This first post edited to reflect the dates and costs of the trip now it's finalised

Dates:

Leave the central belt of Scotland in the afternoon of Thursday 26th June, and return to the central belt around lunchtime Monday 30th June.

Plan:

Get the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam Thurs evening 9pm, arrive at the ring mid afternoon on Friday. Stay 2 nights in a local hotel, leave the ring mid afternoon on Sunday, get ferry from rotterdam to hull Sun eve 9pm. Drive back to Scotland from Hull monday morning.

Ring Lapping:

Fri evening, Sat all day, Sunday morning, and early afternoon.

Costs per person:

1 car, 1 person, cabin and room to themselves: £389

1 car, 1 person, sharing a cabin and room with another 1 car 1 person: £245

1 car, 2 people, sharing a cabin and a room: £195

1 car, 3 people, 4 berth cabin and 2 hotel rooms: £233

1 car, 4 people, 4 berth cabin and 2 hotel rooms: £175

Instructions if you want to come:

Can you also please quote SCOTBMW in the group code box when you get the booking form - keeps us all together on the same ferry

Attendees (so far):

Steve Gill, e92 320d (Deposit paid)

James Westwood (MrBroon), Hamish & Tom Russell (flying in their private jet and meeting us there)

Geeon Tsang (Gee) & Geehun Tsang (Deposit paid)

Alex Smith & Andrew Cheng (Deposit Paid)

Barry Hughes (sailorbaz) + Colin Gallie, M3 CSL (Deposit Paid)

Duncan Aitken + Ian Johnstone, M3 (Deposit Paid)

Shame it`s such short notice

A trip as been mentioned at the last 2 AGM`s i have been at,but nothing ever has come about them.

Rich did post up about the Ring on these date IIRC and he is going along with Gee (Thru Evotechnik)

Prob is we can`t get folk to pay up for 75mph Karts never mind a trip to the Ring

Defiantly a good idea to go via some organized events guru

I'd be up for this, but a 6 weeks is a bit short notice...

Good luck..

Try 6 - 12 months notice, you may get a bigger response

Rossi wrote: I'd be up for this, but a 6 weeks is a bit short notice... Good luck.. Try 6 - 12 months notice, you may get a bigger response

As said above, I used those dates to give indicative costs. Obviously we can all go most weekends, but I needed to start somewhere!  

Happy to say 6 or 12 months, but we did that last October and people indicated their interest cost depending. Well the costs are above, will I set a date in September, or next June?

Gee wrote: Good on you Steve for trying to set something up.  Would be good if a heap of us from this side of the country could go at some point.  Are you going along on the weekend of the ET trip?

Hi Gee - is that the 13th to 15th July? Probably, I'm trying to be there as much as I can in July. I'll also be there 23/24 June for sure.

stevie53 wrote: steve, I would be up for this but it would have to be next year. if you were to set a date as you say sometime next June then I would be 100%. it's just a case of trying to get others to commit. stevie

Fair point Stevie - the problem is we probably couldn't finalise dates until around Feb/Mar next year, and therefore take money off folk. At that point, people might feel its still too close?

Steve Gill wrote: Hi Gee - is that the 13th to 15th July? Probably, I'm trying to be there as much as I can in July. I'll also be there 23/24 June for sure.

That's the weekend Steve. Hopefully see you there and can I get first dibs on a passenger lap .

Gee wrote: Steve Gill wrote: Hi Gee - is that the 13th to 15th July? Probably, I'm trying to be there as much as I can in July. I'll also be there 23/24 June for sure. That's the weekend Steve. Hopefully see you there and can I get first dibs on a passenger lap .

No probs at all - look out for me, I'm guessing you'll not miss the car

Hey guys.  Got back last night from a fantastic weekend at the Ring.  Was great to finally meet Steve who was kind enough to take me out in the CSL (pic below).  All I can say is top guy and WOW!!!

If there is an organised Scottish trip in 2008 my advice would be to get your name down.  You won't regret it!

Good to meet you too Gee, a great weekend although lots of closures.

Yip, for sure a 2008 trip, although exact dates aren't released until Feb. What do you guys think of setting a month for next year, we know now roughly how much, and taking stage payments over the year to spread the cost? This idea was discussed at a meet previously but I forgot to post it on the forum.

sounds interesting, how much cash at regular intervals would we have to give to organise it?

great photo btw, who took it?  and who or what is Team Schirmer?

stephenperry wrote: sounds interesting, how much cash at regular intervals would we have to give to organise it? great photo btw, who took it?  and who or what is Team Schirmer?

