WHAT A LAP! @JoeAchilles1 BMW M3 Touring at 24 Hours of Nürburgring! | Ep 89 | Drive Torque Podcast
Drive Torque Podcast
WHAT A LAP! @JoeAchilles1 BMW M3 Touring at 24 Hours of Nürburgring! | Ep 89 | Drive Torque Podcast
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Topic
Nurburgring
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany. It’s famous for being tough, which is why it’s such a big deal for endurance races.
Topic
24 hour race
A 24-hour race is a race where cars keep going for an entire day. Drivers swap out and teams do pit stops so the car can last the whole time.
Car
Bmw M
The BMW M Coupe (E36) is a sporty two-door BMW made in the E36 generation. It’s a special, limited version meant to be more performance-focused than a regular 3 Series. People talk about it because it’s uncommon and has a strong enthusiast reputation.
Concept
M Corso lap
An M Corso lap is a parade-style lap associated with BMW M events, where cars go around the track for the crowd rather than racing at full competitive pace. It’s used to build atmosphere and let spectators see the cars up close before the race begins.
Car
BMW M3 Touring
The BMW M3 Touring is a fast BMW wagon made by BMW’s performance team (M). It’s the specific car they’re talking about at the Nürburgring before the race starts.
Concept
developed on the track or made for the streets
“Developed on the track or made for the streets” is a development philosophy: use track testing to validate performance and then tune the car for everyday drivability. It’s a way to communicate that the car’s performance isn’t just theoretical—it’s been tested under real driving loads.
Car
BMW E30
The BMW 3 Series is a compact car made by BMW, designed to feel sporty to drive. The E30 is one older version that many people consider a classic. It’s mentioned because it’s an important model in BMW’s history.
Car
M3 Csl
Car
BMW M2 CS
The BMW M2 CS is a sportier version of the BMW M2. The hosts are saying they’ve got one right next to the M3 Touring.
Car
BMW XM
The BMW XM is BMW’s big, powerful SUV. The host isn’t sure about it, but it’s one of the cars they’re looking at.
Car
BMW X5M Competition
The BMW X5M Competition is a high-performance version of the X5 SUV. The host is pointing out a particular one in British Racing Green.
Car
BMW M5 Touring
The BMW M5 Touring is a super-fast BMW wagon. The host is excited because it reminds them of something from their past.
Term
wrong tyres
“Wrong tyres” means the tires fitted to the car don’t match the intended spec for grip, speed rating, or use case. On performance cars, tire choice strongly affects traction, braking, and how confidently the car can be driven.
Car
Volkswagen GTI
The Volkswagen GTI is a sporty version of the Golf hatchback. The host is saying there’s also a Volkswagen event here, including a GTI.
Term
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 energy tires
These are Michelin performance tires called Pilot Sport 5 “energy.” The “energy” part is about using less effort to roll, while still aiming to keep good grip—important when you’re trying to put power down.
Term
four electric motors
Instead of one motor driving the whole car, this setup uses four motors—one per wheel. That means the car can decide how much push each tire gets, which helps it stay grippy and stable.
Term
independently manage the power and torque delivery across all four wheels
The car can control the power to each wheel separately. That helps it use grip more efficiently—so it can accelerate and turn with better control.
Concept
N24
N24 is short for the Nürburgring 24 Hours race. It’s a long endurance event where cars run for a full day on parts of the Nürburgring track.
Concept
Nordschleife
The Nordschleife is the famous long Nürburgring track section. It’s the part that’s known for being twisty and challenging.
Concept
GP circuit
The GP circuit is the main Nürburgring track layout used for many races. For the 24-hour event, the route connects it with the longer Nordschleife section.
Concept
Sabine Schmitz
Sabine Schmitz is a famous German racing driver tied to Nürburgring. The track has a section named after her, and the hosts are pointing out where they’re heading.
Part
central carbon bucket
A “carbon bucket” is a racing-style seat made from carbon fiber, shaped like a bucket to hold the driver firmly during hard cornering. The “central” placement suggests a motorsport-style seating position (often used to reduce movement and improve driver control), and the hosts call it out as a notable feature in the car.
Car
Citroen AMI
The Citroën AMI is a tiny electric car made for city trips. It’s designed to go slowly and be easy to park and drive. Because it’s very light, it can be more likely to tip or get thrown around if you hit something or hit a curb.
Car
Dacia Logan
The Dacia Logan is a low-cost car model. In a race, it’s the kind of car that can struggle if the track has big climbs because it may not have as much power as faster cars.
Term
Döttinger
Döttinger is a well-known fast section of the Nürburgring track. Drivers use it as a landmark because what you do there affects how quickly you can get ready for the next part of the lap.
Term
Audi bridge
The “Audi bridge” is a recognizable landmark on the Nürburgring. People mention it to help everyone picture exactly where the cars are on the lap.
