Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, France and Austria …and the Stelvio Pass
Day 1 – Spa, Belgium
First stop in Belgium was to have a Waffle. After that we spent the day at the Grand Prix, where we watched F1 qualifying. A really sad day because a F2 driver died in a horrific accident at Eau Rouge/Raidillon. It certainly reminded us and everyone at the event that this is a dangerous sport.
Day 2 – Spa, Belgium
Grand Prix was not what we hoped for… our driver Max Verstappen crashed on the first lap! We had a great seat in the clubhouse, and we watched Charles Leclerc win his first Grand Prix. A great win for Ferrari and nice not to see Mercedes win again. After the race, we headed to Zandvoort in the Netherlands for our first track day.
Day 3 – Zandvoort and Amsterdam, Netherlands
Zandvoort… home of the Dutch Grand Prix in 2020 and for many years in the past. It has a cool setting next to the North Sea, set in the dunes. 2.7 miles long and 14 turns. We got to meet our instructors and pit crew who would be with us for the next 2 weeks. Sergio, Kostas, and Pascal. And our great cars - Porsche GT3s! I had the yellow one and Max had the white and blue. Great first track… lots of small swiping and sweeping turns for a track it’s size. I did 320 km of driving… a little under 200 miles in full. I did a 2:08 lap and Max did a 2:02 with no clean lap (always passing traffic). We also had over 10 red or yellow flags as there were a lot of accidents. There was a huge amount of traffic all day. I kept my car on track and had no damage. Max on the other hand went off track twice, and the first time did some nice damage to the front. We now own a $7000 Porsche bumper! Afterwards we headed to Amsterdam in the evening.
Day 4 – Amsterdam, Netherlands and Zolder, Belgium
Spent the day in Amsterdam and went to Rijk’s Museum and said hi to the “Nightwatch” by Rembrandt. Then we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which was great as we were able to see so many great paintings in one place. Time for a beer… and off to the Heineken factory and a beer. Max walked around and got a shave in the afternoon. We also visited the Rubber Duck store. Max was tempted but did not bring one home. That night we headed to Zolder.
Day 5 – Zolder, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands
Zolder is an old Belgium Grand Prix track from when Spa-Francorchamps was being renovated to its current configuration. 2.65 miles long and 15 turns. Not too hard but flows fast and we had rain in the afternoon. The problem with this track is that it has sound restrictions of 98db. And our cars put out 100-103dB. On your second warning they kick you off the track. Missing my home track noise limits (Thermal Club is 110dB). Both Max and I got black flagged on our third lap for sound. And Max was done by 10:15, however, not to worry… our race team was on top of it and we had two 718 GTS by 1pm. We broke for lunch at 12pm. Of course, Max was going fast… a time of 1:49 in the GT3, 1:54 in 718 before he got double black flagged and was done for the day at around 2:30. I had an ok time of 1:58 in the GT3 and a great time of 1:55 in the 718 in light rain. The problem with this track was the traffic. Overall another great day. We headed back to Amsterdam to look at a 996 GT3R, a race car from 2000 that had just been totally restored. Looks like a candidate to end up in the Minshull race collection.
Day 6 and 7 – Nürburgring, Germany
We headed to the Nürburgring
The Green Monster… Green Hell… and I don’t mean Fenway park.
Nürburgring Germany…
Max and I did two days of tracking here.
First day was 7 laps on a public day. You can get buses, motor cycles, Beetles, Ferraris and whatever people what to drive. You have cars out there with 100hp to 1200 hp… it is plain crazy. Each lap is 21 km long and took about 13 minutes to complete in a Volkswagen Golf R with 300hp. The first 5 laps were the scariest I have ever been on a track… there are over 100 blind corners and over 900 feet of elevation change… plus it was in the rain! There can be up 1000 cars on the track at one time. We had the lightest day this year with around 40 cars. Over the last 10 years there have been over 1000 accidents on the public days and around 100 deaths.
Day two was a track day for experienced drivers with around 40 cars as well.
I did 17 laps for a two-day total of 500km (over 300 miles).
Instead of being one of the faster drivers like on the first day, I was one of the medium drivers in my 500hp GT3. I did hit one of my goals, which was to break 10 minutes in a lap.
I did three laps in the mid to low 9 mins. To put that in perspective… the record in a road car is a 6:47 in a GT2 RS and a 7:24 in the GT3 that we were in when driven by a professional. I hit 260km on the front straight.
In between the track days we rented an Audi RS6 Avant with 600hp. Not having enough speed for the day, we felt the need for more on our way to Stuttgart... we hit 264kph in our rental.
Happy to report we survived!
Day 8 – Stuttgart, Germany
We slept in until 11am as Max was a little sleep deprived.
