Buying tickets online to nurburgring

tszene · 06-13-2015, 09:14 AM

No luck with buying tickets online for the ring. The US is not even an option for the countries when selecting your address, and based on my rusty german it states that the tickets will be sent to the address you fill in.
Anyone with experience? Just wanted to save time and have the tickets ready when i get there considering that i'm driving from afar.
Let me know if someone figured this out before.
Thanks
Tszene

funk74 · 06-13-2015, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tszene

No luck with buying tickets online for the ring. The US is not even an option for the countries when selecting your address, and based on my rusty german it states that the tickets will be sent to the address you fill in.
Anyone with experience? Just wanted to save time and have the tickets ready when i get there considering that i'm driving from afar.
Let me know if someone figured this out before.
Thanks
Tszene

From my reading, I think you can just buy them there.

Don't think it should be a problem if you plan on going on a weekday. Maybe a little harder if going on a saturday.

Jedi_M · 06-13-2015, 03:31 PM

I also noticed that the US is not listed in the country drop-down menu, but that did not stop me. I just downloaded the pdf order form, filled it out including credit card payment information, rescanned it and emailed it to the email address listed on their web site. Two weeks after emailing them my order, a 4 lap Ring card arrived in the mail to California.

I also purchased the Austrian and Switzerland vignettes ahead of time through www.tolltickets.com, since I will driving in those two countries.

Joe250 · 06-13-2015, 05:33 PM

I tried to do as much prep as possible before leaving for my ED. I know it is easy to buy toll stickers all over the place but I tend to forget things like this, so I'm glad I ordered these in advance. I used Tolltickets as well and would recommend them.

The Ring card though could not be easier to do at the track. When we arrived there last month I had no idea where to go or what to do so let me share what I learned. If I got anything wrong, someone please correct me.

The first thing is that you really only need to do two things and you are on the track - buy a Ring card with laps on it and pass thru the entrance gate by swiping your card. That is it. No waivers to sign. No security check. No nothing. It all seemed too easy so I kept wandering around looking for a catch. There really isn't any.

Just park in any of the lots (green circles) around the roundabout (blue circle), then go to the booth where the red circle is. Go inside, tell them how many laps you want, give them all your cash and they will hand you back your card. Follow the aqua line to the gate. Press the card to the reader until it lights up and the gate opens. Drive forward slowly thru the cones and you are on the Ring. You did remember to empty the car out beforehand or tie everything down, right?

At the end of the lap slow down. Keep to the right-hand side of the track to exit (see the pink line). There may be a long line. Be patient. Keep to the left-hand side of the track if you want to immediately do another lap. There will likely be a line here as well but shorter. Again, slow down. There is another set of entry gates sitting directly on the track. Pull up to these gates and swipe again. When the gate opens, proceed with your next lap. Remember to watch for cars merging onto the track from your right.

The parking areas all seemed to be first-come, first-served although some areas here and there might have been part of the car rental or Ring Taxi places. It should be obvious if you aren't supposed to park there. Other than that, it seems you can cruise around until you find a spot. If there are no spaces left around the entrance area, you can park in the unpaved lot circled at the top of the picture. If that is full, you can follow the green arrow to a large unpaved parking area on the backside of the hill. There will likely be several hundred participant and spectator cars all parked back there.

Not much else to say. You can find numerous other guides on everything about visiting and driving the Ring so I won't repeat that here. I do recommend you read all of them and take the advice seriously. There were several accidents and numerous wrecked cars on the two days I was there. Regardless of how fast or slow you intend to drive, I recommend watching as many Youtube crash videos as possible, not for the entertainment value but to learn from others mistakes. I would identify where exactly they were on track and study until I knew why they crashed. You will see some important patterns - people tend to crash at the same places and usually for the same reasons. This knowledge will help you avoid doing something stupid but don't forget about the other factors that are pretty much out of your control - other drivers and road conditions (oil, water or coolant on the track, etc.). You can never eliminate all risk but you can definitely improve your odds.

Speaking of accidents, the track marshals will be forced to close the track down on occasion due to severe accidents. They will make an announcement over the PA system and then put up a barrier near the track entrance. This is your chance to let the car cool down, eat, stare at other interesting cars and motorcycles, meet fellow car nuts from all over the world, or go refuel your car. Shutdowns can last hours. Once the track reopens you will know because they will make another announcement but also because 100 cars will all suddenly start in unison and cause an instant traffic jam headed to the entrance. All part of the experience these days I guess.

You will also notice a restaurant in the photo below. There is good food and drinks there as well as restrooms. With that, and a gas station just down the road, you have everything you should need for a great time at the track.

