Finally decided to learn the Nordschleife. Now I really need help!!!

[DND]

I have tried on a number of occasions, with limited success to learn this track and not sure if it was wrong sim, wrong car or just lack of patience on my part but I am starting to pick up confidence.

I need help on a number of things but the two that stick out the most is the two banked curves, do you drive in the bowl or stay on the rim?

 

[Patrick Fournier]

Depends on the car. For road cars, take the carousel; for formula cars that have very little ground clearance, try it but you'll probably have to ride the outside.

 

[Dan Costa]

A bit of both. Follow the ideal racing line, which means you will only enter the banked section after it already begun, and in the case of the second banked corner, you will leave it a bit before it actually finishes.


I would sure love a game that allowed the track to be spitted in 2 sections to better practice the second half. Its cheating, but hey, its a game.

 

[RasmusP]

That's how I learnt the nords with pcars 1. 3 sections, hot lap mode with 3 ghosts. One faster than the other.
Still takes a few weeks but way more efficient!

 

[Eddie Ellis]

I'll second what Patrick said and add that there are 2 places on the Nords that you can't push hard. The carousel is one of them. No mater how fast the car is that I'm driving, I'll drop to second gear there as a bad exit cost more time than rolling the carousel in second. The other is the left hander with the big concrete patch 2 corners before the long straight. The car is very unsettled on the concrete patch and heavy throttle too soon will spin you way out in the grass. I coast through there in 3rd in most cars and will lose half a second to an aggressive guy who gets it right, but I have won 20 races from watching guys spin off there.

 

[dud]

I do not use the banked side even when I lack slicks and wings. If you screw up even a little you fly off spectacularly. If I put myself in immersion mode thinking that this is qualifying to a later race it would be unconvincing.

 

[RasmusP]

Yes, Breidscheid, Karussell and Schwalbenschwanz (with the "Little Karussell) as second turn) aren't really spots to push hard and gain time.

Breidscheid is difficult. You should NEVER go on that concrete patch / kerb! Brake a bit earlier, coast or trailbrake until your car points straight and is stable and then go on the throttle again to focus on the uphill righthander.

Karussel: The difficulty here is to brake until you're settled in the banking. Brake too early and you lose a lot of time, brake too late and you won't make it. If you are not 100% secure on that it's indeed faster to just go around on the outside and focus on the exit!
Regarding the exit though you can go full throttle a lot earlier than you would think and gain a lot of time on the next uphill and full throttle section!

Schwalbenschwanz: brake a little bit early and on the very left for the right hander, then concentrate on a good coasting line for the left hander so your car is very stable when you approach the little karussell. Brake a little, go in the banking and slam down the throttle the moment the camber pushes you around.
In a GT3 you will be jumping off at the exit and gain quite a lot with early throttle.

 

[Case_]

The best guide to Nordschleife I've ever found: