It is almost the last week of school, and we are SO ready for it!
We had Brooklyn’s softball banquet on Tuesday night to wrap up a great season!
Wednesday was the day we had all been waiting for, for the last 67 days: Our internet was finally restored, and Thank God!! It has been such a challenge to have only our phones and no computers or TVs to connect us to the outside world. Yes, it was also a nice break from technology, blah, blah, blah, but it was too much!! We are all so happy to be connected again!
This weekend was Ryan’s 2024 trip that he picked and “planned.” We had big plans to travel to the 24hrs of Nürburgring, another endurance race like the 24hrs of Le Mans, which we went to last year. Wanting to avoid sleeping in our car again, we rented a camper van for the trip and looked forward to joining 200k+ other campers over the weekend.
We picked up the van on Friday morning, brought it back home, and loaded it. Then, we picked up the kids directly from school and drove four hours to Nürburg, Germany.
Once in Nürburg, it took us another two hours to secure a camping spot in the field, set up, and head to the race track.
Once we were finally there, we were able to catch some of the qualifying rounds and grab dinner.
When that was over, we did some shopping in the merch store and then headed over to the paddock, where we could walk the actual track, meet the drivers, and see the cars.
We got soooo much swag from the teams that were there; hats, bags, flags, posters, and signed photos.
Ryan was even able to do a racing simulator and we all spun a wheel for prizes in which by luck, all of us won the prizes we wished for: A beer for me, currywurst for Matt, popcorn for Ryan, and frozen yogurt for Brooklyn.
While we were there, we noticed that everyone was wearing muddy boots! It’s been so rainy, and all the camping fields were mud pits. All the streets and sidewalks were covered in mud.
When we had our fill of the race track, it was time to make the 40 minute trek back to the field where we had set up camp.
Once we got there we were so exhausted, it was time for bed. I had been expecting the noise of the cars, but what I wasn’t expecting was the non-stop party all night, loud music, and fireworks; it was quite the atmosphere! 😂 It was SO LOUD but we were so tired, we were all able to get some really good sleep.
The next morning, we got up, had a slow breakfast, and hiked back to the race track. It was pretty cold, about 55F, and overcast, but the forecast was promising sun and warmer afternoon temperatures. The race did not start until 4 pm, but we arrived around noon and could still secure front-row seats at Kurve 1, just after the starting line. We took turns grabbing food, watching more practice runs, and waiting for the race to begin.
At around 3:30, all the cars took formation on the track. The national anthem was quickly played (no singing), and then the cars took off in a formation lap. It definitely was not the show Le Mans put on with LeBron James officiating and multiple aerial fly-pasts. Very German in nature, it was quick and efficient.
After the race started, we watched for a couple of hours until Ryan said he was ready to walk back to the paddock. He had dreams of securing a used tire from the pit lane. We did not have high hopes but reminded him just in case that he would have to carry the thirty pound tire for almost four kilometers back to the campsite. Wouldn’t you know, Ryan knew right where to go, spoke to the mechanics in German, and secured himself a tire. They even put a Nürburgring stencil on it.
We were all sure there would be some complaining and an ask for help on the way back. Towards the end, we could really tell Ryan was struggling to carry the weight, but he never asked. He proudly brought the tire back into the campsite and got many congratulations from the campers around us. We were really proud of him too!
We decided to take a nap while we were back at the campsite and woke up around 9 pm. We had intended to go back to the track to watch some of the night racing, but just as we were about to leave, the race was paused with a red flag due to fog. After a little while, it was announced that the race would not start again until 9 am the following morning. Thank goodness we had not made the 40-minute trek back to the race track.
We woke up at nine the following day and could hear the cars doing another formation lap. This was short-lived, though, as the fog had worsened overnight. We made breakfast and started to pack things up while we waited for more updates. Every 30 minutes, the race officials would post more news, which were all delays for more news in another 30 minutes. The fog just kept getting worse and worse.
At this point, most of our phones were dead so we passed the time playing Phase 10 and waiting for updates from the iPad.
At around 1pm, they announced that cars would do five more formation laps under caution to bring the race up to the required number of laps. They were previously at 55, but needed 60 for the race to be considered complete. They promised though that the race might start again if visibility was ok.
We quickly finished packing up and then drove the camper up to the racetrack to try and find closer parking. Unfortunately, none was open so Matt dropped Ryan and I at the grandstands and we ran in.
We watched the remaining laps and then the rest of the remaining race was called off. This is now the shortest 24 Hours of Nürburgring in history, with only 6 of the 24 hours actually being raced. The previous record was 8 in 2021.
Ryan was really disappointed but we reminded him that we still got to be here for all of the racing that did happen, and that he got his tire.
As we were walking back to meet Matt with the van at the curb, we ran into Legend, the Nürburgring’s mascot. I started to take a picture of Ryan, but someone grabbed my phone and told me to jump in. After they took our picture, they told us, “This is going to be a great memory!” and that really lifted our spirits.
We ran back to jump in the van, which Matt was eager to get off the curb and got into the very long line of campers departing the racetrack.
Despite it being such a short race, it was definitely full of great memories. We cannot wait to get to our next race or to camp again!
I have to draw some comparisons against the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I was expecting the two races to be very similar, but they’re actually quite different, and I have to say, I far prefer Le Mans to Nürburgring, although Ryan disagrees.
Le Mans was just so much more of a spectacle. It was full of celebrities, and count on the French to put on a show from start to finish, including a huge opening ceremony with fly-pasts, fireworks show, and drone show. The food is also soooo much better. At the Nürburgring, we only saw bratwurst, schnitzel, and bier; no variety at all. Meanwhile, Le Mans sold bier, but also had a vast selection of wines, spritzes, and champagne. There was also a huge variety of gourmet French food, even a stand dedicated to selling only French cheeses. All of this just added up to a very memorable event.
There were a couple of things I liked better about the Nürburgring. First, the facilities are much nicer. There are so many grandstand seats that we didn’t have to bring chairs, unlike Le Mans, where only 2% of attendees have seats. There was also a huge events center where we could walk around and do a lot of shopping. Lastly, they could fit so many people who wanted to camp, whereas at Le Mans, there’s limited room, and it has to be booked well in advance.
The camping in the van was ok. Unfortunately we had to park on a little bit of an incline, so we all woke up at the foot of our beds each morning. The van was a little cramped due to its weird configuration, but you can’t get over the low cost and convenience of being able to sleep wherever you park. I think its definitely something we’ll plan to do again in the future!
Gilcrests Abroad 