GERMAN FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX

Food, didnt use the stalls as we bought our own bought in lidl before hand, also meant we didnt have to waste time queuing and saved some dosh

the infomation area in the shopping mall was good, this is where we got a useful little flyer on the thurday, which showed all the carparks, access roads, stands, toilets, event times, etc.Probably because of this I didnt buy a programme, our mate flav bought one and never read the thing! It would be useful if you could have been able to download this from the ring website before leaving home. YEAH, THIS IS A BEEZER IDEA, Also used the information area to find out where the pit lane walk a bout started from, cos otherwise that would have been hard to find

a tip if youre camping, on the thursday morning we parked in 4a which wasnt a problem, but on the way up we passed the queue for the campsite, the one behind stands 5 and 6, it was going nowhere fast and was horrendous.

Didnt go to the Ringwerk, but it looked good, mainly for kids I think, also the rollercoaster along the pit straight looked good but it was not open. As Cars 2 was being premiered on the Sat, the full sized lightning McQueen was on display, which made getting wet worthwhile

did hockenheim last year, did the ring this year, the ring was the better by far, flew into frankfurt on the wed and drove south to the speyer museum for the rest of the day, (actually near hockenheim) then headed to our accomodation at klotten on the mosel valley - a world away from the hub ub of the ring, yet only a pleasant 25 minute drive away.
thursday - drove up in the morning and had a good look around the "covered shopping area"- superb, waited in the rain for the pit lane walkabout, it was packed out but we were fortunate that we had vip access for a couple of hours so were on the other side of the fence which was nice, as a result missed the coach trip round the circuit. Ate at a pizzeria 9km from the circuit (did this each night), alot of the Italian teams ate there plus one or two drivers!
Friday, we had tickets for 10a, so could go anywhere apart from the pit straight and tribune 4, watched morning practice at 5, which was excellent and the afternoon one from 8.
5 was superb, lovely downhill bends and a big screen
8 was pretty good, down at the hairpin, it was a new stand and one that we didnt see on google earth, the screen was quite far away.
After the F1 we got into 4, but it wasnt that good, one it was freezing and the wind and rain whipped in, as for the far side of 4, the view there was rubbish, if you were in the first row the hand rail got in the way
Saturday, booked early and got the tickets we wanted , top row at the end, right opposite the screen and you could see the cars coming down to the hairpin and then up the hill in front of us, excellento. We spent a long time sussing out were we would sit, what threw us were the gradients, this doesnt come over on telly or google earth, but all in all these were good concrete seats, we did come prepared with a garden kneeler!
Other good seats were tribune 5, but within that there were better parts than others, checked out t11, it was covered but not great, t12 before the final chicane looked good too, but I knew we had made a good choice on the friday morning as looking across to 10a, it looked pretty full, I sat beside 4 english people who only arrived sat morning, I feel that to get the best out of the weekend you gotta be there from thursday, they went over to the autograph session on the sat afternoon, told them that would be a waste of time as it would be packed, it was, we didnt go but went up to the top of the circuit and got the courtesy bus to the nurburg village and to the unoffical stalls!
Sunday, although we had the top row there were guys leaning over the barrier, they had been there before, I assume they had seats but decided to stand there instead, that was ok but one "johnny foreigener" decided to smoke all day, so I got ash all over me from time to time, quite a few people smoked around us and didnt give a monkeys on where their smoke went. (this happened in hock last year too). I took my ferrari flag and ulster flag and got them cable tied to the top of the wire fence which looked cool, apart from ours there wernt many flags about which was a bit disappointing. Race was good and got out onto the track afterwards and walked the circuit and finishing up in the pits which was cool. Not many walked the circuit as we sat about for a while before someone walked down opened a gate and those that were left walked on.
Monday- in the morning went back to the ring and up to the old circuit finishing up at adenau bridge for lunch, there were a load of bikes going round which added to the excitment. Drove back to Frankfurt via the Rhine and got back to Belfast 23.30 oin the evening
Summary, good seats, we got what we wanted, traffic not a problem getting in , but took ages getting away and that was actually leaving the circuit 3 hours after the race, good race good venue, however not great atmospere, trip was a success but a lot of that was due to forward planning, including bringing warm clothing. Met a few drivers on the Thursday but unfortunately not eveyone can do that, we were very lucky to get where we did. Although the atmoshere on race day wasnt like"monza or barca", I bet it was good craic in the campsites!!
Next year Monza
SBL on Tour, Belfast
SBL On Tour, Belfast

In general: positive experience
A few details subject to improvement for the organisation:
- authograph session on saturday: good idea, bad organisation: only a limited number of 150-250 people on first row get authographs (of all drivers!), the rest can't see a thing...
- forbid 'trucks' on camping - so called 'race fans' use a race weekend to do everything they are not allowed to do at home...

