Spa Francorchamps tips & tricks
Spa Francorchamps photo tips Probably the most beautiful and spectacular track in Europe, and in my opinion in the world. […]
Nürburgring Nordschleife track guide with photo locations
The Nordschleife turns clockwise and was once known for its many sharp ridges that caused fast-moving, well-suspended race cars to jump off the track in many places. In just two years, engineers drew a 23.8-mile track that could be used in several versions. Between 1925 and 1927, 25,000 people were employed to build the track. It includes a Grand Prix circuit built in 1984 and a much longer Nordschleife circuit built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel region. The Nordschleife is 12 miles (20.8 km) long and has more than 1,000 feet (300 m) of elevation change from lowest to highest point. Jackie Stewart nicknamed the old track “The Green Hell”.
The first motorcycle race on June 18, 1927 was won by Toni Ulmen on an English 350cc Velocette on the new track. Just one day later, Rudolf Caracciola became the first driver to win a car race at the Nürburgring, or the Eifel race as it was called. Originally, the circuit consisted of four configurations: the 28.265 km long total circuit, which in turn consisted of the 22.810 km long Nordschleife and the 7.747 km long Südschleife.
In 1953, the ADAC 1000 km race was introduced at the Nürburgring, an endurance and sports car race that counted toward the World Sports Car Championship for decades. In 1970 the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for touring cars was added. Several touring car series still race on the Nordschleife, using either the simple 20.8 km version with a separate small pit lane, or a combined 24.4 km circuit that uses part of the original modern F1 circuit plus the huge pit facilities. Two racing series (RCN/CHC and VLN) compete for several hours on 15 Saturdays each year. Annual highlight is the Nürburgring 24-hour weekend, usually held in mid-May, with about 220 cars taking part. From small cars with 100 hp to turbo Porsches with 700 hp or factory race cars with 500 hp built by BMW, Opel, Audi and Mercedes-Benz and up to 290,000 spectators.
Brünnchen Nordschleife
Brünnchen is a popular spectator spot and section, consists of two right-handers and a very short straight. The first corner is sharply downhill and the next, after the very short downhill straight, is slightly uphill. This is the part of the track where accidents happen on public days, especially in the blind right-hander. Like almost every corner at the Nürburgring, both right-handers are blind. When the track was rebuilt in 1970 and 1971, the short straight used to have a steep and sudden drop that caused cars to skid, and a bridge that crossed a path; these were removed and smoothed out. It is a large popular viewing area with refreshments and a campground. You can really smell the motorsports here! Fire pits, barbecues and fans cheering on their favorites with a beer in hand are everywhere.
How to get there:
Navigate to Parkplatz Brünnchen. It is a huge parking lot where you have to pay. Once you have paid, you can park in any parking space around the circuit. When you arrive in Brünnchen leave the car, cross the road to the car park and campsite on the other side of the road. You can just walk on this terrain and you will immediately arrive at the circuit.
If you walk to the left across the parking lot to the spot near the trees, you can take overview photos that the cars are coming towards you.
You can also walk straight ahead upon arrival. You then walk to the bend where the cars come towards you at a decent speed. You can pan here, take an overview photo and have plenty of action.
Eschbach Nordschleife
Follow the route to Brünnchen as described above. Walk straight ahead as you arrive at the parking lot. Pass the Brünnchen bend to the right and you keep following this sandy path. You walk directly along the track and after a few hundred meters you arrive at Eschbach.
This is a tricky point in terms of photography, because there are fences all around. There are a few peep holes which you can use, or pan directly through the fences if you are a bit more experienced. If you succeed, you can create photos with a lot of speed and the beautiful wooded area in the background.
Wippermann Nordschleife
To get here you can follow the route to Brünnchen as described above. After you have left the parking lot and crossed the road, walk straight ahead. Pass the bend you are now descending on the right, and you keep following this sandy path. Walk directly along the track, so you can keep track of the race. You clearly notice the difference in height here, because you also have to go up a hill yourself. Once at the top of the hill you can photograph the cars straight from the front as they come out of the corner from Wippermann. However, it is also possible to photograph the cars from the back, which can be quite difficult with the position of the sun.
