360 Nürburgring — The Official Guide book review

Everyone wants to drive the ’Ring – it’s implicit in the membership badge of the Petrolhead Club.

We also all know that it’s almost impossible to learn all of it, unless you’re a top-level racer with unfettered access, but this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated guide should reduce your chances of demolishing your hire car against the Armco within the first lap.

Compiled by a racing instructor and a photographer-cum-publisher, this hefty production combines the back story of the fabled track, including historical nuggets such as where to find the foundation stone, with much practical information such as how to find it, how to get on the track and how to choose some training. There’s also a section on “What to do if something goes wrong” including the circuit emergency number, as well as other ways to experience the ’Ring – the surrounding mountain bike trails are very popular – and where to find food, since both authors know the area intimately.

Such basic practicalities sit a little oddly within such an attractive book: some of the photography is stunning and the reproduction is terrific, so you can happily sit down and read tales of the past while revelling in the pictures of this beautiful area. One section is about the Eiffel region that surrounds the famous circuit, so in some ways this feels more like a tourist guidebook than anything else.

However, I haven’t yet mentioned the core of the book – highly detailed, well-informed descriptions of what to expect corner by corner and how to tackle it. Roy Hastings is a race instructor and has much experience of the circuit, so his knowledge is calculated to a) keep you safe and b) bring your lap times down, whether you’re just having a special day out or preparing for your next race. This is linked with indicators on multiple overhead photos, so you read “After the exit we need to run out towards the left side of the track. Up ahead on the left we can see the 2km sign (3B)” and so on. All of it a genuine benefit if you’re driving, although you can’t exactly carry this book with you for a co-driver to read out, so how much you might commit to memory is doubtful.

An odd mix then – like taking your vitamins in the middle of a lovely cake. GC

360 Nürburgring – The Official Guide Frank Berben-Groesfjeld & Roy Hastings 360 Roadbooks, £55

November 2022 book reviews in brief

Inside the machine
David Twohig

Gordon Murray drives an Alpine A110. That tells you something. This book gives you much more – how the Alpine came to be, told from the inside by the man who led the project. A Nissan/Renault mainstay all his career, what he has to say, even though much of it concerns production cars, reveals a lot about
the effort and ingenuity it takes to bring us the cars we actually drive, from the banal to the blistering. Even the Zoe section is informative, but
it’s the A110 part that grips, including the Caterham/Alpine rift. GC
Veloce Publishing, £19.99
ISBN 9781787117686

Trans-Africa Land Rover
Martin Port

No racing at all here, just car against elements. An engaging tale of one man’s 1960 Land Rover drive from Cape Town to London through the Sahara. Philip Kohler’s own atmospheric shots illuminate the book, along with all his paperwork, found by the car’s current owner Martin Port. A fun diversion. GC
Porter Press International, £30
ISBN 9781913089290

Mario Andretti
Bernard Asset

French photographer Bernard Asset has been involved with racing for an aeon – his first F1 press accreditation was for the British GP in 1973. This is the third instalment in the By Bernard Asset series (following Michael Schumacher and Jacques Laffite), with 144 pages of Andretti images from 1977 onwards – close ups in cars, on track and by the trophy cabinet. Alongside are tributes by drivers, crew and fellow snappers. Colin Chapman’s son Clive recalls: “At Watkins Glen 1968, for his first grand prix, Mario said, ‘Let me know when you want me to put her on pole, Colin.’ Which he duly did. My father loved that.” Limited to 1000 copies; pre-order for December delivery. LG
Red Runner, £105