Overall there isnt much you cant fault about the German GP, the facilities were amazing, good for all ages plus were all easy to get to and find. Our seats (for view of the start grid) were the best ive been too so far...
All in all i would suggest this GP would suit all types off fans from new 1s to old :)
Only problem which does not effect your stay in any way is that the Germans can be quite rude & no sence of humor

Great weekends racing especially as Lewis Hamilton won! Atmosphere not as we have at Silverstone but all the same a great weekend.

we had a great time! so impressed with organisation/ roads/access/atmosphere. Only difficulty was access to big screen to see what was going on in the rest of the race, and at the end.
enjoyed listening to pre match commentary in french, German and English!

Nurburgring is in a forest setting in the middle of nowhere but with easy access by car and very easy parking permissable close to the track. Those lucky enough to enter from the small village will find all the genuine atmosphere similar to Watkins Glen in the 70's.Lots of merchandise stands, food stalls, a few small hotels and bars. Others entering from the main gate area are met with a monstrous modern wharehouse structure housing an indoor kart track plus an Earls Court size hall with all the sales stalls for team brand items and separate individual display rooms for specialist cars. This venue is totally uninspiring and devoid of any 'racing' atmosphere.
There was little choice of food outlets around the whole track. We get spoilt in the UK.
The weekend ticket was well worth it with a great pit walk followed by a bus tour of the track on Thursday. The T14 general admission area is a great viewing spot on a grass/gravel slope facing a big screen and takes in the end of a fast straight, a bend and then the final sharp corner bend before the start/finish line. There is a camp site next door to T14 viewing plot for those wanting to 'bag' their front fence spot at the crack of dawn.
Others wanting a soft bed will find accomodation even as faras 23 miles away in Bad Neuenahr will find travelling the small country roads easy and empty of busy traffic and will arrive at the track within 30 minutes. Hotel prices, like everywhere else are higher on race weekends being 130euros for a double B&B.
Bernie must surely find this track wanting in many ways even though it has attempted some 'improvements' to modernise but regular race enthusiasts have said that Hockenheim is much better so we'll try that before we write off Germany as a top F1 venue.
It was very easy and well organised getting away from the track with all main roads policed as one way zones for at least 10-15 miles. Great weekend.

As this was our first Grand Prix we didn't know quite what to expect nor do we have anything to compare it to. Having said that what we didn't expect was that the 'seat' would actually be a concrete step. As none of our group are short this proved to be incredibly uncomfortable and resulted in my partner standing for much of the race on Sunday. Had we known this before booking we would probably have chosen different seats.
On arrival we were pleased that our 'seats' were on the top row (the first one that you get to as you enter the stand from the top) but this didnt last long as they were about 3 deep standing at the rail behind us ,making it very difficult to actually get to your seat, and we regularly had chips dropped down our backs as the catering stand was just behind also!
On Friday and Saturday we had to ask people to move out of our seats so that we could sit down.
You could not see the TV screen from this stand and I am very pleased that we rented a Kangaroo TV for the weekend.
There were huge queues into and out of the car parks but thats to be expected. Shuttle bus, not really sure when that was supposed to be running, we managed to get one up to the track on race day but that was the only time I saw it in operation. Expect a long walk uphill from car park to track and also don't expect to be able to choose which car park you go to - we were just directed from the main road and had little idea where we had actually ended up the first time.

We were amazed at how quiet the crowd were - it was quite a strange subdued atmosphere.

On the plus side car parking was free, the tickets that we bought were excellent value for money (as our two children went free in this stand) and a Brit won!!

All in all we enjoyed the experience but would probably choose a different Grand Prix next time around.

I had a fantastic time but I have a major criticism for bookF1 to take note of:

When my ticket was stolen I could not get hold of bookF1 to find out what my ticket reference number was as they were out of the office on a race weekend. The ticket reference number was not printed in any of the other documentation and the ring staff could not find it because they could only see a block booking by bookF1.

Ideally there would be a (very) small staff at bookF1 to answer any emergencies like this but ultimately I would suggest making a secondary note of the ticket details so that if it does get stolen or lost the ticket office can print off a new one.

The seats on the stand that I had chosen were just a concrete step to sit on where no-one seemed to pay any attention to the seat numbers they were given for the practice and qualifying sessions , a decent cushion is advisible and to be warned before-hand . A large screen was only visible with a pair of binoculars . But on the whole ... a good experience.

Great weekend, great service from BookF1, good 'seats' and well organised. Well worth the pittance we paid compared to Silverstone. The pit tour on the Thursday evening as part of the standard weekend tickets was brilliant, especially as we got to see the cars close up as they went for scrutineering. Also, the post-qualifying autograph session in the Grune Holle was a spectacle worth being there for.

Two bits of advice though -
If you get T5, T6 or T7 seats, get a cushion as the seats are bare concrete. Fine in the dry but not if it's raining!
Also, if you use the Camping Am Nurburgring campsite, get there on Tuesday. We arrived Thursday lunchtime and it took 90 minutes of exploring and bargaining with other campers to get our 10 people in a flat area. We stuck the other 17 who arrived on Friday in the private forest part! Also, don't cut down trees, 200 euro fine and possible removal from the campsite.

We really enjoyed everything. We can recommend the seats at T4a, you can really follow the race from there. All was very well organized for example parking, toilets and traffic.