Google Maps

Jedi_M · 06-13-2015, 09:27 PM

Joe250,

Thanks for the entry and exit tips to the Nurburgring, that is very helpful!
The main reason I purchased the Ring card early was because I thought that the new track ownership was going to change the method of payment from a per lap to a time based system, but it seems to be the same per lap system.

I am watching as many YouTube videos to get a feel for the track.
I also attached some driving tips for reference.

06-13-2015, 09:14 AM	#1
tszene First Lieutenant 137 Rep 304 Posts Drives: M4 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Philadelphia iTrader: (0)	Buying tickets online to nurburgring No luck with buying tickets online for the ring. The US is not even an option for the countries when selecting your address, and based on my rusty german it states that the tickets will be sent to the address you fill in. Anyone with experience? Just wanted to save time and have the tickets ready when i get there considering that i'm driving from afar. Let me know if someone figured this out before. Thanks Tszene
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06-13-2015, 03:31 PM	#3
Jedi_M Private First Class 137 Rep 140 Posts Drives: 2015 M3 MG/SO Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (0)	I also noticed that the US is not listed in the country drop-down menu, but that did not stop me. I just downloaded the pdf order form, filled it out including credit card payment information, rescanned it and emailed it to the email address listed on their web site. Two weeks after emailing them my order, a 4 lap Ring card arrived in the mail to California. I also purchased the Austrian and Switzerland vignettes ahead of time through www.tolltickets.com, since I will driving in those two countries. Attached Images
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06-13-2015, 05:33 PM	#4
Joe250 New Member 7 Rep 21 Posts Drives: Austin Seven Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: California iTrader: (0)	I tried to do as much prep as possible before leaving for my ED. I know it is easy to buy toll stickers all over the place but I tend to forget things like this, so I'm glad I ordered these in advance. I used Tolltickets as well and would recommend them. The Ring card though could not be easier to do at the track. When we arrived there last month I had no idea where to go or what to do so let me share what I learned. If I got anything wrong, someone please correct me. The first thing is that you really only need to do two things and you are on the track - buy a Ring card with laps on it and pass thru the entrance gate by swiping your card. That is it. No waivers to sign. No security check. No nothing. It all seemed too easy so I kept wandering around looking for a catch. There really isn't any. Just park in any of the lots (green circles) around the roundabout (blue circle), then go to the booth where the red circle is. Go inside, tell them how many laps you want, give them all your cash and they will hand you back your card. Follow the aqua line to the gate. Press the card to the reader until it lights up and the gate opens. Drive forward slowly thru the cones and you are on the Ring. You did remember to empty the car out beforehand or tie everything down, right? At the end of the lap slow down. Keep to the right-hand side of the track to exit (see the pink line). There may be a long line. Be patient. Keep to the left-hand side of the track if you want to immediately do another lap. There will likely be a line here as well but shorter. Again, slow down. There is another set of entry gates sitting directly on the track. Pull up to these gates and swipe again. When the gate opens, proceed with your next lap. Remember to watch for cars merging onto the track from your right. The parking areas all seemed to be first-come, first-served although some areas here and there might have been part of the car rental or Ring Taxi places. It should be obvious if you aren't supposed to park there. Other than that, it seems you can cruise around until you find a spot. If there are no spaces left around the entrance area, you can park in the unpaved lot circled at the top of the picture. If that is full, you can follow the green arrow to a large unpaved parking area on the backside of the hill. There will likely be several hundred participant and spectator cars all parked back there. Not much else to say. You can find numerous other guides on everything about visiting and driving the Ring so I won't repeat that here. I do recommend you read all of them and take the advice seriously. There were several accidents and numerous wrecked cars on the two days I was there. Regardless of how fast or slow you intend to drive, I recommend watching as many Youtube crash videos as possible, not for the entertainment value but to learn from others mistakes. I would identify where exactly they were on track and study until I knew why they crashed. You will see some important patterns - people tend to crash at the same places and usually for the same reasons. This knowledge will help you avoid doing something stupid but don't forget about the other factors that are pretty much out of your control - other drivers and road conditions (oil, water or coolant on the track, etc.). You can never eliminate all risk but you can definitely improve your odds. Speaking of accidents, the track marshals will be forced to close the track down on occasion due to severe accidents. They will make an announcement over the PA system and then put up a barrier near the track entrance. This is your chance to let the car cool down, eat, stare at other interesting cars and motorcycles, meet fellow car nuts from all over the world, or go refuel your car. Shutdowns can last hours. Once the track reopens you will know because they will make another announcement but also because 100 cars will all suddenly start in unison and cause an instant traffic jam headed to the entrance. All part of the experience these days I guess. You will also notice a restaurant in the photo below. There is good food and drinks there as well as restrooms. With that, and a gas station just down the road, you have everything you should need for a great time at the track. Google Maps Last edited by Joe250; 06-13-2015 at 05:49 PM..
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