There is just one thing you should not leave home without, it’s a crash helmet. It may not be mandatory on the ring BUT it is extremely important and may save your life.

It also goes without saying that you will need your passport and travel documents, though you do not need to carry these in the car with you.

Breakdown recovery. Make sure it includes Euro cover and that the company does not exclude the Nurburgring and surrounding area. We believe the AA have started to exclude the Nordschleife and surrounding areas, so worth a checking the small print before travelling.

E111 Health insurance card available from: www.ehic.org.uk/

Travel insurance

Towing rings should not be in place, but having them in your car while on track is very wise.

Koln Bonn is the larger of the 2 airports and Easyjet offers flights from Liverpool, East Midlands and London Gatwick, German Wings from London Stansted, Edinburgh and Dublin. Best bet is to check availability with them as some routes do not offer very frequent flights.

Frankfurt Hahn is not too near Frankfurt itself and is a good 50 miles from Adenau. Ryanair offers flights to Hahn from London Stansted, Glasgow Prestwick and Dublin. Check out the Hahn website for flight info and timetables: http://www.hahn-airport.de/

OK, so you've got to the airport and you're going to need some transport to get you to the Ring. At both airports, there are several car hire companies to choose from. It is best to book before you travel, but be warned, if you order a high powered car ready to use on the track, you are likely to end up with a 1.2 Polo!

The hire companies are becoming more and more savvy to the fact that British people are hiring cars from them to take onto the Nordschleife. They are even trawling photo sites in order to see if they've been driven on track. If anything goes wrong, you are likely to be financially penalised as well as banned from hiring cars from them again.

Our recommendation? Hire a car from the airport as basic transport and then hire a proper track car from Rent-Racecar who have various BMWs for you to play with: http://www.rent-racecar.de/

Please read the safety information before you go out onto the Nordschleife which can be found HERE.

Here are the basic rules as set out by the official website:

Yellow flag - Danger spot, no overtaking, pass danger spot slowly.
Yellow and red flag - Danger, oil trace, reduce speed significantly, no overtaking.
Cars and motorbikes have to turn lights on.
Do not overtake safety car if warning light is turned on.
Right-hand driving only, overtaking only on left side.
If possible, store the emergency number of Nordschleife on your mobile phone: 00 49 (0) 26 91 3 02 - 215.
Drivers of crashed or broken down vehicles must always use a hazard warning triangle.
Red traffic light: track is closed. Drive on slowly. Be ready to stop at any moment. Leave track at next exit.
Fasten seat belts. This also refers to back seats.
Bikers have to wear full protective clothes.
Vehicles with short-term number plates are not allowed, e.g. trade plates.
No admittance for vehicles with noise emission exceeding 95 dB(A).
Pay attention to fluid leaks. In case of leaks, pull off the road immediately. Warn following drivers.
Track is subject to local Road Traffic and Licensing Acts

On a more general level, it’s worth remembering that the Nurburgring is like no track you will have driven before. The probability is that you will be overtaken by a local taking a short cut home from work in his Focus estate, even if you are in your new GT3 RS. You will spend more of your time looking in your mirrors and worrying about what’s behind than watching the road ahead. That’s perfectly normal. With regard to traffic behind you etiquette is simple. There’s a reason its behind you, it’s quicker than you. Move to the right, let off the accelerator, indicate right and let him past. Do not let your 400bhp get the better of you on the next straight, if you re-pass him he will be hassling you again on the next bend and will not thank you for slowing him down. The best laps are the ones where you make good progress and manage to allow traffic past without slowing it down.

If you follow these simple rules, you will be safe and able to enjoy nice laps of the best circuit in the world bar none.

There are now several ways you can buy a ticket:

Ticket Booth. At the Nordschleife entrance, in the right hand car park (as you come in), is a ticket booth. You can pay at the counter with debit/credit cards or there is a ticket machine outside. Here is a photo of what you are looking for:

Petrol Station. You can also buy tickets from the ED Tankstelle petrol station near to the Ring which is very easy to find. When exiting the Nordschleife, turn right at the small roundabout and follow the road to a T junction. Turn right here and you will go under the track and find another T junction. Turn right again here and you will see the petrol station on the left hand side of the road.

There is also a gift shop and small snack bar here.

Online. You can now buy tickets for the touristenfahrten online at the official site HERE. It is in German!

There is nothing in the official Nordschliefe rules about the car park, but it is not large and can become extremely congested. This can cause frustrations. Follow these simple suggested rules and things will be fine:

1. If you are lapping then park in the main car park, if you are wandering round taking in the sights park the other side of the roundabout in the huge overspill car park. This should include bike trailers and vans.

Obviously, petrol is something which you are going to need and quite usually, quite alot of it. There are 2 main petrol stations within easy reach of the exits:

Directions are as follows: When exiting the Nordschleife, turn right at the small roundabout and follow the road to a T junction. Turn right here and you will go under the track and find another T junction. Turn right again here and you will see the petrol station on the left hand side of the road.

The ARAL petrol station is in Breidscheid, very close to the bridge. Best way to get to it is to exit the track at the Breidscheid exit (remember you will lose a lap if you've not got a Jahreskart), turn right at the road, go under the bridge and the station is directly on your right after the Mazda garage.

Both stations take plastic and can supply you with the equivalent to super unleaded - 98 RON. They also sell beer!

Another important commodity for while you're at the Nordschleife is cash. Most restaurants do now take plastic, but it's best to have some cash for drinks and emergencies. It will depend on where you are staying as to which cash point is most convenient, but listed below are the main three which have previously been used by Northloopers:

There is a cash point at the main circuit near the entrance to the museum and karting. Directions from the Nordschleife exit: turn right at the roundabout and follow the road through Nurburg. When you get to the T junction with the 258, take a right and you will see the main GP circuit stands on your right hand side. Follow signs for Erlebnis-Welt which is the museum. There is no parking right by the cash point, but you can park in one of the main car parks and walk a few metres to the cash point.

The cash point in Adenau is right in the centre of the town - look out for signs for the Kreissparkasse. You can park for free near the Hotel Wildes Schwein (big pink building, you shouldn't be able to miss it!) which is on your right as you come into the main part of the town centre. There is also a pay and display car park behind the Fabry department store which is on the left past the big pink hotel. As this is a main bank, you can change currency here too and they speak some English!

There is a cash point in the village of Müllenbach which is not far from the camp site. Directions from the camp site are as follows: exit the camp site and take a right. After a mile, you will get to a major left hand turn signposted for Müllenbach. Take this and then almost immediately, you will come to a T junction. Go left again and the cash point is next to a bar/restaurant on your right hand side. Sometimes the screen is behind a perspex guard. This doesn't mean it is out of order. Put your card in and the guard will lift.