Part
carbon buckets
These are special racing-style seats made with carbon fiber. They’re shaped to hold you in place better than a normal seat, especially when the car is pulling hard in turns.
Term
G-Force
G-force is how hard the car is accelerating or turning compared to normal gravity. In racing, it can get very high, which is why people feel like they’re being pushed into the seat.
Car
BMW M4
The BMW M4 Competition is a high-performance BMW M version of the 4 Series. It’s meant to feel sharper and faster than the regular M4, with more track-oriented tuning.
Car
G-Class Gwagon
The G-Class is a large, boxy SUV made for both comfort and off-road ability. People recognize it easily by its shape, and it’s often mentioned in conversations about standout, iconic cars. The podcast reference to its color is about how recognizable the vehicle is.
Term
Michelin Jumbo
“Michelin Jumbo” sounds like something Michelin-branded at the event. The transcript doesn’t clearly say what it is, so it may be a specific product or just a big display/promo item.
Term
downforce
Downforce is the “pushing down” effect from aerodynamic parts like a rear wing. It helps the tires grip the road better, especially when you’re going fast, but it can also make the car less efficient.
Term
M Performance
“M Performance” is BMW’s performance-focused line—parts and models that are meant to feel sportier. Here, they’re saying some of those parts might look cool but don’t always add real driving improvement.
Term
SP9
SP9 is the race’s name for a top class of cars. In this context, it’s the class that corresponds to GT3-style cars.
Term
open tires
It means the race lets teams use different tire brands. They just have to follow the rules for the right type/spec of tire.
Term
within spec
It means the tires have to meet the race’s technical rules. Different brands can be allowed, but they still must be approved by the rules.
LIVE
Easy now.
Easy now.
Hey guys, and welcome to the Drive Talk podcast powered by Michelin, live from the Devil's
Diner at the Nurburgring.
24 hour race.
The 24 hour race at the Nurburgring.
What's going on today Joe, there seems to be a lot of BMWs parked up, including yours.
Yeah, I just, I decided to do a meet, so these guys just all come over to see me and, no.
It's been fair.
Most of the people here know who you are and have come over and said hello.
I wanted to see your car.
Yeah, which is great, but it is sort of a bit of my captive audience, I guess.
So it's a bit unfair in that sense.
But yeah, we're here because, well, we're here with Michelin UK and I reached out to
my good friend Fabian, who works at BMW M and BMW Motorsport and he very kindly said
that we could bring my new car down because it's a BMW and do the M Corso lap, which is
basically like a parade lap, literally about an hour before the race itself starts.
So we get to see all the crowd, all the atmosphere, everything.
It's wicked, I can't.
Yeah, and so we thought, well, like, why don't we do a podcast episode, literally during
the lap with Patrick as well, who will be in the in the shot a little bit later and in
the M3 Touring.
But before it kicks off because we are leaving in the next 10, 15 minutes, I think we should
have a quick wonder around the car park because there are some really, really special cars
here.
And there's Fabian and there's Frank, there's the main man, BMW M CEO, come over, come over,
Frank.
Well, we'll go.
We can go.
Go to Frank.
Frank.
Hi, Joel.
How's it going, mate?
Good to see you.
Is it nice?
There's the car.
I know that one.
Yeah, it's basically our car because you signed it.
So that's true.
Yeah.
And we saw how it was created, that was really, really cool.
Now it's a used car.
Now it's definitely used, yeah.
Still looks great.
There's graffiti on it as well.
Yeah, yeah, someone under the bonnet, graffiti.
Yeah, I don't remember actually.
Some people, they wrote something.
Terrible behavior.
Terrible.
Sometimes we do that.
Yes.
Yeah, it's all part of M.
Thanks a lot for the invite down here and obviously to Fabian as well.
It's great to be here.
You even organise a sunshine, which is awesome.
And there's some incredible cars.
What are you driving?
I'm driving our prototype M3, the old electric one.
Yeah.
It's, that's a strange feeling because it's still a prototype, but we tend to do that
because we test it on this track.
That's why we always say developed on the track or made for the streets.
But it's so funny to drive the car, you normally just test and only these spy shots exist
and we say, okay, you don't need to copy the spy shots out of the internet.
You can take your own pictures, 200,000 people can now see the car and take pictures that
they want.
That's so cool.
And we also have the six previous generations M3 and each and every one, M3
was an icon.
Yep.
So we plan to do the same with the new one, but we'll see.
In fact, we're standing right in front of potentially the biggest icon of all the E30.
Absolutely stunning.
Out of the icons and the older cars, which one would you or which ones you love the most?
That is my most hated question.
That's like, which is your favorite child, surely?
With the six generations M3, I do have six kids.
And if you ask me which one is your most favorite one, I'd say it depends on the day.
And actually it's the same with the cars because they all are so special.
And right now I love this one because the color and it was the first one and I liked
the design and it's the car it all started out with.
But if you then continue and walk on, you find the M3 CSL and you say, ah, also very
nice and you just continue and the orange one.