Hohe Acht Nordschleife
Follow the path to Brunnen and then continue via Eschbach and Wippermann along the path described above. When you get to Wippermann, you will already be looking towards Hohe Acht. Go past Wippermann and follow the trail for about 300 meters until you reach Hohe Acht.
At this point you can take two different pictures. First, the cars coming from the Caracciola carousel at high speed can be photographed in the curve far away from you. This is a nice photo with the typical background you can only find on the Nordschleife.
Also, they are coming towards you as they enter the turn. Chances are that you will get several cars together in the shot, and spectacular shots of cars full on the curbs.
Finally, you can walk a little past the corner to photograph the cars from behind in the same corner. There is a good chance that a wheel will come off the asphalt.
Caracciola-Karussell Nordschleife
The famous banked corner of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. From the parking lot at Brunnchen there is a path along the circuit that leads to Hohe Acht. Follow this path for 20 minutes, you will pass Wipperman, Hedwigs Hohe and arrive at Hohe Acht. Follow the path in the opposite direction of the traffic and walk downhill for 10 minutes. Keep to the left and you will automatically enter the grounds of the Caracciola carousel.
Of course there are high fences everywhere, but it is not too difficult to photograph through them. Sometimes you can use objects in the area. Think trash cans or a trailer you can stand on. I always find it helpful to bring your own stool so you always have something to stand on. Personally, I think it’s better to stand low, so I recommend just standing or even lowering yourself a bit. The photos you can take here are at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the turn. Enough variation in a short distance.
Famous and iconic corner
Although it is one of the slowest corners on the Nordschleife, the Karussell is perhaps the most famous and one of the most iconic – it is one of two mountainous, sloping turns on the circuit. Shortly after the long run up the hill after Bergwerk and through the Klostertal valley, the driver turns right through a long hairpin, past an abandoned section called Steilstrecke, and then up another hill toward the Karrusell. The entrance to the turn is blind, although Juan Manuel Fangio would have advised a young driver to “aim for the highest tree”.
Once the driver reaches the top of the hill, the road becomes sharply curved on one side and flat on the other. This incline goes down instead of up like most inclines on racetracks. The sharp banking has a concrete surface, and there is an asphalt surface at the bottom of the banking for cars to get extra grip through the very rough concrete banking. Cars drop into the concrete banking and hold the car in the turn until the road levels out and the concrete surface becomes asphalt again.
Typically, cars come out of the top of the banking to hit the apex that comes just after the end of the carousel. The combination of a recognizable turn, slow-moving cars, and the change in viewing angle as the cars come around the banking makes this one of the most popular locations on the track for photographers. It is named after German pre-WWII racing driver Rudolf Caracciola, who reportedly made the corner his own by hooking the inside tires into a drainage ditch to help his car “hug” the curve. As more concrete was uncovered and more competitors copied him, the trend took hold.
Bergwerk Nordschleife
Bergwerk has been responsible for a number of serious and sometimes fatal accidents, making it perhaps the most notorious corner on the circuit. The corner does not look very exciting at first glance, but that is exactly what makes it so dangerous. A fast, sharp right-hander that follows a long, fast section with a small left-hander at the top.
This is where Carel Godin de Beaufort crashed to his death, but also where Niki Lauda had his Formula 1 accident in 1976, when his car completely caught fire. Because of this accident, this corner is often called the Lauda Left.
It is an important part of the circuit because of the fast and long descent after Bergwerk towards Kesselchen. This section, along with Breidscheid and the Adenauer Bridge before it, is a series of corners that will make or break your lap time on the Norschleife.
There is a viewing platform for spectators, including photographers. This viewpoint is easy to find and close to the track, but because it is under trees, it tends to be darker than most other viewpoints on the track.
