Just Joined
tag added 
If either of those was within the last year and you have photographic evidence, we'll happily add a Ring Meister tag.
The tags are there purely and simply to distinguish those that 'do' from those that 'don't' The reason for the evidence of any event outside of our own is to keep the site as bullshit free as possible. I'm sure you understand.
Can you post up some details of the Ring experience, particularly backwards or anti-clockwise? Dunk and I were talking about it yesterday and agreed that must have been a real challenge.
The tags are there purely and simply to distinguish those that 'do' from those that 'don't'
The reason for the evidence of any event outside of our own is to keep the site as bullshit free as possible. I'm sure you understand.Can you post up some details of the Ring experience, particularly backwards or anti-clockwise? Dunk and I were talking about it yesterday and agreed that must have been a real challenge.
http://www.auto-genie.co.uk
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
I have only been to the Ring once, but what a brilliant time. It has to be the most fun I have ever had in a car - permanent.
It was in the winter of 2000/2001. Someone came up with the novel idea of holding a Rally on the Ring. Because it was a Rally they had to limit the average speed to 75mph. They did this by adding chicanes around the circuit, made of those large round straw bales.
Because this was the first time it had been held, and I don't think it was that well advertised, there were only about 30 cars competing. The event consisted of:
Thursday - driving to the Hotel just outside the Ring Entrance.
Friday - paperwork, scrutineering and 2 parade laps of the Ring.
Saturday - 3 runs of 2 laps each clockwise - cars leaving at minute intervals.
Sunday - 3 runs of 2 laps each anti-clockwise - cars leaving at minute intervals. This meant that there was a join/split so coming around for your second lap could mean arriving at the join alongside a car starting his first lap.
We left the UK early morning Thursday, still dark but the skies were clear. The run across to Germany was incident free, but as we got to within an hours end of the journey, the skies darkened and it began to SNOW.
The snow was falling very heavily by the time we arrived at the hotel. The car, Escort Mk 1 RS 2000 (see avatar) was unloaded from the trailer and stored in the hotel garage. This was the first time that we realised that we had brought the wrong tyres
Trying to stop the car once it had rolled off the trailer was hilarious (as we maanged to avoid the other cars). Nothing we could do except see what Friday had in store.
It snowed intermittently during the night so there was a heavy blanket of snow covering the course. After much consultation one of the service crew was sent off to see if he could find any snow tyres. He came back with 2 skinny (135/60) 6 year old second-hand M&S tyres (mud and snow - fairly blocky tread). Apparently he had scoured the local garages and this was the best there was. After scrutineering we were given a sheet of A4 paper which had the Ring on it and showed where the new chicanes had been added. As this was the first time we had been to the Ring it was very useful, although we had to make lots of notes nindicating what each scribble (corner) meant!
The parade laps were hilarious - we were not allowed to overtake or go too fast - Did I mention that the Ring was covered in Snow!! Most of the other competitors had semi slicks and had been unable to find snow tyres either, so it was more skating than driving. On one hill we passed another Escort (BDA) going backwards down the hill while still trying to drive up it, he had such little grip. The 2 skinny tyres we had (put them on the rear for traction) worked fantastically and we did not have too many problems - although actually seeing where the road went was very difficult at times (it was all whte so could not see where the road ended and the kerb/gravel began). The armco helped tremendously in this respect!
It snowed again Friday night :-D This was to our advantage (with our skinny tyres) as we were well underpowered compared to some of the cars there. Saturday brought clearer skies but still very cold. The driving was intense - opposite lock in all the corners, 4 wheel drifts, desperately trying to stop at the chicanes (those bales are very hard!), a massive grin and the most fun at a relative slow speed I have ever had. We passed loads of cars, which apart from the conditions we would never have done and one abiding memory is coming out of the last chicane up to the finishing line, we literally pushed an Escort Cossie to the line. He gave us verbal saying that we should have backed off as his car was worth so much more than ours (obviously not been in a proper Rally before - if you don't get out of the way, tough).
A few photos :-D
Us starting on Saturday (they had cleared the snow off the start!)
Going past the start straight for lap 2
That Escort!
Going where?
We finished Saturday in second place!!
Most of the cars visited the armco at some point - one car only had 1 undented panel, the roof!
We were fortunate and had no mishaps (apart from having to stop on one of the second laps to torque up the wheel nuts of the front inside wheel - Doh).
Saturday night - the weather improved - damn
By the start of the event on Sunday (anti-clockwise) some of the snow had started to melt.
You can see the join in the background
As the day went on and a dryish driving line could be found we lost time to the more powerful cars.
But there was still alot of snow/ice around, especially where the sun could not get to
About the closest we came to the armco
On our final lap we were following a Porche down a hill to a chicane and got target fixation - forgot that it was icy at this point and braked too late. We were never going to get round the bales, but luckily he must have been looking in hiear view mirror too much and also braked too late. He took out the left hand side of the chicane and we managed to slide through the hole he had just made - brilliant although for a moment it was a brown underware time :-D
We finally came third - if the rally had been any longer we would definitely have slipped down the leader board.