The GTS.
So no, I can't pick one.
OK.
You can have them all.
He literally can have them all.
He probably does have them all.
Frank, well, we're not going to take up any more of your time.
I know we're about to head out for the lap, but thanks again on a personal note for the
time you've spent at the factory.
And thanks for coming on the podcast.
It's really good to see you.
It's a pleasure.
Cheers, buddy.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy the day.
Enjoy the day.
Well, there you go.
I wasn't expecting that.
The main man.
It's great.
He's always involved with so many events, especially the racing stuff.
So and he's honestly, I mean, we bumped into him earlier on.
The first thing you said was like, he's the most chilled out guy ever.
And so so open with knowledge and information and yeah, really lovely guy, really lovely
guy.
So come on in, mate.
Which one's your favorite?
Well, I don't know.
It's a really nice lime rock grey M3 Touring just there.
Obviously, yeah.
I mean, yeah, I mean, that one goes without saying.
But I mean, we've got, you know, the velvet blue M2 CS next to me.
About that XM.
That's nice.
I don't know about the XM, but this looks like British Racing Green X5M competition.
Very nice.
We've got an M5 Touring in Fire Red, which obviously brings back a lot of memories.
It's on the wrong tyres though, but we won't mention that.
And then up front, I think we should go and have a look at some of the older stuff because
this is a bit awesome.
And I have to point out, there's obviously a Volkswagen event here as well, GTI, some
very, very special cars, including there's a GTI with a W12 with about 650 horsepower
here, which is probably hidden away somewhere.
Yeah.
I mean, for me, I mean, yeah, 46 CSL and it's immaculate.
Beautiful 36 as well.
Oh, it looks like everyone's getting in the cars.
This is like doing a grid walk.
So the plan, we did think about doing a grid walk at the race, but does this Dutch chap
racing today?
Yeah.
Max.
Max something.
Voice.
Max.
Maximillian.
Yeah.
Max Verstappen.
Yeah.
I think that's his name.
Yeah.
So the N24 has sold out for the first time in its history largely thanks to the fact that
Max Verstappen's in it.
Yep.
But this is the new.
This is the new concept.
Electric M3 concept, which we couldn't get the power figures off Frank, but we assume
that they're pretty high.
And what's interesting is it's on Michelin Pilot Sport 5 energy tires, which is a brand
new tire that we all went to launch of very recently.
And the really interesting thing that Frank was saying is it's got four electric motors,
one for each wheel.
Yes.
And then they independently manage the power and torque delivery across all four wheels,
which is just really cool.
And it's great to see that it's here.
I know they've done that a few times on M-Corpso laps.
They've brought along their prototype cars.
And then we've got the tracking car here.
Obviously, naturally M3 touring.
These are the wheels I really want, but I can't afford.
This dude's going rock climbing all the way around.
Rather you than me, mate.
He's going to capture some cool shots.
But I think as everyone's getting in the cars, we should go and get in my car, get the cameras
set up and our mics switched on and really hope that we enjoy the lap together.
I think it's going to be awesome.
The sun's still out, so it should be good.
Let's do it.
Da, da, da, da.
Max Verstappen.
Have we started?
I think so, yeah.
This is the start of the lap.
Just see if I can bring up the...
Do you need Satnav to go round?
Just follow the car in front, mate.
Yeah, that might be...
You know which way you're going there, don't you?
Yeah, I think I have half a clue.
Yeah, just sort of be handy to have that.
So guys, we're now, for those of you listening, this is definitely one of those episodes where
you need to head over to YouTube and watch it on YouTube.
And while you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button for sure.
Hand tick the notifications bell so you know when we upload podcasts.
Yep.
But every other Friday, all the podcast goes live at 12.
YouTube goes live at 5.
Yeah.
Or 5.30 sometimes, we'll have to get.
Sometimes.
Which time?
Yeah, put it out.
So what have we got?
We've got Joe's old car in front.
Yes.
And then we've got...
Oh, we've got an XM.
We've got two XMs behind us.
They look a bit menacing, don't they?
They look a little bit scary.
What if they outbreak themselves, because that's highly likely in one of them?
Well, luckily they've got fantastic safety features.
Yes.
This is great.
We should be okay.
But do we know how many cars are doing this?
40.
40 BMWs.
Wow.
Yep.
So I think Fabian actually had to pull one of the cars out to get us in there, which
was pretty cool.
And I'm presuming that, like all the other, they come from the heritage fleet or something?
Yes.
Yeah, exactly.
Wow.
Yeah.
Very special.
Yeah, I dread to think how many they've got tucked away in various places, because it's
not like...
Over the years.
I've found that over the years.
There's not one car park that's full of that sort of little breeder car, there's a few
of them.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, there's the museum thing that we went to.
Yeah, exactly.
That showcases a lineage of BMW over the years in age order.
Yeah.