To get here, navigate to Bergwerk. If you’re coming from Adenau on the L10, you’ll see a small parking lot on your right. You can leave your car there and walk down a small road to this point. However, many people turn around later and park their car there because it’s closer.
Ex-Mühle / Breitscheider Brücke Nordschleife
Ex-Mühle is the bridge over the road near Adenau that you have to go under. This part of the route continues to Bergwerk. Navigate to Breidscheid and after the bridge follow the road for a few meters and park your car at the supermarket. You are now in the inner part of the circuit where you will find a staircase next to the bridge. Climb up the stairs to a large viewing area.
This was once the first place I came to the Nurburgring, so I have special memories of it. As soon as you reach the top of the stairs, you can see the track at the same level. Asphalt with the graffiti makes a beautiful backdrop in the wooded area around Adenau.
The cars come at you from Wehrseifen at high speed. Freezing your photo here is therefore not strange, since you will not see this speed back. It is also possible to walk along the track and turn around. You have the opportunity to pan and also to photograph the cars from behind as they cross the bridge. I don’t think the latter is a nice picture with the dirty gray walls out there.
Wehrseifen Nordschleife
Follow the same direction as above with the Ex-Mühle / Breitscheider Brücke guide. Go under the bridge and up the steps to the Breidscheid viewpoint. Then walk up the path along the railroad tracks for a few minutes. Wehrseifen is a hairpin bend before Breidscheid that goes downhill all the time. You can see the cars leaving Kallenhard and making a slight right turn before passing under you.
From the highest point it is possible to see the cars making the right turn. However, this is quite a distance, so you can’t do it with less than 200mm.
It is better to take pictures of the cars passing below you in the hairpin. Angling from the front is one option, but it’s also cool to photograph the moment of steering from above. If you get your camera settings right, you can see the driver’s face, as well as his helmet and gloves on the steering wheel.
Kallenhard Nordschleife
Kallenhard is a fast right-hander where you can do some good panning. There is a small tunnel under the track to get here, but it is also within walking distance from Wehrseifen, which is much easier.
From the above point, continue along the track. Eventually you will come to a fork where you should keep the low point on the right. Pass the fences and bushes. Follow this path for a few hundred meters to get to the bend. You also have the option of panning along the way.
Personally, I would not do this hike on its own, but in combination with the hike from Wehrseifen to Metzgesfeld it is a nice addition.
Metzgesfeld Nordschleife
Metzgesfeld is in a really beautiful area and is the highest point on this route. You can recognize this point by a huge mast that was probably used to relay TV/radio signals.
Where you have been in the forest all along, you now come to an open plain. From the Adenauer Forest, cars will approach you in a slight left turn. There are wide grassy plains next to the road.
So you can take wonderful pictures here with the option to freeze the image. On their way to Kallenhard, the cars make another sharp left turn. You can easily pan the cars from a low vantage point and also capture some of the surroundings to make attractive photos.
If, like me, you don’t want to walk for more than half an hour through the beautiful surroundings and then get lost, it is recommended to take the same way back down from this point.
Adenauer Forst Nordschleife
If you like hiking and nature, you should navigate to Adenauer Forst in Google Maps. It is even easier to go to Kallenbachstraße. You will end up at the Hocheifel Realschule Plus with Fachoberschule where you can easily park your car. First check if the gate next to the school is open, because then you can drive up. When it is closed, you will have to walk the rest of the way.
To the right of the school is a path. Follow it for about 700 meters, always uphill. At some point you will automatically come out at Adenauer Forst.
Hatzenbach Nordschleife
I have read several things about how to get here, but I personally always navigate to the Quiddelbacher Höhe parking lot. This parking lot is small, but you usually have room. You will find this parking lot when you drive under the track.
Leave your car and walk about 400 meters along the track on a dirt road to get to Hatzenbach. It’s a short walk, but well worth it to reach the viewpoint.
This turn is a fast right-left-right combination that is always spectacular. There is plenty of room to take several photos from different vantage points.
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