After that we headed out to a local breakfast joint that made fantastic banana pfoffers. We then visited the Porsche Museum, and we were like little kids in a candy store. Each was better than the one before (and I had been before) but this time I had my Porsche expert with me. The big exhibit was the 917 50th Anniversary display with the Gulf and Pink Pig cars plus the first 917 made. Eight in total. Then we found the 935 called Moby Dick. Also, one of the best-looking blues in a Porsche I have ever seen… a 964 Turbo. The color was called Amazon Green. I could list about 100 other great cars but I am afraid I would lose most of my friends reading this. Off to the Mercedes Museum. It’s much bigger with more historical information, with tons of cars including our favorites… two 300SLs (one gullwing and one roadster like ours) and a rare SLR coupe. But the show stopper was the 722 SLR racecar and a few other F1 winning cars from the 1930s that are known as the silver arrows.
Day 9 – Luxembourg
We headed to back to Spa by way of Luxembourg and France.
In Luxembourg we had lunch and went to the chocolate house.
Great chocolate and the colors of the candies were unbelievable… Max even tried two pieces.
Day 10 – Spa, Belgium
Our track day at Spa… most would consider it the greatest track in the world with the three best turns: Eau Rouge, Pouhon and Blanchimont. A long and super fun track. 4.3 miles long and 19 turns.
We got to take our RS6 Audi wagon out on the track, where we also found a Defender on track. We did not get to use its 600 hp as we were doing a track walk to see the lines and particularities of the track. I did 48 laps in the GT3, a long hard day. Can’t wait to come back. My goal was to break 3 minutes… almost did it with 3.00.78. Max kicked butt with a 2:49.22. Afterward we embarked on a 6 hour and 30-minute drive to Liechtenstein. We did hit a new land speed road record of 280kph on the Autobahn. Max was happy to leave Germany and its city speed traps as he flew by 3 camera speed traps and was flashed. Needless to say, Max is wanted in three different states in Germany for speeding. The 70% of open areas have no speed limit. Either way Austria was a welcome sight. Wait!!!! The car is rented in my name! Shit, they are looking for me...
Day 11 - Liechtenstein
Took a little tour of Liechtenstein with some friends. Also spotted a Monster Energy Drink Defender. As some of you know, Max runs an Instagram site called “Defender Spotter.” A very pretty country with lots of green and high hills and mountains. Then off to our next track day in Italy.
Day 12 - Tuscany
Our track day at Mugello… 3.2 miles 14 turns. Max did a 2:10 and I did 2:18. Ok times, nothing great. Fun track with a super long straight. After Mugello we ate dinner in Modena and then headed to the Stelvio pass in the Alps… these mountain roads are insane. Over 9000 feet elevation. Highest pass in the eastern alps… between Switzerland and Italy. 48 hairpin turns. We did the first 1/3 at midnight and this was crazy (all blind corners) but we saw no one which was great.
Day 13 - Stelvio Pass
We got up the next morning to finish the remaining 30 hairpin turns.
Once again, great luck… we got up early and had no one on the road with us. We did 2 other mountain passes in our 600hp beast. A little stop-over in the ski resort town of St Moritz. A quick stop after at Perrazzi…one of the greatest shotgun makers in the world… for a factory tour and showroom visit. Then we headed to Florence for pasta and gelato at our favorites: Gargani and Perche No.
Day 14 - Florence
We visited the Baptistry, which is the older building in front of the very famous Duomo. Great tour! We are members of the Baptistry guild. Off to the Pagani factory, great tour where they still make their cars by hand and have a two-year waiting list to buy these 2 million dollar cars. We then headed to San Marino, a country neither of us had been to before. Then up to Imola near Bologna.
Day 15 - Imola
A little over 3 miles… a great old F1 track. It’s the track the great Ayrton Senna passed away on in May of 1994… 25 years ago at the Tamburello Corner. This track is one of my favorites of the trip. Max did a 2:06. I did a wait for it......... 2:05!! I had a lap where everything just came together. J, my instructor, knew it was great before we even looked at the clock! Finally beat the kid.
Off to our last track.
Day 16 - Monza
We mixed things up a little bit here and went with a new company that had a 2019 GT3 for Max and a 488 Ferrari with 700hp for me. 3.6 miles and 11 turns… it is the fastest circuit on the F1 calendar. Max got 270kph in his 500ph GT3 Porsche and I just got to 300kph or 180mph… my fastest I have been on a race track ever. I had my first mishap here… I missed one of my turns and had to take the emergency exit line that the F1 drivers take. Still stayed on track. Just barely!
Day 17 - Fly Home
Summing it all up..we’re alive and in one piece!
10 countries, 7 tracks, 1 Grand Prix, 1 Stelvio Pass, 10,000 km – 6000km driving on road and over 4000km tracking, 7 black flags for noise, Max went off track 5 times! Lee none! One new $7,000 Porsche bumper.
TRIP… PRICELESS!