But like you said, yeah, they're the ones you see.
Yeah.
They're not all the hidden ones.
No.
Just like your friend who wrote the book.
Steve Saxey.
Steve Saxey.
Yeah.
They've got Steve.
This is only my third time round the ring.
Is it?
Yeah.
But that time we came and I went out with...
Oh, yeah, sure.
And I went out in the GT3 with that amazing guy that frightened me.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Woo-hoo!
Joe, do you have to pay for your...
Let's pay for your L-Tag.
Let's pay for your the main man.
Nice.
Here we go.
Out onto the Nordschleife.
Yep.
Wow.
It's an old immaculate.
I thought this was a demonstration lap.
All right.
Is that in miles an hour or what?
That was 150 something kilometres.
Yeah, well, miles an hour.
So you've got to tell us all of the different corners.
Yeah.
Okay.
This is your advanced driving license test.
This is it?
Yeah.
So you'll get the same thing.
It's actually quite nice doing it at this pace because you could learn so much at these
speeds.
Yeah.
You get to experience that.
I'll wave at the marshals, yeah.
I guess also, the bit that we're going to do that you wouldn't do if you did a tourist
barb is we do the GP circuit, all right?
Exactly, yes.
Yeah.
Which is...
No, no, I don't...
No, we don't do the GP circuit.
I'm pretty sure we don't.
Oh, what, on this lap?
No, I don't think so.
I don't think we don't.
I'm not...
Let's see.
Let's have a look.
I don't think we've done it in years gone by.
We do it sometimes.
Oh, yeah, some of that.
See, guys.
Someone's had a whoopsie.
Wow.
Those curves are big as well, aren't they?
Yeah.
I wouldn't hit that with my speed, let alone the racing car.
Yeah, no, we're not doing GP.
So for those of you that aren't familiar with the N24, they combine the Nordschleife with
the GP circuit and start, finish straight is right in front of us.
So that's where the race cars would go.
Oh, because they're having a classic race there now.
Oh, wow.
So we can have the race.
Yeah, so it's basically like us, but...
Probably not going as fast.
Yeah, yeah, obviously not.
And now we're sneaking onto the...
So this is the only bit of the circuit on the Nordschleife that isn't used for the 24
hour, and then the cars join just here from the GP circuit, so they come in here.
And now we're going into Sabine Schmitz.
Everyone's just...
Oh, sorry.
I just...
It's okay.
We can cut that out.
I mean, they're not...
They're going quite a bit quicker than the four that we're going to.
Jerry, you didn't expect the central carbon bucket in the back here?
No.
No.
Sorry, Pat.
Well, they are going way faster than I thought we were going to.
So all along the outside of this circuit are the best fans on the Canberra ever.
Oh, it's amazing, yeah.
Yeah.
I'm hoping we can smell some German sausage.
I know that's something.
Excuse me.
You have to say that again.
What a flowing set of bends that is.
Wow.
Look at that.
Look at the crowd.
It's insane.
Oh, they can't see me out of these two.
Do we know the attendance number?
Well, it's sold out this year.
It's sold out for the first time.
I don't know what...
I tried to find out, but I couldn't look out the number.
They might...
I'm sure they'll publish it afterwards, but it's...
I mean, we'll do another podcast, right, where we're going to explore and just see
how busy it is, but...
These are all your subscribers now taking photographs.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
The power of the single story.
Thanks in advance, anybody that does send us a photo or a video.
Look at all this.
Sorry.
Look at the dust.
So here's the thing, right?
So you come in around here, and the bit that I found amazing when we were here last year
is the...
Because of the different classes of cars.
The speed differential between the slowest cars and the fastest cars is unbelievable.
Yep.
And you think you're driving here and it's just so tight and twisty and not that wide
in places.
It's not.
It's quite a narrow...
It's a really narrow circuit.
It's narrow and the faster you go, which is...
The narrowing gets.
The narrowing gets.
Yeah.
Just let a bit of a gap go in front.
Oh, wait.
Then you can go over there and then we'll push on a little bit here.
Make sure there's no one that stops on the other side.
Is this a fast bid?
Yeah.
Me!
That's...
That's...
Two...
One good 15 kph.
Oh, my God.
This is where big accidents happen to here because a car, you get light, lose it, boom.
Also, it's a weird thing and it's hard to...
They've got the names of all the corners.
This is Ahrenberg.
Yep.
It's hard to experience as well when you watch Joe's videos, Misha's videos, anybody that's
ever been around the ring.
The distance between the corners looks a lot further because of the wide angle lens.
Yeah.
But actually, that distance...
When you're coming into there at, I don't know, 250 or something when you're at pace,
it's a pretty short braking zone.
It's not.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
It's not as much space as you may think.
And so now this is Foxhole.
Yeah.
Normally, you'd be flat all the way down here in something like this and someone like Misha
would probably just lift.
He wouldn't even hit the brakes.
