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Nurburgring with 19 year old, help!

Hi, my 19 year old brother wants to drive the ring for the first time. I'm having difficulty finding a company that will insure a driver under 25. We have to rent a car from the actual Nurburgring website because of his age, and in the rental agreement, it says we are responsible for all damages to the car (up to 35,000 euro!), which is terrifying to me.

My questions are:
Has anyone encountered this issue? Were you able to find an insurance company/who did you use?
Does his regular American car insurance cover him at all?
Also, for the car enthusiasts on here, he is choosing the Ford Focus RS, and I'm trying to convince him to do the Ford Fiesta ST due to price and safety. Is it insane to let a 19 year old drive such a car? Thanks for the help!

Posted by
33875 posts

(objectively) how good a driver is he?

Will he pootle around or will he try to find the limit?

Does he race cars now? I have seen 14 and 15 year old drivers racing in Ginetta Juniors who I'd happily ride with around the Nordschleife. I've seen 50 year olds driving BTCC cars I'd never want to ride with.

US insurance will do nothing unless he has an exceptional policy.

If he got injured or worse how would you deal with it? People do get hurt there every year, many people also don't.

Posted by
105 posts

Hello. I drove the Ring in ‘05, so I’ll tell about my experience. First, insurance will be tough. A 19 year old driving on the Ring would be tough to insure. I am 70, and my local State Farm would not insure me driving my 230 hp car on a track day in Virginia. I did get a one day insurance from a company that does track day running - about $150. But that was here in the States. Second, unless your brother is a ‘driver’, in that he knows his limitations and his car’s limits, the Focus may prove too much to handle. I drove a 2006 BMW 325, with 215 hp, and no, it wasn’t a rocket by any means, but I had a blast. For prep I ‘drove’ several hundred laps on my Playstation. This got me familiar with this 70 turn 12 mile track. You have to know what’s over the next blind crest, what turns are off camber, where to drive in the rain. And know the passing rules. When that 911 RSR comes up fast behind you, he will flash his headlights, you respond by putting on right blinker, he blinks his left, then he goes by, always on the left. Yes, they will charge you thousands if you hit the railing, so don’t go off the track. Soooo, do it for the experience, but don’t get in over your head. Red Slater

Posted by
8293 posts

Most 19 year olds want to do things that are forbidden. Most learn to be patient and become decent adults.

Posted by
813 posts

Two years ago I finally had a chance to drive two laps on the Nurburgring, or as Jackie Stewart calls it, “The Green Hell”. I did it on a dampish drizzly day and it was, as Jackie said it would be ... a great and humbling experience. I only saw two cars off in the willy-wags in my two laps, there is an ample amount of dumb out there. The problem is that the course is long, has more turns and grade changes than you can quickly learn. The problem with simulators is that they don’t give you about the chacterisics of the car you are driving. Is the breakaway abrupt or is there warning? Does it go out oversteering or understeering? What happens when you hit the brakes while cornering? These are all important questions you never want to find the answer to, and that takes judgement. A simulator may help you learn where the turns are but it will not tell you when a stalled car is just around the blind turn or if someone has had a minor off road and tracked a load of pea gravel onto the pavement right at the apex of the turn. I spent the first 20+ years of my automotive career as a ride and handling development engineer. I started out young and stupid about vehicle handling but the guys I worked with, bless their souls, quickly fixed stupid. I learned performance diving on a closed handling course, not a stupid skid pad with paint stripes on it. So what is your brother’s background and driving experience .. some 19 year-olds have had the opportunity to gain the requisite experience, most have not and you need to figure out where he falls.

If your brother wants to experience good fast lap around the ring, the best way to do it is in a ‘taxi’. They have some well prepared BMW Sudan’s driven by guys who have done hundreds of laps and can safely give you a really quick ride and while not cheap, for less than the cost of renting one of their cars.

Actually you either own the car you are driving or you have to rent one of theirs regardless of age because of liability. Insurance is a policy specific issue best handled beteeen you and your insurance agent. I would go with the lower performance level car since the limit handling will probably be more predictable although we both hope your brother will never find out. It helps that there are no timed laps on general public days since each lap begins and ends going through a toll gate on an exit or entrance lane, at the price of a lap, they don’t let you out there on the honor system counting your laps. Hope it goes well, it is a neat place.