The plan is to run it through ring weekends - because they've got the various insurances required. I'm guessing in the region of £25-£50 per month for 10 months, per car, which can be split if there is more than one person in the car (obviously).

The photo was taken by one of the ring regular photographers, you can see his website on the copyright message. Team Schirmer is a local racing team near the ring that I'm involved in - more details soon

i am about to go to the ring. why not plan the trip your self.

ive paid £85 for the ferry return (dover - calais), then £55 a night to stay in the zur burg hotel

you can also get a room in calais for a night for £25 in a formule 1 if required.

 travel to dover on friday for a late ferry which is cheaper. then stay in calais. get up early the next day and get to the ring for mid day.

stay 2 nights then drive back monday.

hard core!

Here's hoping i have 540 by then will need more than rosery beeds ewen more that welcome to join.

Mind u prob would not be brill idea never seen me drive bus sideways in snow just like drifting car round roundabouts in the wet but bigger.

Sometimes you have to sacrafice things....I am sure I could pack a few extra pairs of boxers

cheers guys, will keeps tabs on progress!

OK folk I've spoken to ringweekends and he is happy to accept payments spread over a number of months. The only issue is when he books the ferry he gets charged, so the deposit will need to cover the ferry costs.

As the calendar isn't ready yet for 2008, we have 2 choices;

1. We can work out rough costs now (similar to my 1st post above), divide the amount by (say) 8 months, and pay that way - only booking the ferry in around 3 months time when timetable is confirmed. An example, if the total cost is £288, we pay £36 a month for 8 months, starting now.

2. Wait 3 months for timetable to be confirmed, then pay deposit of £108, then pay £36 a month for 5 months.

What do you guys think? btw I'll be buying the 1st round

I'll need to see the dates before confirming if I can make it or not.  I'm a definite maybe for now.

What's the preferred route to take?

Is this for 2008 or is it past?

Now I've got a factory car I think I'd be up for a "gumball" jaunt.

Ferry from Scotland would be the answer fuel wise.

OK I think we'll go with number 2 - aim for 1st payment due in january 2008. I think it'll be the 21st and 22nd June 2008, so if you can keep that date free in your diaries that would be great.

Any thoughts on whether to go via Roysth, or drive down to Hull or Dover?

GWatson wrote: Steve, I think  you met my mates Findlay at the 'ring last week (red supercharged MX5). I am just back from his and he has a fantastic picture of your car, if you PM me your email address I'll get it to you.

G

I got it from Findlay, thanks, yip it is a great picture, shame its got mee in it

Steve Gill wrote: Folks I know the diaries are getting full, but I thought I'd post some information I've gathered on options to go to the Nurburgring. I note as well there are other forums organising visits (evotechnik being one) so that's another way to go along with some like minded folks. However here are the details for a Scottish Region trip, organised by ringweekends.co.uk (because I know these guys are good, and they have all the neccessary insurance etc) I know the Borders Run II is on these dates, but for ease of comparison I've put together costs based on Fri 15th to Mon 18th June. We can change these to other dates, but costs will vary. All costs below exclude fuel and ring tickets! 1. You want to take your car (cheapest to most expensive) A. Dover to Calais, sail early Sat return Mon eve, 2 nights in a hotel for 2 sharing, £235 for a car with 2 people in it. You'll need to add Fri night's accomodation near Dover to this bill, plus the obvious extra fuel required. Total fuel bill for a M3 CSL to get to the ring and back from Central Scotland (exc. going on the ring!) approx 7 tanks of fuel. or B. Hull to Rotterdam (cabin), sail Friday evening return Monday evening, 2 nights in a hotel for 2 sharing, £370 for a car with 2 people in it. Total fuel bill for a M3 CSL to get to the ring and back from Central Scotland (exc. going on the ring!) approx 3-4 tanks of fuel. or C. Newcastle to Amsterdam (cabin), sail Friday evening return Monday evening, 2 nights in a hotel for 2 sharing, £470 for a car with 2 people in it. Total fuel bill for a M3 CSL to get to the ring and back from Central Scotland (exc. going on the ring!) approx 3-4 tanks of fuel. or D. Rosyth to Zebrugge (reclining seats), sail Thurs! evening return Monday evening, 2 nights in a hotel for 2 sharing, £599 for a car with 2 people in it. Total fuel bill for a M3 CSL to get to the ring and back from Central Scotland (exc. going on the ring!) approx 2 tanks of fuel. 2. You want to be a passenger in someone else's car Hotel only for 2 nights - £145 for 2 people sharing. 3. You live a jetset lifestyle and want to fly in and hire a car £24.53 each from Ryanair at the moment, plus £145 for the hotel (2 sharing - cost each of £72.50) - plus cost of hire car on top although if you don't mind not driving I'm sure some members (myself included) could pick you up at the airport.  Anyone interested?