I am glad you sent this as we were disapointed with the seats we had been allocated in Block A, having selected them because we had a view of a big screen, technically yes, but you had to turn you head 90 degrees left and then move back and forward to see the screen past the other spectators, and then it was too far away to show any of the positions. Our view of the race track was partially blocked by a large vodafone advert, which was really annoying. i would like a refund for my two tickets as this was the worst view we have had at any circuit.

One downside was leaving parking from B2.... it took 2 1/2 hours to exit the facility. Totally unacceptable was the fact that nobody was directing traffic or assisting in an orderly fashion cars trying to depart.

getting there by car was ok, normal slow moving traffic when off the dual roads. seats were concrete slabs, race day we took cushions. down side had to get a ring card for food/drink purchases and prepay onto card, charged deposits for cups that u couldnt just take back any where

The T4 upper seats were inline with the 100 metre board at the end of the straight this allowed us a view of the end of the straight, the first hairpin and the second and third corners it also showed the Warsteiner Kurve and a great view of the large TV screen. If we go back I would try to get the same seats again. Parking was excellent too with only a 10min walk from the car to our seats.

The reason I've given access to circuit one star is because we did this trip by public transport and it was a bit ridiculous! The ticket was purchased from db bahn with their advised routing but we had to do 3 train changes and were then meant to get 3 buses! But the second bus didn't wait for the first so we missed our connection but were lucky to catch a lift in a taxi with some friendly Germans. If you're going by car I'm sure it's a much easier experience so just ignore this rating! If you're planning a public transport effort...good luck!

The circuit facilities were good but a better selection of food choices would have been top of my list of improvements - if you're veggie you'll struggle unless you like eating lots of chips.

Our view was great, had the top row in stand T10a which gave a clear view of the cars coming down to and out of the hair pin bend and upto the back straight. Easy to see the nearest TV screen as well.

Camping was fine as long as you don't expect to get much sleep - LOTs of parties and fireworks 'til 4am! Showers were warm (for the girls) and there was an easily accessible toilet block that was being kept clean over the whole weekend. Only recommendation would be to get out of there after the race - we stayed the Sunday night but upped camp to the army campsite across the road as there only seemed to be crazy folk left who wanted to burn things (tents, gazebos, bags of rubbish... not good).

BookF1 was easy to use and got us good value tickets with a decent view. I'd definitely use it again.

Hope that helps!

Excellent view from grandstand T4a (Mercedes benz tribune), i think that block K-M are excellent, block N almost good and block O not so good... so be aware with your tickets.

the grandstand has main straight view, the mercerdes arena (corners 1-4) and the warsteiner corner.

About the circuit facilities, Have a ring card was mandatory for most thing inside circuit (drinks, foods...) It´s the worst thing about the circuit.

My overall rating for the race: 9
My overal rating for circuit facilities: 6

Thanks to all at book f1.com. Being Lewis Hamilton fans it ended up being a superb weekend. Plus points - No need to pre book camping (loads of space) and only 25 euros each for the weekend and an amazing atmosphere at night as long as you don't want an early night !! Reasonably priced refreshments in the circuit, not to many to choose from though. The circuit is opened up after the race and you can walk the pit straight - great finish to the weekend.
Not so good - Showers on the campsite freezing and queues really long. The stand we were in was just concrete so needed to buy a seat pad (only 5 euros from circuit store )
View from grandstand 10b is at the top of the Schumacher S and you get a great view of the cars coming up the hill from the loop, plus you get a view of the opposite side of the track and a big screen straight in front of you.

Brilliant GP, Arrived at the main camp site on the Wed to find that the Germans had already put their beach towels on all the best pitches, never seen so much red & white tape & The German Um Par band was in full flow. Now I know why The Hoff is such a hit in Germany! The track was only a 5 Min walk away, we were in T5 which is a non covered Grandstand with steps for seats, as a six foot + fat bloke this proved a challenge but didn't spoil our weekend, the use a varoius cushions from the van solved the numb bum issues. Services at the track were excellent, each veiwing section having it's own food/drink point, you could get a bag of chips (pommes) & still watch the racing, toilets were supurb, always clean & no queing. My only issue with the Ring was the F1 village, on the Friday proir to FP1 we tried to collect the Fanvision TV for the boy but it didn't open until 09.20, by the time the staff had sorted themselves out we nearly missed FP1, only the fact that were the first people served & we knwe how to use the TV saved us, if we'd waited for the staff to be shown how to use it first we would have missed the F1. Second point is the the official Ring shop refused to open it's doors on the Friday until 10.00, the staff were inside, punters were outside willing to spend but the doors remained closed. The race was great, three cars racing almost wheel to wheel for most of the race & Lewis was epic araond turn two... The Germans were strangley subdued all weekend, 6 German drivers on the Grid one with real expectations of winning & not a sound or flag waving from anyone, there were more Union Jacks in our section than German flags. Having been at Silverstone I wonder how Vettle feels after seing the fans at Silverstone support the Brits... Over alll an excellent GP off to Spa next.
P.S If your thinking of visiting the Ring dress warm, the three of us have never been as cold...