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June. I had to miss out on the Newark Show as it clashed with the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone. Ah well, you can't have everything eh? Spent the month (car wise) making sure all was OK and just enjoying some decent weather for a change.

July. The Nurburgring! I was ready and so was the car. I travelled down to Hemel Hempstead for the first leg of many for this trip and stayed at Stephen's. An early start the next morning to collect Hugh before we set off for Dover. There we met up with Ian & Carol and before too long, John & Andrew turned up in an immaculate NG. The merry band was complete. Seven of us in five cars -- Three Hoods, the NG and a Range Rover! The sun was shining and the Norfolk Line ferry crossing was calm. Shortly after, we drove out into the French countryside, stopping briefly near Vimy Ridge at the huge portal to the Cabaret Rouge Cemetery where over 7600 British soldiers lie buried from the Great War.

Following a pleasant night's wining and dining near our first hotel at Charleville-Mezieres we drove off into the forests of the Ardenne. By Bastogne we were becoming accustomed to everyone smiling and waving as our convoy passed by. The Europeans simply love our cars. We visited the massive Mardasson Hill memorial to the Battle of the Bulge, and pushed on through Belgium and into Luxembourg. We encountered a short shower as we entered Germany at Dasbourg Bridge. That afternoon we arrived at Hotel Wilhelmshone in the Eifel Mountains, where we were warmly greeted by Jacqueline Miller, the owner and lined up for a group photo.
Though tired, I for one, couldn't wait to get to the Nordschleife (some call it 'The Ring') to check the place out and possibly get in a lap or two. As we pulled into the track side marshalling area though, we heard an ambulance rush out. Unfortunately, a Porsche and a BMW had just had a coming together moment and the wreckage was spread over 3 corners. Then it started raining and so the marshals closed the track for the rest of the day to clear things up. Shortly after, a friend of one of the drivers was in the ticket booth handing over documentation for copying, and it was safe to assume a hefty bill from the Authorities would be handed out to the culprit.

The following day saw a trip for some of us to Trier. This was after we'd taken a trip to The Ring in order to check out what was happening. It was an Autocar Track Day and they were having a ball! Just look at all the exotica re-fuelling at the (virtually) track-side garage.

In the evening we returned to the Nordschleife in perfect weather. We bought our tickets, passed under the control barrier, and we were off! The brisk 20km run through the steep hills and blind summits was a memory for life. At the 9km mark there was a brief glance of spectators from the Cafe Bistro waving as we went by with the sound from our exhaust pipes reverberating from the adjacent wooded forests. Around the 13km mark we entered the famous Carousel -- Yeeehaaa! At the 16km mark we rushed downhill to the two hard right handers, vaguely aware of people sitting on the adjacent grass banking waving, before blasting uphill again. By now we were hooked and knew why everyone loved the circuit. Just after the 18km there is another tricky section of curves before entering the home straight, where each of us let rip as we raced for the finish. All too soon we were back in the car-park, with all 174 corners (opinions vary) behind us -- Oh and with the biggest smiles possible. Time for a breather and then off again!

The next day was pretty damp. Some went for drive to Eltz Castle hidden in the Mosel Valley, others visited the pretty town of Cocheim. That evening, we all ventured out for some more laps of 'The Ring'. The Nordschleife has its very own micro-climate. Whilst it was dry when we set off, the track just got wetter and wetter. Now wet roads are one thing and I'd read up about the conditions, but a wet Nordschleife covered with a fine layer of oil & rubber mix, believe me is simply treacherous. Despite seemingly being at an absolute tip-toe pace..... Anyway, in order to protect my pride, I'll say no more than I did have a few 'notquitegoinginthedirectionIwantedto' moments. I count myself a lucky bunny. Two more laps unscathed then and we were done. We enjoyed a great meal in a pretty restaurant at Schonbach, and opened a bottle of bubbly to celebrate -- Much fun had by all.

The following day we headed back through the beautiful Eifel, all adorned with our Nordschleife stickers proudly on display. The journey home was great again -- Very few motorways for us on this trip. We stopped for the night at Louvroil. We got chatting to a photographer for the local paper during the evening and before we knew it, a few locals had turned out to wave us off the next morning, including the local press and Town Mayor!

At Eperlecques we visited The Blockhouse, where V1 and V2 rockets were launched against London & Belgium. On the final day of our trip, we visited the beaches at Dunquerque and stood on what little remains of the paddle steamer 'Devonia', deliberately beached during Operation Dynamo, before returning to the port for embarkation on our ferry home.

We said our goodbyes as the ferry berthed at Dover, all agreeing that it had been a great journey in super company. I'd have liked to have been able to show more pictures of my laps but in-car photography is strictly verboten at The Ring I'm afraid. Anyway, Many Thanks to Stephen, Hugh, Ian & Carol, John (especially for some of his words, that I've borrowed - [see below] for this article) & Andrew for a fantastic week. All in, I did 1642 miles. My longest trip to date and the car was faultless.

Later in July, I tagged along with a bunch of the North-East Hoodies to the Croft circuit. There was a Performance car Show on and the track (albeit not all of it) had been booked for us. After the briefing session we headed out for a pretty frantic 15 mins of track action. Good fun. I couldn't help but notice though when we'd left the circuit, that my tyres were hardly warm at all. I'm sure I'd been pushing along pretty quickly? Mmmm, I really think some softer tyres may be in order. Thanks for letting me gatecrash this event Guys, by the way.

August. Nothing really to report. Again just enjoying the summer and the pretty much care-free motoring at the moment. That said, there's always something to tinker with. The car's running really well and I've clocked up around 17,000 miles by the end of the month. Not bad for a 19 year old Pinto engine eh?

Steve...