tarmac of the 'Ring proper, I managed to run wide at turn one, get overtaken left right and centre (literally) through Hatzenbach and spend the rest of my lap trundling around trying to stay out of people's way while struggling to link up the various sections I'd nigh-on perfected in the comfort of my bedroom.

This certainly isn't a critique of Tourist Trophy, it's more an issue of personal ability (or lack thereof) coupled with a strong desire to stay alive. The 'Ring will always remain a challenge no matter how skilled a rider you are. But for those of us who tip the scales at 'proficient and nothing more' the real problem comes in the shape of highly competent nutcases lapping at death-wish speeds!

Undulating surface - this simply cannot be re-created on a video game Of course, this is what the 'Ring is all about and it's the duty of us lesser mortals to keep out of the way of faster traffic. But to do so means paying so much attention to one's mirrors that it becomes all but impossible to develop and improve one's own lap.

Through Schwedenkreuz - the super fast left hander prior to the heavy braking area for Aremburg - I didn't dare apex at my own pace for fear of blocking, and thus being crushed by, a knowledgeable local in a GT3. Similarly for the rest of the lap, the temptation to check one's own mirrors relentlessly makes it almost impossible to concentrate on the optimum line, and so you get slower…which compounds the problem even further!

The Museum - make time to visit this, it is well worth the excursion Despite this frustration there were many, many moments of my second visit that can best be described as unadulterated joy. The plunge through the Foxhole for example - exhilarating in a way no video game could ever be. So too the left/right/left right/up/down/"JesuswhereamI" roller-coaster through Wippermann - and the fact that I was left standing by a couple of lunatics on 1098s only added to the grin inside my Arai.

Back in the paddock I got chatting to the Ducati boys who had shattered any Rossi-esque illusions I might have had earlier in the lap. They had their helmets and gloves off and were at the filter end of their cigarettes when I finally pulled up. They'd ridden from Oslo the day before, about 1,000 miles give or take, to risk their lives and revel in the atmosphere of the Nurburgring. Silverstone just doesn't have the same pull.

Wonder how THIS would lap the circuit?And it was also in the paddock that I experienced first-hand the camaraderie that exists between the gathered bikers and drivers. Whether you're a veteran of 100 laps or a first-timer, almost everyone is happy to give advice and tips and offer a reassuring word to those who are visibly terrified!

Talk inevitably turns to suspension set-ups, tyres and gear ratios; it's a good place to learn. Get chatting to people and you'll find it's not out of the question to blag a passenger lap (if you're prepared to put your life in someone else's hands). Many thanks to the chap whose name I forget but who was kind enough to let me enjoy a couple of passenger laps in his Ford Focus; sub 10 minutes with bad traffic, not bad for a family hatchback!

Camraderie at the circuit is amazing - talk to people, learn from them and make the most of their knowledge But the 'Ring also showed its darker side during my three day visit. In the bar at the nearby Pistenklause restaurant I heard about a rider who'd fallen badly and been air-lifted away; he'd gone out as a light rain began to fall, the very moment I decided to call it a day. If he lived, he'd be looking a big repair bill and while that may sound callous, it's the reality of pushing hard at the 'Ring; the price is very high.

Verdict: There is literally no chance of me ever perfecting my riding skills to a degree where I would consider pushing hard at the Nurburgring. It's simply too dangerous. But that doesn't mean that even a half-hearted lap, well within one's own limitations, isn't a massively fulfilling experience (and an addictive one too, another trip is planned when we'll be putting my old man's cherished Elan through its paces.)

Note: the Nurburgring museum is situated in the grounds of the new circuit, approximately five minutes down the road from the Nordscheilfe; it's well worth a visit although the somewhat arduous tour of the new track's pit complex is only recommended if you need to kill an hour.

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