Zrun11 review.
Well it was that time again, The weekend of Zrun11 had arrived and the Runners were all keen to get on with the task in hand. The guys all Arrived at the meeting point timed with military precision with no early woes to report....Good start..!
After a quick Scchhmoke and a pancake it was off to the port for the Boat and some proper Breakfast of eggs bacon and saturated fat.
Unfortunately I missed out on all that as I was driving up from the south of France to meet the guys at the ring, I had set of on the Friday evening and driven to Mulhouse on the French/German border for an overnight stop and then carried on Saturday morning.
Having got shot of my Zed last year I was in my new motor the Shaguar XKR..! The 850kms from Grenoble to the ring were covered in blissfull silence and luxury unlike last year were I was left with permanent ear damage from the hour after hour HOWL from the Zed exhausts. The only discomfort I had to endure this year was my Flower power Flares which were nipping a bit round the lower regions and the wig made my head itch, Apart from that it was all good.
Getting back to the Lads, This years Runners (in no particular order) Were:
1. IanL
2. Zogg
3. Murt
4. Wozzer
5. Chuck
6. Croeso
Chuck and Murt in Murts U.K. TT, Wozzer and Zogg in Zoggs Jap TT Abflug Widearch, IanL in his Jap N/A Vert and Croeso making a guest appearance in the XKR Shaguar.
After the lads had stoked up on Calories, taken receipt of their Zrun11 regalia (T-shirt, Baseball cap, key ring, pen, mouse mat, and coffee mug.......A bargain at only £15..!) and been bored shitless by Wozzer droning on about racing lines, hitting the apex and loads more race related waffle it was time to get back to the cars and get underway..!
The cars were off the boat by 11:30 and soon heading up towards Belguim.
Now Wozzer may well know his way round the Ring But When it comes to Navigating his way through Europe its a different story. "WE DONT NEED A SAT NAV" pronounced Wozz, "I know where I'm going, I used this road Atlas on the last 3 Zruns and it's never let me down". Zogg was so impressed by wozzers boast of confidence that he didnt feel the need to tell him he was holding it upside down and was confident that Wozz knew the way and would get the cars there no bother. :rolleyes:
So after an extended run round Europe via some unplanned cities they were finally getting close to the Nurbergring, I was also making good progress despite losing an hour in a motorway jam.
As the runners neared the ring the rain started, this turned into a Monsoon downpour and gave Murt the opportunity to test out his new 99spec Basking Shark inter cooler spray system. The system appeared to work perfectly scooping up Rainwater by the bucket load and dumping all over the inter coolers, unfortunately it also dumped it all over the cone filter and straight into the MAF resulting in safety boost. Oh well if at first you dont succeed and all that, Back to the drawing board Murt.
I was first to arrive at the hotel and check in. I think the hotel exceeded all our expectations as it was clean and smart, the apartments were roomy with a good bathroom, clean towels and bedding and a view of the Track from the patio (Briedcheid bridge). The half lap entrance to the Track was right next door and a couple of supermarkets and good restaurants within a few minutes walk.
Within the hour the other runners arrived and after they had checked in we gathered on the patio for a drink and discuss the run so far.
IanL stated that the Foam party he had at work? (nice work if you can get it..!) was dryer than the last hour of the drive to the ring....!!?!!
IanL continued to amaze the lads all weekend with statements that you never thought you'd ever hear him say. :confused1:
The heavy downpour made any track runs that evening pointless but we knew it would have given the track a good wash for the Sunday session.
S**t, shaved and showered it was off to the local restaurant for a good meal. The food was first rate and reasonably priced.
IanL, Quote "I dont think I'm that Hungry".
During the meal a lot of discussion took place and three quarters of the world was put to rights!
IanL, Quote "I think I've eaten too much".
We settled up and went back to the hotel to finish the evening with beer and excited chat about the next day.
The Track opened at 8:00am on the Sunday morning and the weather was fine so we woke to the sound of howling engines and squeeling tyre's......excellent..! everyone was up and and breakfasted before setting off for the Ring. The decision was made to join the track at the full lap entrance which turned out to be very busy so we parked in the car park nearby to go and buy our lap tickets.
It was a bank holiday in France, Germany and Holland this weekend so it seemed that everyone had made a big effort to attend. The entrance to the ring was closed when we arrived due to an incident on the track so we bought our laps and had a look around the cars waiting to run.
Soon a Tannoy message announced that the ring was re-opened so we made our way back to the cars, we waited a while to let the queue dissipate before entering.
Murt was first up with Chuck as passenger, then Zogg with IanL as passenger followed by Me in the Shaguar. We had all been separated in the queue to get in so there was no racing each other, we were all on our own.
For those interested in lap times, firstly timing yourself is strictly forbidden at the ring, although a good Chronogragh watch should be descrete enough to avoid detection. A stopwatch sitting on the passenger seat would probably result in you being ushered swiftly towards the exit gate..! Futhermore as you cant run a full lap its impossible to do a lap time. the best you could do is time yourself between two known points but to be honest when you get there and drive it, the last thing on your mind is worrying about timing yourself.
