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      12-10-2014, 01:12 PM   #1
nicknaz
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Private vs public day at Ring and Spa?

Hi all,

I finally took the plunge and ordered an M3 (base model brakes, cloth seats, DCT, passive dampers) for April Euro Delivery

I chose the days to coincide with the public driving experience at Spa.

Any advice on whether that is ok to do or if I should go with a private track day club (example: http://www.rsrspa.com/)? I've done about 50 open lapping days at various US and Canada tracks but have never driven either of these two tracks (or owned a car as capable at M3)

Also, big thank you to this subforum! The info and experience of track users here is the key reason I felt comfortable sticking with BMW instead of moving to Corvette or Porsche.
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      12-10-2014, 05:28 PM   #2
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I would recommend going with a private day with RSR. They are a good and very professional company and Ron is a good guy.

On a public days you can find everything out there from a supercar to a work van it's a little crazy...
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      12-11-2014, 10:09 AM   #3
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I think if you've never been driving the Nurburgring before a public day would be fine.

It's not like a normal track where you can go for a slow lap and then just go 100%. Your first laps will be 10 minutes plus. A trackday will be a waste of money.

Go there and just relax, let the speed come naturally. Enjoy the atmosphere and just have a great time. Don't come with expectations, you'll understand why after your first lap.

I had many trackdays in Sweden before I went my first time and I was shocked after driving my first lap. Then I got into a friends car as a passenger, he had tons of experiences of the ring, and I almost shat my pants...

I see so many guys going there (mainly with UK plates) that think they can master the ring and leave with a hefty bill. Remember you have to pay for the barriers and your insurance probably doesn't cover even public days. That's why I rent a Suzuki Swift usually

Spa is different, I would suggest a trackday there.
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      12-11-2014, 01:46 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_s View Post
I think if you've never been driving the Nurburgring before a public day would be fine.

It's not like a normal track where you can go for a slow lap and then just go 100%. Your first laps will be 10 minutes plus. A trackday will be a waste of money.

Spa is different, I would suggest a trackday there.
Great advice thank you.

Do you have a trackday club for Spa that you would recommend?
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      12-11-2014, 07:09 PM   #5
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Ring just feels like a theme park for cars. You can check out the museum and eat some good food. Do the track a few times and just take your time. Also, watch some youtube videos!
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      12-15-2014, 03:01 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknaz View Post
Great advice thank you.

Do you have a trackday club for Spa that you would recommend?
I would suggest RSR as arllc said:
http://www.rsrspa.com/

The cool thing about RSR is that they don't organize all the scheduled events, they are more like an agent. Which means you get a lot of dates to choose by.
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      01-05-2015, 11:54 PM   #7
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Public day is fine for both tracks. Having done over 100 laps at nordschleife id say Spa is better. Very fast track, has good runoff, if its dry ull have a blast (though i had a black in a wet session in my supercharged e90 m3).

Nordschleife is a dangerous race track, its easy to get cocky on it. Track days are expensive, but public driving days are not. When u go there, find a good driver with a decent car there and ask if u can trace them. Try for 9 min lap. Just dont get cocky. Dont forget about nurburgring grandprix, its a nice track too.

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      01-15-2015, 03:40 AM   #8
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Hey guys, thanks for the advice.

Just wanted to follow up that my delivery date didn't work out for RSRSpa so I booked with Circuit Days instead and will do the tourist drive for Ring. I couldn't get Hock to fit into the schedule.

I spent a few hours in a simulator (SimCraft Apex GT3) and am playing Gran Turismo 6

Any other resources (vids, guides, etc) you found particularly helpful?
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      01-16-2015, 03:46 AM   #9
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Great! Hockenheim isn't a great track to drive, you'll get to drive the two best tracks in the world anyway so it isn't a big loss.