He would lift through here.
The car would G out and then you would just have the brakes into here and then tip in.
You used to be able to go up over this kerb, but you can't.
The size of the kerb is huge.
And this is where a lot of accidents happen in the race.
All the things out there go up.
Crazy.
And that's where we were last week.
Crazy German friends.
Yeah, the beers.
That's what I'm saying.
There's the Stanna Stairlift.
The Stanna Stairlift.
So there's a stand there and they've got a Stanna Stairlift on the outside to get to
the top four.
Unreal.
Look at the amount of people camping.
Oh my goodness, mate.
And one of the things we haven't said so, it's really cold today.
What's the outside temperature now?
Yeah, it's 10, but it was 5.
Yeah, it was 5 when we got here.
Wow.
This is...
Into Metzgerfeld.
Is that how we've said that right?
Probably, yeah.
You're asking the wrong person, mate.
The kerbs are...
They're massive, aren't they?
You really can't over-emphasize how big...
They would tip you up if you...
If I came over that kerb in the Ami, even at 28 miles an hour, the thing would flip over.
Like that would cause the car to hit.
If you were to clip them while you're on the limit, if you clipped it, it would just...
It would just fall to the barrier.
This is one of the snows.
Yeah, this is a horrible corner in the wet to here.
Because it kind of tightens up on the exit.
Like that.
And then it opens up down towards Ad now, now.
Just gets faster than...
So then we got Miss, Hit, Miss.
So I think this one is Miss.
And then...
You hit this one.
And then you miss the last one on the exit because it opens up.
Probably got that completely wrong, but something like that.
Yeah, it was Miss.
Hit, Miss.
Yeah, Miss, Hit, Miss.
Yeah, Miss.
And then this is the slowest corner of the circuit.
I really want to wind the...
Well, this is a verse...
I can't say that.
I want to wind the window down and wave at everyone,
but we're not allowed to have the windows right now.
This is really nice.
I mean, again, the elevation is also something you can't see in video games.
You can't appreciate it in this either.
But to explain, you can see other parts of the circuit
because you were dropping downhill now.
And then we're coming back up the other side
and you don't get that perspective unless you're here.
And it's not until, like you said,
it's actually a good idea to try and walk some of the circuit,
even if it's the side,
because that gives you a really big understanding of the elevation.
So this, when I first came to the ring about 12 or 13 years ago,
I remember this section was closed
and I couldn't walk up this bit of tarmac in the wet
because the trees, this gets all slimy
and you couldn't physically walk up here.
I mean, look, the car's struggling to pull out here.
And that's why that corner on a lap record attempt or in a race
is so important, the exit of that corner.
But it's a horrible corner.
Because also out of that corner up here
is a real long stretch as well, isn't it?
Yeah.
So I think this is Nicky Louder.
Louder links.
Yeah.
Into the right hand.
Yeah.
So this is Louder links.
Vurg Vurg.
Yeah.
It's another tricky right-hander with quite a late,
I think it's quite a late apex.
And then up at the hill again.
Then you open it up.
Yeah.
The elevation is nuts.
And then the thing I remember here when we came up
was because it's a big, long climb.
Just go for it.
Yeah.
Which is why if you're in a lower horsepower car,
this is where they really struggle.
Yes.
Yeah.
So that Dacia, what is it?
Dacia.
Oh, the Dacia Logan.
Dacia Logan, yeah.
I don't think it's racing.
Didn't they ban it this year?
Because it was too slow.
No, no, it's in.
It's in.
Oh, no way.
Someone told me of a ban.
There's no, see, there's hardly any crowd down here.
No.
It must be a super hard place to get to.
Because that's another thing with the elevation is,
yeah, you do end up congregating in certain areas for spectators.
There's a load of camper vans over there.
Also, I think you're not allowed unless you've got a media vest,
which is really expensive.
This is Kesselchen.
Kesselchen.
I'll give you a Kesselchen.
And Klosertal.
I'm murdering these names, aren't I?
No, I mean, you're German for the back.
Absolutely murdering them.
Super.
But yeah, this in a bar skull, any car, in fact,
you do usually flat through here.
So you're doing like two, in this, you'd be doing about 250.
And then.
So all the limits are in this?
On the limit.
And then if it was Misha, he'd be on the brakes here,
probably down one gear.
I forget what this is called, but this is like.
Throw it in.
Throw it in.
And he uses all the track.
He goes out.
He goes out onto the grass, which is actually tarmac just there.
There's like a bit of, see the tarmac?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He goes out there.
And then of course we're coming while we're heading quickly towards the carousel.
Just after this.
Wow.
The corner before the carousel, the one coming up here is one that also scares me
because you come over a blind crest and it's a very tight corner.
Yeah.
It really comes back on you.
Like it's not.
You get that wrong, you know about it.
And now we're coming uphill to the carousel.
You do a tad bit of carousel, don't we?
Rid by splitter off.
