RSR Nürburg • Car rentals • Driver Instruction • Trackdays

When is the best weather? When is it least busy? When should I drive?"

These are questions we get asked a lot, and on this page we will try to answer them! We'll cover the questions as follows:

1. Time of the year
2. Weekends or weekdays
3. Trackdays vs Public days
4. Special circumstances

1. Time of the Year

Bad weather can strike at any time, but between November and March, it's the default...

First you need to pick what time of the year you're going to drive. And that decision should be based on two things: Weather & Traffic. If you want to drive in good weather, there will be more people on the track. If you don't mind driving in crappy weather, you'll see less people here... simples.

As you can see, the warmer the weather, the busier it gets.

REMEMBER:

• Snow and ice will shut the circuit for weeks at a time. Anytime from mid-November to mid-March is likely to be snowed in, do NOT plan a visit unless you're happy to gamble.
• Rain or fog can strike the Eifel mountains at any time of year. Rain will not close the circuit, but fog certainly will.
• Bank holidays in Germany and the UK will be very busy. Good examples are Easter weekend & May (first weekend and last weekend)

You should never put all your eggs in one basket. Never plan a 5000-mile trip around driving the 'ring on one single day. If you're coming from a long way away, you should plan on being here for a couple of days. That way, if the fog or snow comes down, or the track closes early, you at least have an option to stay a little longer and try again the next day. If the track is closed all day, we will always try to reschedule your booking, and as a last resort a total refund. If the track is wet, then we just go slower - but we don't refund."

- Thomas Lennackers, RSR Instructor -

2. Weekends or weekdays

Weekends are generally very busy. The Sunday in particular can be really crowded (see the photo left). On a typical busy Sunday (or any full-day bank holiday opening) you can count on a queue like that to form by 11am at the latest. On the busiest days the queue to enter the car park will extend over a km in each direction, with a 45-minute wait to enter the circuit.

A typical Sunday Nordschleife Touristenfahrten session runs like this:

• 8am: Track opens. Sometimes it can open late, normally due to fog near Pflanzgarten.
• 9am to 11am: Track closes for first major accident or multiple small accidents.
• 12pm to 3pm: Go for lunch! The track is really crowded, with between 200 and 400 cars, bikes and even busses on circuit at once and probably another closure.
• 4pm to 7pm: Getting quieter all the time as day trippers leave for home
• 7.20pm: Gate closes, you need to go through the gate before 7.20 to get that 'last lap'

With all of that in mind, we ask morning rentals to get here early and be on track before 9am. And afternoon rentals shouldn't try too hard to put all their laps in early, the last hour is great!

Evening sessions are a regular feature of the Nordschleife. You'll see a lot of 'locals' out on these sessions. Things to remember about the 2-hour openings:

• They can be cancelled at short notice. Sometimes an earlier event runs late. Some times a manufacturer or magazine will pay money to take the session for a test or lap time.
• One big crash will close the session. If there are 100 cars waiting to go out on track, it only needs one of them to crash seriously and the circuit will be shut. There's often not enough time left to re-open the circuit after the clean-up.
• They're often the quietest sessions on the Nordschleife. For all those reasons above, the track can often be deserted. If you're planning on driving a weekday night, try and be here for a couple of days.

IMPORTANT: There are NO guarantees for public sessions due to traffic, weather, commercial last minute changes of the nurburgring management and forgotten 'updates' on opening times."

- Ron Simons, CEO RSR Nürburg -

3. Trackdays vs. Public sessions

What are Trackdays? • What are Public days?

4. Special Circumstances

Occasionally you'll find a public session in the middle of the week. Historically there are two. Each one a Wednesday before the start of the Scuderia Hanseat course. Access to the track is a little slow, as two of the motorcycle lanes are converted into a 'Priority' lane only for the Scuderia Hanseat students.