Don't forget to post photos!

nicknaz, I think you are the first person I've heard that prefers Spa I don't blame you, but for me it isn't even close. I love the ring!
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      01-16-2015, 12:32 PM   #10
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i just did my first laps on the nordschleife this fall (after probably thousands in simulation). the tourist day was a hoot. there was of course traffic and buffoonery, but most of the drivers i encountered were very respectful of the traffic flow, and i didn't find the traffic annoying at all. in fact, it was a lot of fun! (caveat: i have a good bit of track experience, including club racing, and am quite comfortable driving close to other cars on a track. i also had an experienced passenger acting as a second set of eyes).

i bought a 4-lap package and on my 4th lap i managed an 8:55 btg with plenty of passing and being passed, and one local yellow at bergwerk. there were others in similar cars turning faster times, but for my first time, i was thrilled to get under 9 minutes with the local yellow.

when i got off the track, i was sweatier than i've ever gotten in the racecar in july in a 3-layer suit! so coming from a track snob, you'll still get plenty of boogity boogity at a tourist day if it's your first time!
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      01-16-2015, 12:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_s View Post
Great! Hockenheim isn't a great track to drive, you'll get to drive the two best tracks in the world anyway so it isn't a big loss.

Don't forget to post photos!

nicknaz, I think you are the first person I've heard that prefers Spa I don't blame you, but for me it isn't even close. I love the ring!
I'm planning to get some photos (and stickers for the garage wall....) and will definitely share.

My 5 day trip is literally focused around those 2 days and all the other time on the group is transit time between pickup, Nurburg and Stavelot and return.

I went for a track day club for Spa not out of preference but because I couldn't get my travel to line up with the 6 April public day at spa.

fourtailpipes, which sim are you using?
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      01-16-2015, 01:31 PM   #12
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Quote:
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fourtailpipes, which sim are you using?
i've probably put in hundreds of ring laps on most of the popular sims/games, with many of the popular hardware combinations. i'm sure i have done the most simulated ring laps in GT5 with the logitech driving force pro or g27. none of the simulators i've used, including some of the more respected setups like iracing or fanatec hardware, have really acted as valuable car control simulators, but they do serve the critical purpose of pounding a track map forever into your brain.
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      01-16-2015, 01:52 PM   #13
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Quote:
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I'm planning to get some photos (and stickers for the garage wall....) and will definitely share.
i also bought a photo of myself in the karussell and had it blown up to a huge poster size for the garage wall.
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      01-16-2015, 05:58 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fourtailpipes View Post
none of the simulators i've used, including some of the more respected setups like iracing or fanatec hardware, have really acted as valuable car control simulators,
Seems like you need a pretty $$$ simulator rig for the car control aspect. I tried one that supposedly cost $100k in Toronto ON with full motion and force feedback through the steering wheel. Very realistic and owner claims it is +/- 1s of his race car's real times
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      01-17-2015, 04:07 AM   #15
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fourtailpipes: Great happy faces!

Here is from my last trip in October, wheel lift in Pflanzgarten with rental
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      01-20-2015, 10:42 AM   #16
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fourtailpipes: Great happy faces!

Here is from my last trip in October, wheel lift in Pflanzgarten with rental
great shot! i vowed to return for many more laps and eventually a wheel-to-wheel race of some kind. racing on the nordschleife is definitely a bucket list item.
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      01-21-2015, 03:51 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fourtailpipes View Post
great shot! i vowed to return for many more laps and eventually a wheel-to-wheel race of some kind. racing on the nordschleife is definitely a bucket list item.
There are many teams running VLN you can buy a seat in. There are also some historic/youngtimer endurance series where you can share seats.

Let me know if you need any contacs, I can send you the right way.
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      04-01-2015, 05:02 PM   #18
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Just wanted to bump the thread with an update.

I did the TF for ring and it was awesome. Conditions were wet so i did one lap and called it done.

For spa i went with "circuit days" uk based club and it was great. Basically all you can drive. I called it a day after about 200 minutes of seat time and 2 tanks of gas.

Gt6 to memorize layout of spa was time well spent for sure. I did get some instruction to tune up the lines but i would not have had nearly as much fun without the gt6 time.
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