The four people behind Wacky Wheels all share some common interests: escape rooms and road trips. The road trip part is enjoyed for a diversity of things such as beautiful sceneries, historical sights, lively cities or that one charming village you never knew it even existed. Besides this aspect of road tripping, two of us enjoy it also for the simple fact that we love driving cars. Curvy mountain roads, an endless stretch of highway or the ultimate combination of curves and speed: the Nürburgring…
The Nürburgring (Nordschleife) is a racing track, but at the same time it’s also a public (toll) road. It lies well hidden in the middle of the Eifel in Germany, surrounded by green hills and even greener forests, which give the track its nickname: the Green Hell. The track is 20.8 km long – which makes it much longer than any normal track – and it’s full of turns, uphill and downhill parts and everything else you’ve ever seen in a track.
When you take the exit off the highway towards the Nürburgring, you already start noticing something weird is going on. Nowhere else on a public road will you see such a density of sports cars and other special cars. Porsches are more common than everyday Toyota’s or Opels on these roads and the closer you get to the track, the more specialties you will spot. Once at the parking near the entrance of the track, you notice the huge variety of cars and motorbikes that are either from common visitors or are ready for their once-in-lifetime experience.
The strange thing about the Nürburgring is that you can just buy a ticket which will open the barrier to the track. There’s no safety instruction (or any instruction whatsoever), no helmet needed, no requirements to the vehicle other than those in the law and even on the track, normal highway traffic rules apply (which means no speed limit, but also no overtaking on the right).
Despite our enthusiasm for cars and driving, we are no experienced racing drivers and on the Nürburgring we know our place. The rules for us are simple: when we see a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche or McLaren coming up in the rear mirror, we signal to the right with the blinker and move to the right side of the track to make it easy for them to pass by. To be fair and honest, we apply that same rule for basically every car that we see in our rear mirror….
For us, it’s just a great way to experience the thrill of a track for one day without reaching our own (or our car’s) limits. And besides that, it’s a great opportunity to spot some cars you would otherwise never see. What about an Apollo Gumpert for example? Or how often do you see two Ford Mustangs and two Chevrolet Camaro’s all standing next to each other? Or see three McLaren’s in one day? Or an old-timer Rolls Royce on a track together with a Corvette, a Lamborghini Aventador and a Dodge Challenger?
Driving on a track will not be a part of Wacky Wheels, but for anyone who’s got petrol running through their veins, the Nürburgring is definitely worth a visit! And for everybody who is not so much into driving: just make sure to find a team mate who is and let yourself be driven while you can focus on the landscape and puzzles!
