[jai-uno-t]

so with a friend, i got in the car,


drove through the night across northern europe, till i ended up in the lovely german town of Nurburg,


and did some epic silliness on the GP circuit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUURJ...1&feature=plcp

there's nothing like a drifting a 6 person people carrier across rumble strip to wake you up

[BANDHAV]

Now that's one ugly car. What make-model is this??

At first I thought you got really bored and tried doing something on photoshop to pass time and came up with this but then I realized that it's a real thing.

Sorry, I will be commenting on the main content (your drifting video) later as I have no access to youtube here in office.

[DRIV3R]

^It's a FIAT Multipla.

It might be ugly, but it's a very practical MUV.

[mayankjha1806]

Wow, what a lovely way to spend the boring weekend, and then get some pleasure out of it as well. How was the drive at Nürburgring, are folks with road cars allowed in these race tracks? or is it open only to a few numbers every day/week. Imagining if most head out to the circuit to get a taste of GP circuit it might be a decent sized crowed there?

[_raVan_]

Dont have the access to see your video in here, but it sure sounds like fun

Shouldnt this thread be moved to travelogues?

[pushkark]

nice way to spend a boring weekend.
But i must say that the car looks very ugly to me..

[jai-uno-t]

Im still very tired, straight back to work....if a mod could moveto travelogues as i should put there, i will update with more photos and video when i come off duty tonight...

Btw..it was epic fun, many grins, and the other drivers were stunned

Yes you can roll up in any car, pay the fee and go right oit onto the gp track, 40 euros for 20 minutes, bargain!

[vivekiny2k]

Video blocked on copyright grounds. Looks like we will need to mute all our videos and upload, if it has copyrighted music as filler in background.

[motomaverick]

Was the multipla fast or the bmw let you pass either ways it was fun even watching the pass

[jai-uno-t]

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this. Thanks

That must be a region specific thing....i can still view the clip in uk....

[jai-uno-t]

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

Now that's one ugly car. What make-model is this??

At first I thought you got really bored and tried doing something on photoshop to pass time and came up with this but then I realized that it's a real thing.

Sorry, I will be commenting on the main content (your drifting video) later as I have no access to Youtube here in office.

ugly?! i like to think challenging covers it better, here's a little run down about it:
Fiat Multipla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

here's where i wrote about her time with me:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-big-frog.html

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

^It's a FIAT Multipla.

It might be ugly, but it's a very practical MUV.

yes it is, 6 up, or as you can see in the thread above, 14 suitcases are no problem

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Wow, what a lovely way to spend the boring weekend, and then get some pleasure out of it as well. How was the drive at Nürburgring, are folks with road cars allowed in these race tracks? or is it open only to a few numbers every day/week. Imagining if most head out to the circuit to get a taste of GP circuit it might be a decent sized crowed there?

so the weekend...why? how? what on earth were you thinking? and why the frog? why not the more track friendly uno or tipo? all shall be revealed...

the idea

as some of you know last year, our family grew with the arrival of a baby girl, this led the wife to put her foot down...and not in a good way, no trackdays for 2011 were promised, and duly delivered. But as ever the itch that can't be scratched will not let you rest easy. So the main plan was to return to the ring in may, just after a weekend at the F1 circuit at spa, and have a week long petrolhead orgy of squealing rubber and redline line heaven. however the wife and baby have been in india and singapore for the last 5 months enjoying the weather we aren't having here, so as they are due home next week, finally, my moping has been more pronounced and finally snapped in the middle of last week...something had to be done...something..the one ring beckoned...

the plan

on a cold, grey, rainy wednesday, i called my good friend, and partner in crime jason..
"you free this weekend?"
"yeah, what you thinking?"
"ring trip, the north loop is open, 48 hours raid after friday shift finishes"
"ok"

and two hours later the channel tunnel, hotel, route and plans were booked and finalised. thank you internet, you are truely a fantastic bit of kit

the drive over

and so i finished work about 10pm on friday, burnt home threw a helmet, overnight bag, some camera gear and a tool kit in the back, jason jumped in and off we went, clear roads, good music, easy times.

as ever i am hugely impressed with the channel tunnel, arrive, drive on, 30 mins later drive off with none of the nausea that ferries give you...genius

and of course, driving on the continent is a revalation, generaally very very good manners on the motorways, you want to dwadle, that's ok stay to the right. you want to press on the right lane and a foot down welcome you. the weather was a bit rough, foggy in places, rainy and quite chilly, but manageable.

so it seemed just about 4 hours later we were pulling into Nurburg just as the skies were clearing and brightening up, curiously though the gates to the north loop appeared to be shut...we carried on to the hotel, booked in and jason made the call:

jason: Can you tell me when the track is open please
Der ‘ring Person: Ze nordshchleife ist closed until 10/03/12
jason: Oh, um,
Der ‘ring Person: Ze GP Streck ist opened now today
jason: Woohoo!

jason: It’s closed
me: I checked the website before we left. Twice!
jason: It’s closed but the GP streck is open
me: How much?
jason: 75 euro for 2 x 20 min session
me: Get in the Multipla

the track

so, on a cold, crisp saturday morning, we rolled into pitlane, nurburgring gp, and lined up for the first 20 minute session of the day. some faint looks of stunned pity followed us in, "surely not?! mein gott!!!" yeah baby, better believe it..

so to the drive, over the course of the day, 3 twenty minute sessions, 2 from me, split by jasons. the big ungainly frog did herself proud, there's a certain pleasure in making the most of an unlikely weapon of choice. as you push harder the frog will lean, then lean some more, then really heal over, and finally will start to slip a touch. if you push harder she will really let go hard but will only snap if you are rough with your inputs. keep it smooth, feel the change through the wheel, your feet and bum, and you can use that slide, from the front and back and carve through quite nicely, holding the hard won momentum. that's not to say you can't overcook it, as both the first video and the one below will show, there were a few occasions where expectation greatly exceeded talent (a mistake that is usually very expensive) pushing into a turn too hard, running very very wwide, and trying to pull back feel her sliding out, let go of the throttle and the beginnings of snap oversteer. or too hard out and putting a wheel over the ripple strip into the gravel. either way, she was fun to explore, although maybe a touch more torque would be nice.....

anyway, hopefully this video won't be pulled, as there is no music, mounted low down in the front bumper...

nurburgring GP laps in a fiat multipla - YouTube

after this, we retired to the bar, sabines bar in fact, where we ate like kings, drank like lords, and got very very silly



yeah, that's my website logo on track after a midnight raid....

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Was the multipla fast or the bmw let you pass either ways it was fun even watching the pass

the white bimmer i think was a bit new, the owner a touch cautious and we took advantage

the black audi though, a complete tool, braking mid corner, poor lines, blocking and farting about. he obviously was terrifyed of the corners as we could easily stay with him, but would blast off the straights only to brake way to early as he had no confidence and/or abilty.

moral of the story? the car is only part of the equation, the driver completes the story, vision up, read the track, pick your lines, know yourself and the car, and of course a sense of humour!