Nürburgring | Ring°Racer | S&S Compressed Air Launch

[Martyn B]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Just read on TTF that a member on a the Europa Park boards has posted saying that this is not going to open, ever.

 

[Josh73]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

^ Wasn't it open very briefly in 2009, or something, or am I delusional?

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

From video's I've seen, a few people have the cred, but whether it actually opened to the public or not, I do not know.

 

[TilenB]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Nürburgring is in somekind of financial troubles, so the "ring werk" project is put on hold now...

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Surely the rest of the place is finished and open already?

 

[bmac]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Nürburgring is in somekind of financial troubles, so the "ring werk" project is put on hold now...

http://espn.go.com/racing/f1/story/_/id ... bankruptcy

 

[marc]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

They were talking about the track at the weekend, not looking good tbh.

But I think it's wrong to have merc, BMW and all the German drivers racing yet none are helping them.

 

[Peter]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Guess I can bump this topic. :wink:

The Nurburgring and Nordschleife were official put up for sale earlier this week as its been struggling for years. However, the sale does not include the amusement park:

The track’s asking price (not including hotels or amusement park) is said to be in the neighborhood of $152 million,

... So, any ideas what might happen to the credit no one has? It seems a bit silly to sell the track and its assets, but not sell Ring Racer and the accompanying attractions as they are basically built into the start-finish grandstand.

We could be hopeful and the new investors purchase the existing rides and get them running, or they could all get scrapped. :lol:

Either way, still no sign of this ride opening anytime soon.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1083059_its-official-the-nrburgring-is-for-sale

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130318/CARNEWS/130319813

 

[rollermonkey]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

The Nurb is such an odd duck. Honestly, it's no surprise that the track has a hard time making money. Between the massive scale preventing anyone from seeing more than a tiny portion of the track, to the very narrow course winding through hundreds of other properties... It makes a great test track, but not such a great race track.

Shame really.

 

[TilenB]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Guess I can bump this topic. :wink:

The Nurburgring and Nordschleife were official put up for sale earlier this week as its been struggling for years. However, the sale does not include the amusement park:

The track’s asking price (not including hotels or amusement park) is said to be in the neighborhood of $152 million,

... So, any ideas what might happen to the credit no one has? It seems a bit silly to sell the track and its assets, but not sell Ring Racer and the accompanying attractions as they are basically built into the start-finish grandstand.

We could be hopeful and the new investors purchase the existing rides and get them running, or they could all get scrapped. :lol:

Either way, still no sign of this ride opening anytime soon.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1083059_its-official-the-nrburgring-is-for-sale

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130318/CARNEWS/130319813

Michael Schumacher has the credit

 

[marc]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

He never completed the circuit so does not apparently as they never used the station.

 

[Gazza]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Wish they'd just get in some other manufactuer to rip out the current launch system and replace it with some LSMs...it's all that is needed to get it around that small twisting hill anyway.

 

[owentaylor121]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

^This. +1

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

There hasn't been a post in this thread for over 5 weeks, and you just post that?

FFS. :roll:

 

[gavin]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

^ this. +1

 

[TilenB]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

rcdb states 7th of July as a new opening day. The speed would go up to 170 km/h, so the coaster would still be the fastest one in Europe, but only the 5th fastest in the world (behind Formula Rossa, Kingda Ka, TTD and Dodonpa)

http://rcdb.com/4161.htm

 

[marc]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

And it will probably be closed by the 8th July lol.

At least with the lower speed they might not need to trim it as much.

 

[Nick P]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

At least the launch will be just as good as Dodonpa's. 0-105.6mph in 2 seconds certainly isn't bad. Dodonpa hits 107 in 1.8. You probably wouldn't notice a difference between the two.

 

[andrus]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

Article in the LA Times confirms that it will open this summer:

RingRacer: Top speed record now out of reach for oft-delayed German coaster

The long-anticipated RingRacer at Germany's Nurburgring racetrack is set to join the ranks of the fastest roller coasters in the world when it reopens this summer after a four-year delay.

Photos: RingRacer coaster at Germany's Nurburgring racetrack

Back in 2009, the $15-million compressed-air-launch coaster was billed as the fastest coaster in the world with a top speed of 135 mph. Built by Utah-based S&S Worldwide, RingRacer was designed to launch with a force of 5.6 Gs and travel along a 4,000-foot-long track running between the grandstands and the racecourse. Reaching maximum acceleration in 2.5 seconds, the coaster would accelerate twice as fast as the Formula One single-seater cars that race at the renowned Grand Prix track 75 miles northwest of Frankfurt.

RingRacer never achieved the record-setting pace. With Formula One champion Michael Schumacher on board in July 2009, RingRacer operated at approximately 80 mph during its maiden run because the braking system was "not quite working well enough," according to Autosport magazine.

Within weeks of the debut, a problem with the launch system forced the closure of the new coaster. A few months later, an explosion while testing the pneumatic launch injured seven people and damaged a nearby building, according to the General-Anzeiger newspaper. Since then the idled 125-foot-tall coaster has stood as a constant reminder of the failed attempt at the record books.

Over the ensuing years, the few photos of riders aboard RingRacer have whet the appetite of coaster enthusiasts around the world.

Provided they secure the proper operating permit, Nurburgring officials hope to reopen RingRacer on July 7 during a Formula One race at the German track. According to track officials, the initial launch speed of RingRacer will be approximately 105 mph with the possibility of higher speeds at a later date.

But even at that speed, RingRacer will remain behind the coasters it was designed to top: Kingda Ka (128 mph) at New Jersey's Six Flags Great Adventure, Top Thrill Dragster (120 mph) at Ohio's Cedar Point and Doponpa (107 mph) at Japan's Fuji-Q Highland.

The real problem, of course, is that records are meant to be broken. Since RingRacer's brief but fleeting debut, the star-crossed coaster has been bested by the 149 mph Formula Rosa at Ferrari World in the United Arab Emirates. Which means, as any race fan knows, RingRacer will never finish any better than second place.

 

[rollermonkey]

Re: Ring°Racer, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany

At least the launch will be just as good as Dodonpa's. 0-105.6mph in 2 seconds certainly isn't bad. Dodonpa hits 107 in 1.8. You probably wouldn't notice a difference between the two.

Yeah, because Dodonpa's launch feels like getting kicked in the chest (in a good way) even after having been on it about 10 times.