It was time to take the R8 on the Nurburgring. After driving almost 3,500 laps over the last 20 years with almost all being FWD I knew this was going to be a learning experience. Not because I don`t know where it goes but because my muscle memory allows me to take corners and get on the power without conscious thought. I can drive the Golf at 7:3x btg pace whilst having a conversation with my passenger, driving the car was so natural it didn’t require all my concentration.
It was a glorious day and just what I wanted, rain this morning would not have been ideal.
I bought the R8 for the challenge, I wanted to have to relearn the Ring. Understand how a mid engined car feels and improve over time. I don’t expect to be up to speed straight away, that’s not what this is about. I wasn’t nervous driving on track, I was excited with that tiny bit of nervous excitement/anxiety before the first lap of the day. I’ve spoken to friends about this, some look at me not knowing what I’m talking about, others get exactly the same feeling before the first lap of the day.
I had to take Matt with me for the lap, he’s had more passenger laps with me than anyone, having him in the car with me for the 1st lap was something I wanted to share with him and the fact he misses nothing meant his feedback and comments on the lap would be very useful.
We chatted a little bit during the lap but this was about getting round in one piece and just enjoying it. We both felt the rear move at 4:53 as I take the 3 lefts after Bergwerk. Matt thought I changed gear just as we hit the bump and I added a tiny bit of steering whilst doing so.
Back in the carpark and I was chatting with Misha about the lap and how the rear moved up Kesselchen. ‘Nige, all cars move there, it’s only Aero cars that don’t. You’ve been so used to the Golf being flat through there, you’ve forgotten about the bump that other cars feel every lap !’ Well I don’t care what caused it, I don’t like it 
What I did like was the immediacy of the throttle, I know, it’s a modern normally aspirated car so instant throttle response is to be expected, but as I mentioned already, I’m so used to driving the Golf which whilst being responsive did have a small amount of lag, I was used to getting on the throttle that fraction earlier in anticipation of the pause before feeling the power. I also hit the rev limiter several times, mostly on corner exit when I wasn’t sure what gear was ideal, it’s completely different to the Golf and learning what gear is needed for each corner is an extra challenge, even though it’s quite a minor one.
I then took Cat out for a lap, suffice to say she enjoyed it. The exhaust is a bit quiet, but that’s fine, there is no danger of tripping the noise meters and I have a plan to address that.
The rest of the morning was spent taking people out and getting used to the car
Then Emerson arrived. We’d agreed when fitting the Ohlins that I should spend the morning getting comfortable with the car and then he’d jump in and take a note of what the car was doing and with my feedback tweak the dampers to suit. Before I took him out he asked my thoughts so far. ‘The front end isn’t quite as responsive as I wanted and it’s understeering’
“what phase of the corner is the understeer ?’
‘huh 
‘
“Is it corner entry, mid corner or corner exit?”
‘oh, I don’t know, I haven’t paid THAT much attention, it was just understeering. 
He jumped in the passenger seat and watched what I was doing. My throttle inputs, steering, brakes, how I entered and exited the corner and how I dealt with bumps. He had feedback immediately, one particular one was “Nige, stop making micro adjustments mid corner, I know you are holding the wheel very lightly which is good, but you need to hold it a little bit firmer so the suspension can deal with the bumps rather than changing the steering angle all the time” He’s right, I do hold the wheel lightly and let it move around, holding it a little bit firmer will take some getting used to. I also paid attention to the understeer and realised it was initial corner entry, mid corner but once on the power there was none.
Back in the carpark and he shared his thoughts. “The mid corner understeer you’re feeling can be fixed. That’s easy”
Emerson made a small damper tweak and adjusted the rake by one turn on the spring platforms. Heading back out, the difference was astonishing. Mid-corner understeer was nearly gone. I asked him how many clicks he’d changed. “Just one.”
This is what you get with proper dampers—small changes that make a clear, repeatable difference.
One of the things Emerson spent a lot of time doing between laps was measuring tyre tread temperature, with a probe to measure the rubber temp rather than a surface temp from an IR gun. The temperature across the tread had around 10 degree variation from coldest to hot. Tyre wear was a bit higher than we wanted on the outside edge and further geo changes will be made to address that.
He then said, “Remember how we said you’d start with toe-in at the front and move to toe-out once you got comfortable after a few trackdays? We need toe-out today.” I hadn’t expected to be pushing on so soon, but here I was, already driving hard. Sure, my years in FWD cars meant my lines, entry speeds, and throttle control were all wrong, but the confidence-inspiring setup meant I was already pushing more than expected and that understeer we’d built in with the geo was frustrating me. There was nothing I could do until the end of the day, so I lived with it and carried on lapping.
Not quite Golf levels of Air, but for my first day on track with it, I’m happy, all 4 wheels off but the landing was smooth, it didn’t unsettle the car at all on landing.
Driving to the petrol station to fill up is something I haven’t don’t for a decade ! It was strange driving out of the carpark, down the road and filling up.
After all these years of driving the Golf, sometimes trouble free, other times with issues, it was enjoyable to just drive without a single worry about the car. I just expected it to work, never even thought it would have a problem. Sure, the tyres felt a bit hot on the 2nd lap, but a short break after each lap meant I could swap passengers and let them cool for a few moments.
