My top 5 :
1. Nordschleife
Epic track, stunning scenery, wonderful atmosphere ... this one is truly unique ! I could write a book about this track, its location, its atmosphere, the crowd over there (apart from the eurotrash music) ... everything is amazing around there. Just driving towards the 'Ring is something special every time; whether you take the Autobahn (floor it !
) or the small roads through the Ardennes and the Eiffel (floor it too
), it puts a giant smile on your face. All the hotels 'round the track in the small towns and villages, dinner at Pistenklause (Sabine's hotel & restaurant), you won't find it anywhere else. Just a shame the Lindner group wants to make a fun fair of it and is increasing the prices way too much.
The track itself is truly amazing : fast, very fast and slow parts with allmost no room for errors. Only 2 gravel traps in 20 km, all the rest is 2 or 3 meters of grass and then the guardrails. Describing the whole track would take me too far but some of the best places to watch a race are Hatzenbach near the entry to the Nordschleife where you see the cars sweeping through the corners, Flugplatz where you see them from the top of the hill, Adenauer Forst where you're sure to see a crash, Wipperman/Breidscheid the slowest part of the track, tho whole section from Klostertal up to Brünchenn 2, Pflanzgarten where they get 4 wheels off the ground, Schwalbenschwanz with the small Karrussel, T13 at the entry of the Nordschleife ... I'm still finding new places after several years. And the atmosphere during the 24h ... you've got to see it to beleive it. Also with other races like VLN people are camping at Brünchenn, sitting around the track with bbq's and beer, shooting fireworks in the air ... you couldn't be bored over there. Also the diffence in height on the track, you have to see it to believe it !
Guess I did +500 laps on the Grüne Hölle myself, and I've still got some sections where I'm not sure what line to take. Best times were around 8.50 minutes (bridge to gantry), could be faster but at this moment it's fast enough. Hope to increase the budget again next year and get the track-car back on the road, I need a Jahreskarte again
. Top parts to drive on are the section from Flugplatz to Schwedenkreuz (full throttle), diving into Fuchsrohre (scary stuff) and the compression getting up onto Adenauer Forst; braking hard at Breidscheid up into Bergwerk where Lauda had his crash; the long fast sweeps at Kesselchen and Klostertal; diving into the Karrusel, fighting the balance of the car through Wipperman and Eschbach before getting into Brünchenn where there's even a massive crowd at the Touristenfahrten during the weekend; Pflanzgarten where you can get your 4 wheels completely loose from the ground (scary stuff again) ... it never ends
2. Le Mans
No need to say something about this one I guess
.
3. Francorchamps
Love the track, but not anymore in it's new layout. I'd rather have it like it was about 10 years ago ... entry at Eau Rouge was much tighter and not that easy to take flat out, gravel traps at most corners instead of an ocean of asfalt like now (Raidillon, Bruxelles, Pouhon, Blanchimont, exit of La Source), the old bus-stop chicane ... used to be so much more exciting than nowadays. This year at the 24h race, I got bored by 11 pm on Saturday, something that wouldn't have happened a few years ago.
It's still high on the list 'cause I love driving on it. Getting through Eau Rouge, fighting with your car not losing too much speed getting up the Raidillon; swearing everytime you get into Bruxelles, a corner with maybe 50 ideal lines and very hard to find the right braking point; being on the edge at Pouhon (the big double lefthander) where I got into the guardrails once; going into Stavelot full throttle, car completely over the curbs and nailing it through Blanchimont 1 before slightly touching the brakes at Blanchimont 2, stupid new chicane
, breaking as late as possible for La Source and then pushing down the old start/finish onto Eau Rouge again ... Kicks ass every lap
.
4. Brands Hatch
Think it was 1992 when I got there the first time for the Formula Ford Festival, and fell immediately in love with it. Great overview to watch a race, amazing place to take pictures even without credentials. Atmosphere is always great too and easy to get there from Belgium (in distance only 50 km further from my place than te 'Ring). Paddock Hill & Druids is always packed with action and the back section of the GP layout reminds you a little bit at the Nordschleife; up and down with a few great corners. Drove a trackday on it 3 years ago in the rain, tricky conditions but great track to drive on. Through Paddock Hill and then chasing down up to druids is one of my favorite sections ever.
5. Paul Ricard
Only went there for the first time last year, but everything ticks the box over there. Beautiful location in the mountains, 20 minutes from the côte d'Azur, unique with all the colored markings on the track ... Minor point is that you've only got a small part of the track that's accessible for the public, but the scenery makes up for that. Hardly seen a track that's so clean and well-maintained, one on the list that I want to visit every year.
Still go a big "to do" list ... it's gonna take me another 20 years to see them all I guess