Are they all going to do it?
Oh, the ex, the air is dropping in.
Let's go.
This is, yeah, a special corner.
Here we go.
How does the suspension come?
This.
Wow.
Power.
Oh my God.
How did she...
Wow.
That is amazing, isn't it?
You can actually go around that every lap, every eight minutes.
You're doing that in your race car.
Every eight minutes.
See, when we came last year, we walked to there.
Did we from that YouTube corner?
Look at that angle.
I mean, you don't get that.
Again, you'll struggle to see that on video,
but the angle coming up there is insane.
There's just, there's nowhere that's flat and normal.
No, no, no.
You see the corners or elevation or both.
And the curbs are just gnarly everywhere.
We've been there a few times.
Yeah, yeah.
At least that's our walk down.
Yeah.
So now we're coming up to Adnan,
no, Adnan now, Bridgen.
This is where the triple height one is there.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
There's our friends.
We'll have to go back this year.
Go see them again.
And now we start the descent again, don't we?
So we've climbed all that way.
You just can't, you can't overemphasize the elevation change right here.
It's insane.
It's just the bump.
As you're going up the elevation, you then hit a bump
and it just shows you why, like, good drivers are so good around the ring.
They make you feel safe.
All right, here we go.
Brunson.
Now, you know what happened last time he went round Brunson, Joe?
So be careful.
Look at that.
Wow, the traffic.
What a phrase.
Yeah, Brunson, otherwise known as YouTube Corner.
All bit wide in the M5.
We've got the right line there.
Really?
Wow.
Oh, my God, that X5 is moving on three wheels.
The way it turned in there.
Well, the guy driving it, is that the car where they said
he'd not driven in this country before?
Oh, yes, essentially.
Other me's driven.
Oh, someone's birthday over there.
It's a happy birthday, banners.
Look at this.
So this is down to the, I mean, look how steep that is.
Wow.
You'd struggle to walk down that hill in the running.
What am I doing?
I don't really know.
And this is the jump of the jump.
I tell you what, this parade lap is not a parade lap.
I'm glad you're driving.
Wow.
I mean, you've driven around here before.
I mean, probably laps have you done.
Probably done 25 laps.
Right.
Over like 10 years or something.
Yes.
I've definitely no, no experienced person.
This is the fast bit normally.
Yeah.
This is like, I've seen me walk through here as well.
Like flat, like completely flat.
Yeah.
Like it's more blind again than it looks in a video.
It's insane.
I mean, you, you've got to take your hat off to the drivers.
It just gives you a whole different perspective of what they do.
And that, and it's daylight and it's dry.
Imagine doing that at night in the middle of the rain.
At night, we'd be upset.
All the campsite.
It's crazy.
Absolutely crazy.
Just waking, just waking anyone up.
Don't have a lie in.
This is Shrubble and Schwanz.
Yes.
Oh, is that how you pronounce it?
So this mini carousel now, we're coming out to,
which, which ejects, like you,
I've had an ejection out the side of this.
You've had a what?
Yeah.
What?
It can really kick you just there.
So it's your first time around the ring.
And I think we've got an M3 touring in,
I think I don't know which blue it is.
I want to say Miami boot,
but it's going to be getting footage of all of us.
Right.
So I'm guessing it's going to slow down just
on the main last right hander
before we head down the
Döttinger.
Döttinger.
Does it still have the Audi bridge?
I hope so.
That's kind of iconic.
That is iconic.
Here we go.
Oh, here we go.
And the Audi bridge as well.
Yes.
There's Daniel at the back of the,
the M3 with the little trunk up,
which is perfect.
Nice.
Look, I mean, look at that.
Imagine you're in a race car.
Absolutely flat.
The sun's coming up.
You're flat.
This is your time to relax,
which is the craziest thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is your time to like,
I don't know, maybe take a drink
or the grazing.
That's 20 kilometers.
Yeah.
And we're not even at the end.
I know.
20 kilometers.
And that's without the GP circuit,
obviously.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, but what an experience.
Well, that was far, far so good,
good driving there, mate.
Can we give him the advanced driving license?
Yeah, you can have one.
Yeah, you can have one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've got to stick on the windshield now.
I'm glad we got to go down.
I forget the name of it,
the fast bit.
We actually, well, about 217 to 18 down there.
Yeah.
Which is cool.
So cool.
It's nice to feel a little bit of speed.
So your car's broken.
It's ring.
Yeah.
Autobahn and ring.
RINGINITY.
RINGINITY.
What a great name.
RINGINITY.
Yeah.
You need to go and get a little stick.
Yeah, we'll go to the petrol station.
Get Frank to write underneath his signature.
Yeah.
RINGINITY.
MWM.
What an...
I mean, if any of you listening or watching,
if you haven't come to the N24,
for me, it's one of the best motor races
on the multiple calendar.
Yeah.
The enthusiasm from the fans.
This and Le Mans on the event.