A fantastic event and one that I would certainly do again if they resurrected it. I think that it lost money (not enough competitors) so have not repeated it. How many people can claim to have driven, let alone raced backwards around the Ring. Playstation and GT4 won't help you there :twisted:
Sorry, it went on a bit - I got carried away reliving the days.
Ric
It was in the winter of 2000/2001. Someone came up with the novel idea of holding a Rally on the Ring. Because it was a Rally they had to limit the average speed to 75mph. They did this by adding chicanes around the circuit, made of those large round straw bales.
Because this was the first time it had been held, and I don't think it was that well advertised, there were only about 30 cars competing. The event consisted of:
Thursday - driving to the Hotel just outside the Ring Entrance.
Friday - paperwork, scrutineering and 2 parade laps of the Ring.
Saturday - 3 runs of 2 laps each clockwise - cars leaving at minute intervals.
Sunday - 3 runs of 2 laps each anti-clockwise - cars leaving at minute intervals. This meant that there was a join/split so coming around for your second lap could mean arriving at the join alongside a car starting his first lap.
We left the UK early morning Thursday, still dark but the skies were clear. The run across to Germany was incident free, but as we got to within an hours end of the journey, the skies darkened and it began to SNOW.
The snow was falling very heavily by the time we arrived at the hotel. The car, Escort Mk 1 RS 2000 (see avatar) was unloaded from the trailer and stored in the hotel garage. This was the first time that we realised that we had brought the wrong tyres
Trying to stop the car once it had rolled off the trailer was hilarious (as we maanged to avoid the other cars). Nothing we could do except see what Friday had in store.It snowed intermittently during the night so there was a heavy blanket of snow covering the course. After much consultation one of the service crew was sent off to see if he could find any snow tyres. He came back with 2 skinny (135/60) 6 year old second-hand M&S tyres (mud and snow - fairly blocky tread). Apparently he had scoured the local garages and this was the best there was. After scrutineering we were given a sheet of A4 paper which had the Ring on it and showed where the new chicanes had been added. As this was the first time we had been to the Ring it was very useful, although we had to make lots of notes nindicating what each scribble (corner) meant!
The parade laps were hilarious - we were not allowed to overtake or go too fast - Did I mention that the Ring was covered in Snow!! Most of the other competitors had semi slicks and had been unable to find snow tyres either, so it was more skating than driving. On one hill we passed another Escort (BDA) going backwards down the hill while still trying to drive up it, he had such little grip. The 2 skinny tyres we had (put them on the rear for traction) worked fantastically and we did not have too many problems - although actually seeing where the road went was very difficult at times (it was all whte so could not see where the road ended and the kerb/gravel began). The armco helped tremendously in this respect!
It snowed again Friday night :-D This was to our advantage (with our skinny tyres) as we were well underpowered compared to some of the cars there. Saturday brought clearer skies but still very cold. The driving was intense - opposite lock in all the corners, 4 wheel drifts, desperately trying to stop at the chicanes (those bales are very hard!), a massive grin and the most fun at a relative slow speed I have ever had. We passed loads of cars, which apart from the conditions we would never have done and one abiding memory is coming out of the last chicane up to the finishing line, we literally pushed an Escort Cossie to the line. He gave us verbal saying that we should have backed off as his car was worth so much more than ours (obviously not been in a proper Rally before - if you don't get out of the way, tough).
A few photos :-D
Us starting on Saturday (they had cleared the snow off the start!)
Going past the start straight for lap 2
That Escort!
Going where?
We finished Saturday in second place!!
Most of the cars visited the armco at some point - one car only had 1 undented panel, the roof!
We were fortunate and had no mishaps (apart from having to stop on one of the second laps to torque up the wheel nuts of the front inside wheel - Doh).
Saturday night - the weather improved - damn
By the start of the event on Sunday (anti-clockwise) some of the snow had started to melt.
You can see the join in the background
As the day went on and a dryish driving line could be found we lost time to the more powerful cars.
But there was still alot of snow/ice around, especially where the sun could not get to
About the closest we came to the armco
On our final lap we were following a Porche down a hill to a chicane and got target fixation - forgot that it was icy at this point and braked too late. We were never going to get round the bales, but luckily he must have been looking in hiear view mirror too much and also braked too late. He took out the left hand side of the chicane and we managed to slide through the hole he had just made - brilliant although for a moment it was a brown underware time :-D
We finally came third - if the rally had been any longer we would definitely have slipped down the leader board.
A fantastic event and one that I would certainly do again if they resurrected it. I think that it lost money (not enough competitors) so have not repeated it. How many people can claim to have driven, let alone raced backwards around the Ring. Playstation and GT4 won't help you there :twisted:
Sorry, it went on a bit - I got carried away reliving the days.
Ric