We were all first time ring runners and I for one can tell you that it is a pant soiling experience.
I promised myself I would just feel my way round on the first lap but that seemed impossible once you got started, the adrenalin soon start to rush and you get swept up in the whole experience, with 911's coming past you like your standing still you feel obliged to join in, so we did...! :devil:
The Jag Barge was probably not the the best suited car for this kind of thing being a big GT car and this proved to be the case once I started really pressing on, with 400bhp on tap, power was not an issue, nor were the Brembos and super sport suspension but the P Zero tyre's were hopeless, drifting wide on every bend..! think I'd have to fit something better If I went there again.
Murt and Zogg faired better in the Zeds and we all enjoyed an extreme roller coaster adrenalin rush like no other. (note, the difference with Roller Coasters is the cars dont leave the track like they do at the ring)
The biggest problem with the Ring is you never know where its going next. Zogg tried his best to keep up with a regular runner and watch his line, that way your not second guessing whether the tracks going to turn left or right after the next hill brow. :confused1:
In my opinion you would need to do at least 10 laps, maybe more before you start to remember all the twists and turns as it such a long track. Anyone thinking there gonna go there for the first time and set a record lap time, forget it, you'll be leaving in a yellow helicopter like the poor runner we watched on the Sunday evening from the hotel. :hang:
You'll need deep pockets too if you want to make lots of laps, It was 24Euro for a 1 lap pass or 89Euro for a 4 lap pass. Some bikers staying in the next apartment told us that the F1 circuit was also open for general access on the Sunday and cost 39Euro for 20 minutes, for safety he said they also restrict the numbers on the track to about 20 cars and 20 bikes and there was'nt a big queue so worth remembering if you take a trip there.
Straight after completing our first lap the track was closed again due to another incident so we decided to take a run out round the local countyside and stop somewhere for lunch.
Bockwurst Sausage with Fries and Salad all round except for Zogg who ordered the Hawaian Toastie.............Hmmm? After that we took a run back to the Hotel were Zogg and Murt were going to try a half lap before track close. They queued up at the entrance and were told the track had been closed again due to a car on fire and the track would not re-open that day, Doh..!
They moved their cars back to the hotel and decided to leave it till the morning.
Ten minutes later the track re-opened so back in the cars and round to the entrance again.
This time they were told that they could not enter at that gate with a full lap ticket and the ticket office had run out of half lap tickets....Double Doh..! So they called it a day.
We sat around outside the Apartment in the sun for the last hour watching the cars on the track before taking a walk up the road for dinner. We went to the same restaurant as Saturday night as the food was Superb.
Over dinner the final quarter of the world was discussed and put to rights.
IanL, Quote "I'll never eat all that"
After settling up it was all back to Murts apartment to watch the F1 and drink beer like real men.
It rained during the Sunday night so the track was still damp in the morning, After nearly drifting the Shaguar into the Armco in the dry I had no intention of taking it round a damp track, Zogg and Murt were a little braver but agreed to give it an hour for the track to dry a bit more. So it was of to breakfast.
IanL, Quote " not sure I fancy donuts for breakfast".
The breakfast in the hotel was the usual continental fare, cereals, cold meats and cheeses, eggs, toast, yogurt, fruit juice, coffee etc but you could eat your fill.
IanL, Quote "I dont normally eat breakfast".
After Brekky the lads drove round to the full lap entrance to do a couple of laps each. Wozzer and myself perched ourselves up on the Breidcheid bridge embankment to grab some pics and video when they came round. see other threads
A bit later they arrived back at the hotel charged with adrenalin after their laps full of how they nearly lost it here and there, great stuff! a drive that they will never forget. :devil:
Soon it was time to get underway and head back the U.K, I was first away as I had about 8 hours drive back to Grenoble in the South of France and all I really wanted to do was go back to bed.
On the drive back through Germany on an unrestricted section of Autobahn the lads (still charged full of adrenalin) got tangled up in a road race..! Zogg picked a fight with a Merchant Banker in a Porsche 911, The Banker obviously thought he had it licked till he hit his limiter at 155 and Zogg powered past with Wozzer offering up some friendly hand gestures. :xxx:
Murt was punching above his weight with an SL55 AMG but the driver probably was a Merchant Banker as he bottled out and Murt took the Podium.
They all Arrived in Calais Safely and had a relaZing ferry back to the U.K.
So in Summing up it was another Great Zrun, Great bunch of lads all with a common interest and up for a laugh, good hotel and food and the weather was on our side again like last year..! God must be smiling down on the annual Zrun.
So start saving your pennies now for next years "Run in the Sun" as it's going to be a mega epic, I hope to be part of it again and you should too..! :bow:
Woo Hoo..! :clap: http://www.jurnalul.ro/webcam/b-lea-lac-transf-g-r-an-170.html http://www.jurnalul.ro/webcam/b-lea-lac-transf-g-r-an-170.html http://www.jurnalul.ro/webcam/b-lea-lac-transf-g-r-an-170.html