I think there's...
Especially if you take a walk out
and go through all the kind of fanzones and stuff.
Yeah.
They're a special breed, aren't they?
The fans out there.
I think we'd get away with putting our windows down
for this last year.
Just a wait.
Yes.
RINGINITY.
It's so cool.
Is that...
Oh, I only got his window open.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's only a small bit of feedback on the car.
I think they could improve the central seat
for track driving.
Yeah.
I know it's a touring at all,
but I've had to be grabbing onto your two carbon buckets
and bracing my feet.
It's probably the worst scenario,
because if you had two passenger seats,
you'd be stuck in.
Yeah, but...
Yeah, you definitely got the short straw there.
Oh, it was cool in the back.
Yeah.
I mean, the fact that you can do it in a car like this...
Well, it'd probably give the camo and the viewers
a bit of an idea of the G-Force.
Yeah, because I'm like...
I'm just sitting here like that,
and you're like,
I've got my carbon cod piece bucket seat here.
That's great.
But yeah, so we're back at Devil's Diner now,
which is where we started and...
And it looks like it's open.
I know, yeah.
We can go get a cup of tea.
Go get a coffee or a cup of tea.
Brilliant.
Right, so I guess next, guys,
we've got to get back to our hospitality.
Hospitality?
And lunch.
Oh, we've got hospitality.
Oh, look!
Oh, look at that.
Man-type VIP guests.
So, yes.
We are clearly here as guests of...
Oh, look at the wing on the back of that hat.
Wazing.
Ah, to your cake art.
Oh, pops and bangs as well, isn't it?
It is.
It's an easy-now-spec, that is.
Oh!
Yes, it's so...
That was so pretty in the end.
He was staring at me going, yeah.
Oh, I think what we've got Fabian behind him is sand.
Oh, we have, yeah.
Sand.
In fact, is that camera still on the window?
It is.
It is, yeah.
It's still rolling.
So, it's a sand individual M4 competition with white wheels.
I mean, it's pretty far-fetched.
G-wagon colour.
Yeah, G-wagon colour.
Yeah, yeah.
What a cool thing.
Yeah.
So, yeah, we're obviously here with Michelin,
as you guys know.
Can you not tell?
I mean, you've got Michelin Jumbo.
We are a bit frustrated, aren't we?
You're wearing the hat and the t-shirt.
We've got Bib back here.
He's pretty tired because he's just been around Europe,
done 16 countries, but more about that later.
Oh, launch it.
Oh, launch it, Schmeeg.
We do give ourselves a bad name, don't we, the Brits?
Yeah.
Yeah, I must admit, I don't enjoy turning up
to Nürburgring with British players.
Because it's not, he wasn't driving like an idiot at all,
but it is just...
It is a series, isn't it?
So, again, for those people watching,
you've not been to the ring before,
we're now driving up into the village,
which you can walk really easily,
but there's loads of like bars and stuff.
Yeah.
But the main circuit is up here,
on the piston glass.
Oh, he's...
He misunderstood the...
Well, to be honest, I don't really understand this.
I think it's one-on-one.
They give way, you give way,
they give way, you give way.
So, this is now a podcast for Joe,
the advanced driver,
trying to work out how to go through a chicane.
Yeah.
Yeah, of course, that's the castle,
just to the right and up there.
I think there's a restaurant up there.
There is an amazing Porsche owner up there,
with this garage, the Dream Garage.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Is it a dream garage, like your one?
Oh, it's way better than mine, mate.
He's even got a Porsche tractor in it.
Oh!
So, he's got a couple of old-timers.
He had a GC3 RS and a beer fridge,
and it was wicked.
Wow, so cool.
So, Joe, quick question.
The wing on the back of that M3,
how much downforce do you think that gives?
Probably about
550 grammes,
which is where it weighs.
No, it's literally nothing,
and I think that's what annoys me about
a lot of M Performance products these days,
is just for show.
Is that an M Performance product?
It's an M Performance product.
It's an official product.
No way.
That's a full M Performance car,
apart from the exhaust, thankfully.
Part of the exhaust, yeah.
Oh, yeah, because the exhaust,
that's the weird one in the middle, yeah.
But, yeah, it's a shame
that it doesn't produce any kind of downforce.
Unlike my AC Schnitzel Smitter,
which does produce downforce.
And it's still on the car.
And it's still on the car.
Which is good.
Yeah.
And for the audience,
what did that building on the left used to be?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, so that used to be Apex,
which was obviously,
well, you probably know Misha from,
and Diana.
We did a podcast.
We did podcast there.
Yeah, we did, yeah, yeah.
Tim Morley.
Look at that.
Look at the colour on that.
That's lovely.
Yeah, that is love.
Oh, why is it really nice?
It's like a mint.
Yeah.
Like a metallic mint.
Minty.
See, the other cool thing when you come here
is just walking around
and just seeing all the cars.
Yeah, there's so many cool cars.