How much do the ring tickets come in at, I can only see overall costs on the website?

flying in and hiring sounds nice and cheap but i've heard that the main car hire companies get a bit niggly about their cars being used on the ring, to the extent of spying to make sure they aren't

is this true and if not, are there recommendations for car hire companies for a suitable set of wheels?

bassmancampbell wrote: How much do the ring tickets come in at, I can only see overall costs on the website?

If you buy a single lap ticket its about £13, a 4 lap ticket is £11 per lap,  and a 15 lap ticket is £10 per lap - more details here - http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/prices.html - http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/prices.html  

stephenperry wrote: flying in and hiring sounds nice and cheap but i've heard that the main car hire companies get a bit niggly about their cars being used on the ring, to the extent of spying to make sure they aren't is this true and if not, are there recommendations for car hire companies for a suitable set of wheels?

Safer not to use avis etc, as you say if you get caught you're in trouble  but there are companies at the ring you can rent vehicles from for the ring, for example http://www.rent-racecar.de/gb/ - http://www.rent-racecar.de/gb/

alanross wrote: Better getting your own car insured for a one off trip to the ring. XR4i yee-haa Alan.

Alan is spot on  but most insurance covers the ring (although sometimes with a fight) check your policy doesn't exclude it but don't phone and ask them, they will always say no!

alanross wrote: XR4i yee-haa

now that is a bloody good idea.....

we don't need no stinking insurance, you'll be alright as long as you don't follow in the skidmarks of this guy....

looking at the prices for hire it might be cheaper to buy an e30 or 36 with a couple of months MOT left just for this, tax it for 6 months then surrender the disc after your trip and get most of the money back, insure it third party only and cancel the policy after your trip, insurance for the ring wouldn't matter, if it gets crashed then its no real loss, getting home again might be tricky though...

here's a cheap one in autotrader, although it doesn't have an mot so it looks a bit overpriced...

1991 BMW 3 SERIES 325i SE 4dr Saloon

or this E30, which has an MOT and tax...

stephenperry wrote: how much does it cost to scrap a car these days?

Hi Stephen, been a bit behind catching up on this thread

One option is to buy a cheaper car for the trip you have said, but number 1 rule is the car must be in very good mechanical condition. If you drop oil or coolant on the track, the best you'll get is a very expensive bill (£0000s) and the worst could be another person's death on your consience - earlier this year a biker was killed because of a coolant spill from a porsche

FWIW, I'd love to see your Alpina on the ring and think it would do you proud

stephenperry wrote: i can't find the 2008 public dates on nurburgring.de and ben lovejoys site seems to be down, are there any other sources?

They're not published yet - as soon as they are I'll get the dates posted here for the trip

stephenperry wrote: ta, i've been doing some costings of my own, and i think it's going to work out cheaper in the long run, for me anyway, to sail from hull to zebrugge (p&o ferries) - its £418 for two folk return, and the rosyth to zebrugge one (superfast) is £787.  when you work out that its 293 miles from rosyth to hull at £74 a tank, and i get maybe 400 miles to a tank(?), something to consider...

Stephen

Remember we're planning to run this through ringweekends (for club insurance purposes) and they get excellent discounts on the ferries. I'll post up prices as soon as I know the available dates for June, you can compare them against the prices you have

Remember we're planning to run this through ringweekends (for club insurance purposes) and they get excellent discounts on the ferries.

What does this mean? Insurance?

This is going to effect my 1500mile limited policy...at 151quid...

Alan.

alanross wrote: Remember we're planning to run this through ringweekends (for club insurance purposes) and they get excellent discounts on the ferries. What does this mean? Insurance? This is going to effect my 1500mile limited policy...at 151quid... Alan.

Its not insurance for the cars but more public liability and that kind of thinng I think, stop you sueing my ass if you bin your motor

are there any times of the day that are better to go than others to  get some peace from the banzai locals in their roll-caged golfs and porsches?

is it open at night?

stephenperry wrote: are there any times of the day that are better to go than others to  get some peace from the banzai locals in their roll-caged golfs and porsches? is it open at night?

Not open at night, early morning is a good quiet time, but if you're sensible you won't bin it - most accidents are caused by people outdriving themselves. You need to keep an eye on your mirrors to let the local banzai past, but apart from that you'll be fine.

215m3 wrote: Would a Legacy GTB be allowed to attend? I could try a top speed run on the autobahn as it's supposed to be 170 mph.