I’m getting old. How do I know ? When people were asking how the R8 was going, one of the first things I replied was ‘the aircon is amazing, it’s ice cold !’
Neil followed for a lap in his Cayman GT4RS with Matt in the passenger seat. With the Golf, it was a small challenge for him to keep up, with the R8 it was easy, he just sat on my bumper the entire lap.
He sat in after to lap to see what it’s like, but we both agreed I’ll get the geo adjusted so I’m happy before he takes it for a lap
Matt jumped in for a couple of laps and commented how different it was mid corner, I explained Emersons damper tweak and ride height change had made a huge difference
I checked the oil level a few times, but it only dropped a few mm all day. I topped up with 100ml at the end of the day. What I did find was how hot the engine bay was everytime I opened the boot, the heat hit you in the face. The R8 doesn’t have a fan in the engine bay, the only ones are on the radiators at the front of the car (I added a fan over the winter of 24/25). One of the visible results of this huge temperature was the vinyl on the R8 badge melted !
Lou was enjoying the lovely weather whilst checking wrist bands, with help from Cat and Andy
The downside to doing so many laps was needing more fuel, but I’ll take that !
Finished the day having completed 20 laps with tyre temp and damper adjustments the only changes to the car. Adding fuel when necessary and just driving it.
Rich and Ringtoys had a spare ramp so I drove across to adjust the front toe. Emerson was busy setting up another car and didn’t have space for me to work on it.
I’ve setup the Golf for years using string alignment so was quite happy using Rich’s. I went from toe in to 1mm toe out per side.
Friday morning wasn’t what I wanted. It was wet and still raining.
I switched to the PS4S (black wheels), I run PS4 on the Golf in the wet and for a road tyre they are pretty good. If nothing else, it was going to be a day to drive slower and feel what the car was doing.
Frustratingly, the 4WD system was inconsistent. I already expected this but yesterday was difficult to tell as I was still getting used to the car. You’d turn into a corner and one lap it would send some torque to the front axle and tuck the nose in nicely, then the next lap it wouldn’t and you’d wash out. I don’t really care if it’s 2wd or 4wd, so long as it is consistent. Being different every lap just makes you start second guessing yourself. Do I turn in a little bit sharper, then have to wind off the lock if the diff pulls the front it ?
This is a known thing with this 4wd setup, it’s 100% mechanical and not something you can adjust. The Gen2 R8 has an electronic torque system and it makes the 4WD more usable.
I wasn’t able to feel the geo difference in the wet, the lines are completely different and it was all about not crashing 
The lack of rear wings makes a massive difference to the spray behind the car.
I was still taking people out, there were less cars on track but that just meant you could just enjoy back to back laps by yourself
Then, the yellow flags came out quickly followed by the Reds. Yellows are common, they are used whilst cars are being recovered to allow cars to continue lapping. A red flag only shown when there is a big issue. The oil slick in the carpark was the same from Eis curve to the end of the lap.
Typically, this happened just as the sun was out and it was starting to dry. The driver of the car was unaware of the leak, he thought it was a puncture and limped back to the pits. Free recovery is available on these days and it was sad to see he hadn’t pulled to the side and waited for the recovery truck.
As often happens, Lou and the Gazebo was a meeting point during the closure for people chatting.
I used the opportunity to switch back to the Cup2’s for the last hour. As you’d expect, it was pretty busy when it reopened as everyone went out. When I say busy, it’s all relative, compared to a busy TF it’s empty
I was able to feel the difference with the front toe changes. Definitely an improvement. Initial turn-in was better than yesterday, I’m so used to the Golf and how small tweaks like that make very little difference, it was a noticeable change with the R8. I expected this after yesterday, the chassis is way more communicative than I expected. Passengers comment the same, they can feel what each corner of the car is doing, especially in the wet and that’s simply not something I thought would be the case.
I saw Jochen on the exit of the corner so took more kerb than usual, but the way it came off the kerb was the thing I noticed, it was without drama, no bounce, no unsettling it, simply a landing and then carry on.
Before I was ready, it was the end of the day. Being cool and comfortable really makes a difference. I still drink every time I come into the pits, but even staying hydrated can only do some much to keep the fatigue at bay. This time I felt full of energy and could happily have carried on lapping.
The next morning we headed down to Adenau and the Eis Cafe for a deserved ice cream. It’s a nice way to end the trip and where possible, we try and visit at least once every time we’re over. I don’t know why they aren’t more popular in the UK, there is always someone sat outside at this one !
Trip summary:
This trip was about taking the R8 to the Nürburgring for its first proper track outing and seeing how it compared to years of driving the Golf. I knew it would be a learning experience, not because I don’t know the track, but because my driving style, muscle memory and expectations have been built around a fast, front-wheel-drive hatchback. The R8 was always going to feel very different, and this was my chance to start figuring it out.
On the drive home, I reflected on the whole thing. The car was faultless, the setup changes worked, and I learned a lot. Still a long way to go before I’m quick in it, but that wasn’t the point of this trip. It was about starting the process, working things out and enjoying being back on track with friends.