172 ph1
Bought a 172 last winter, and I was itching to take it to a trackday. Had appointments made to fit new brake lines, fluid, pads, and steering wheel over the next few weeks.
The weather in Europe hasn't been very good lately and the Nurburgring was still covered in snow at the beginning of last week. That plus construction work meant that the track stayed closed. But then the snow melted and the weather prediction for this Sunday turned from rain to cloudy, and the construction work was done. It was official - 15/3/2009 was the first day that the Nurburgring was open for public driving this year.
I decided to go with the car as it is, and just to take it easy, as I needed to get acquainted with the track again and needed to get used to driving the Clio. Girlfriend was delighted to take a roadtrip.
We first stopped at the McDonalds in Eupen, where I met people off the internet for the first time - 2 Americans in the US military, which was also my first trip to the 'Ring. I always go to the Ring via Eupen as the route from Eupen to the Ring is through scenic little German villages and the roads are very fun to drive.
First time I took some shots of the Clio 172.
It was a very calm day at the Nurburgring in terms of number of cars. No bikes :bowdown: There were still places in the main carpark!
Bought a ticket and went for a lap right away
Got back to the carpark to find this, a Brabham BMW... check out those rims
Then I saw something MUCH cooler, a fully track prepared Clio 172 Totally stripped, caged, brake ducts instead of fog lights, etc etc
Some other shots from the carpark.
I ended up doing 4 laps, got caught on the webcam each time
before my final lap there was quite a delay when they had problems with their new ticketing machine. I swear it wasn't my sabotage
The Clio was fantastic. After 4 laps I was already very at ease in it and started lapping at a decent pace.
The Nurburgring isn't too intensive on brakes, and I let things cool down after each lap, so I had no problems with the stock brakes or tires which was very surprising
All in all very satisfied with the Clio as it exceeded my expectations in a big way.
We'll be going a lot more times this year, probably stay for both days of a weekend the next time, so I'll have onboard videos soon
The weather in Europe hasn't been very good lately and the Nurburgring was still covered in snow at the beginning of last week. That plus construction work meant that the track stayed closed. But then the snow melted and the weather prediction for this Sunday turned from rain to cloudy, and the construction work was done. It was official - 15/3/2009 was the first day that the Nurburgring was open for public driving this year.
I decided to go with the car as it is, and just to take it easy, as I needed to get acquainted with the track again and needed to get used to driving the Clio. Girlfriend was delighted to take a roadtrip.
We first stopped at the McDonalds in Eupen, where I met people off the internet for the first time - 2 Americans in the US military, which was also my first trip to the 'Ring. I always go to the Ring via Eupen as the route from Eupen to the Ring is through scenic little German villages and the roads are very fun to drive.
First time I took some shots of the Clio 172.
It was a very calm day at the Nurburgring in terms of number of cars. No bikes :bowdown: There were still places in the main carpark!
Bought a ticket and went for a lap right away
Got back to the carpark to find this, a Brabham BMW... check out those rims
Then I saw something MUCH cooler, a fully track prepared Clio 172
Totally stripped, caged, brake ducts instead of fog lights, etc etcSome other shots from the carpark.
I ended up doing 4 laps, got caught on the webcam each time
before my final lap there was quite a delay when they had problems with their new ticketing machine. I swear it wasn't my sabotage
The Clio was fantastic. After 4 laps I was already very at ease in it and started lapping at a decent pace.
The Nurburgring isn't too intensive on brakes, and I let things cool down after each lap, so I had no problems with the stock brakes or tires which was very surprising
All in all very satisfied with the Clio as it exceeded my expectations in a big way.
We'll be going a lot more times this year, probably stay for both days of a weekend the next time, so I'll have onboard videos soon