Very cool.
And we've got the,
yeah, so piston car houses just to the left.
Yeah.
Down there.
A small road.
That is, again,
an absolute must.
Stat under the half chicken place
that's opposite.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
What's that called?
I don't know.
There was a sign that
in the toilet.
Polo?
No, it was a lunetta.
It could be a lunar or something.
Something.
Anyway, it's very good.
Oh, another NZ tour.
Yes.
I'm on my German number plate.
Oh, yes.
Why does everyone say I might pee?
I don't know.
Oh, yes.
Super.
Super.
Super.
Yeah, you can see it.
The crowds are building.
I've heard there's so many parking places
around here, isn't there?
Last year we are.
You're going to go?
Yeah.
Before that Tesla.
Yeah.
On British plates.
Just don't worry about him.
So there's certainly a lot of pee places
around here.
Yeah, he's already got a tire.
Yeah.
Legend.
Well, unlike, so I think.
They're customized, aren't they?
Rather than.
Rather than corporatized.
Corporatized, yeah.
So you buy them,
rather than rent the service
or pay for the use of your tires
and the service.
Yeah.
For brands like Michelin and stuff.
And that means you don't get four in the million
pounds if you don't get.
Exactly.
That's why people end up stealing them.
Year than hour.
Year than hour.
Year than hour.
But also, it's one of the only open.
I know, yeah.
You like 3D plates, don't you?
The N24 with the GT3 class,
but it's actually called,
what's the actual class called?
SP9.
Yeah.
It's one of the only racers at this level
with open tires, isn't it?
Like you can pick any tire brand.
Oh, really?
As long as they're within spec,
you can run Michelins,
you can run other brands,
and so it's a great place
to showcase that performance.
Don't you think, for me,
motorsport would be better for that
if you had multiple tires in it?
Well, it pushes you to develop your product.
See, we could go and pop it, yeah.
Further, greater.
So we are now coming up
to the main strip, aren't we?
So underneath the tracks,
if you look here on the front camera,
we're going underneath the track.
Yeah, and that's the last bit of the track
that we're talking about,
just before it goes into the GP circuit.
Yes.
So we turn right just there
and the GP's straight ahead.
Tunnel.
Hey.
Don't you ditch me.
Right in front of that police car.
Great idea, eh?
Wow, look at the crowds over there.
What are they hanging around to see?
I don't know.
There's a lot of people.
It's very busy, isn't it?
Yeah.
We also heard that there's a whole section
on the infield just for Max Verstappen fans,
and it's all orange, apparently.
So we're going to have to go check that out.
40,000 fans.
40,000?
In this one, the whole of the Netherlands.
Oh, my God.
So up here on the right-hand side
is the famous sign.
Yes.
Everyone has to park the car in front of.
How much trouble do you think you'd get in
if you tried to park next to it today?
Probably a lot.
It's easy now, RS6.
That's very gangster.
Oh, it was an MTM one as well.
Yeah, it looked a bit punchy.
He's an L.
He's an L.
I've seen it.
Yeah.
The Germans love their American cars over here,
so it's the path.
So on the right-hand side,
that's up into the,
like, retail-y place.
Yeah.
Race-tretto coffees.
Yeah, which is where Mee Shop is.
Oh, he knows you.
This gave us a thumbs-up, yeah.
I hope he doesn't watch the podcast.
We like your car, really.
Sorry.
So here's the Nurburgring sign.
Yes.
The famous Nurburgring sign.
Oh, there's a man taking a picture in his Volvo.
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
Get the photo, Pete.
Yeah.
I was happy to know you were here.
Lucia.
Lucia.
I said it was an L.
Lucia.
He's an L.
We are having parking difficulties,
which is nothing new for the N24,
so we're going to sign off the podcast.
Yeah.
But stay tuned for the next one,
where we will actually take you.
When we actually finally get inside.
Yeah.
At some point.
If we get inside.
There is no other episode
that we've been murdered in the woods.
But Joe, thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
An amazing map, yeah.
Thank you very much.
Yeah.
And thanks to Fabian and Frank and everyone
at BMW for the invite.
It was very cool.
I've spilled water all down.
That's another story.
My steering wheel.
And my steering wheel is everywhere.
Everywhere.
Yeah.
Right.
Refreshing.
See you guys.
You know.
About this episode
The Drive Torque crew sets the scene at the Nürburgring for the 24-hour weekend and explains the BMW M Corso parade lap—“literally about an hour before the race itself starts.” They then grid-walk and talk lineup details, including a lime rock grey M3 Touring, and discuss how the N24 route blends the Nordschleife with the GP circuit. On track, they navigate blind, high-speed corners, talk tire rules and downforce, and marvel at how the M3 Touring’s carbon bucket seats make passengers feel the G-forces.
Original notes
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Drive Torque Podcast
Joe Achilles and Peter Greaves (Petrol Ped)
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33:45