Legacy GTB no problem, just not sure about the driver

alanross wrote: Think we'll need to start a book to see who will make it back: A. In one piece B. Alive C. With their car in one piece D. With their car on a trailer E. Scrapped it over there F. M.I.A G. Pregnant.. etc.... Alan.

I will go for F and G

OK Folks it looks like the best (i.e. only) full weekend is the 28th and 29th June. How does this sound? Depending on where we get the ferry we'd need to either travel Thurs 26th evening or Friday 27th morning, returning during the day on Monday 30th.

Who's up for it and I'll get exact costs for that weekend?

I'm still up for this but unfortunately it is going to come down to cost as for the dates they sound ok to me.

Ian

Dates should be ok with me.  I'll pencil them into the diary and hopefully I don't have any weddings to attend that weekend!

Everybody has to visit this place at least once in their lives 

OK, at last I have some pricing 

The plan is to cross from Hull to Rotterdam 9pm Thursday 26th June, arriving in good time Friday for the ring at 16.15.
Friday and Saturday night in hotel B&B giving all day Sat on the ring.
Sunday morning on the ring - leaving about 3/4pm to get 9pm boat back from Rotterdam to Hull.
Arrive back in Hull on Monday 30th - travel back to Scotland.

£389 per vehicle - based on 2 people max per vehicle sharing twin/double rooms as required.

We'd need an initial deposit ASAP of £189 per car, then 2 payments of £100, one at the end of April, and another at the end of May. Payments can be by cheque, credit or debit card.

Thoughts?

Yup dates should still be cool with me.  Just need to find a wing man then I'm snorted!

Steve when is the latest that you need to know by?

I'm up for this Steve, I'm now all E46'd up and although the car needs a bit of fettling it should be ready for June, I might even hold off on the respray ;-) save doing it twice!!

Let me know when I need to pay and to who.

Bring it on!!

Might be a 330Cd, might be getting it chipped, might be getting some AP action up front ;-)

All will be revealed in the fullness of time!!!!

Love and kisses

The bald eagle

 hi stevie alex from aberdeen would like to go on that dates

Oh dear, can't believe I am doing this but I 'might' be up for this once I checked with her indoors. Are there any noise restrictions at the 'Ring?

As above really, how do I get pennies to you Steve?

Love n kisses back Jim, but I didn't think we were going public incase Gary got upset?

OK, please can everyone email Darren from Ringweekends on mailto:info@ringweekends.co.uk - info@ringweekends.co.uk , stating that you're attending the BMW Car Club Scottish Region Event, and give your name, mobile number, car and car registration number. He'll then send you an invoice from paypal, he will ask for cheques if possible, but you can also pay using a link in the invoice.

Post here once done  (btw the ferry is a bunkbed for the night)

Remember this trip is going ahead regardless of numbers, so we might have 3 cars or we might have 15, either way whoever goes will have a fantastic time I can assure you. I'll ask Darren about the costs for a 3rd and 4th person in the car right now

Thanks for all your hard work with this Steve

E-mail duly sent mate for Mish and Me :-)

Jim.

A bit more information.

The £389 is for a twin bunk on the ferry, and a twin room in the hotel.

If 1 person goes in a car, and they want their own twin berth on the ferry and their own room in the hotel its £389.

If 2 people are in a car, they share the twin berth and share the twin (or double if required) room at the hotel, meaning the £389 is shared which is £194.50 per person.

3 people in a car is slightly more expensive, because the 4 berth rooms on the ferry are expensive, and an extra hotel room is required. The total becomes £699, which is £233 per person.

4 people in a car is the cheapest, all 4 share a 4 person berth and get 2 twin rooms in the hotel - still £699 which is £174.75 per person.

I will ask the price for 2 cars with 1 person in each car, sharing a twin berth and twin room. I expect the £389 per car will then come down, obviously not as much as the 2 person in 1 car price because you still need to pay for the 2 cars on the ferry.

Can you also quote SCOTBMW in the group code box when you get the booking form - keeps us all together on the same ferry :)

I'll be taking the 320d on this trip, I'm guessing we'll meet somewhere central Scotland wise and convoy down to Hull. The CSL will be out there already, everyone is obviously more than welcome to as many passenger laps as you like in the CSL, although I intend for the 320d to earn its ring sticker as well

sailorbaz wrote: Oh dear, can't believe I am doing this but I 'might' be up for this once I checked with her indoors. Are there any noise restrictions at the 'Ring? As above really, how do I get pennies to you Steve?

Baz - as long as you dont rev the nuts off the CSL coming up to the barriers, you'll be fine. An average of about 5 or 6 CSLs there every weekend and I've never heard of a CSL getting kicked off.