Drifting at the Nürburgring

As I zip up the jumpsuit, I feel a little queasy. Standing next to me, its engine purring, is “Killer-Hermine” – painted bright red and light green, low, wide, 600 PS, 800 Newton metres – waiting for me to drift around the Müllenbach­schleife section of the Nürburg­ring in it. Of course, I won’t be driving this hellish rocket, but Denise Ritzmann, the reigning drift queen of Europe. Unlike me, Denise knows what she’s doing. I wonder if my enthusiastic agreement to take a taxi ride was a little hasty when I see the other cars drifting around the track, hear the tyres squealing and smell the scent of burnt rubber tickling my nose. Nevertheless, I bravely take my place in the passenger seat. Helmet on, seatbelt fastened. Check: it fits, doesn’t wobble and isn’t even slightly loose. That’s how it should be – let’s go! On the first straight, Denise presses the accelerator pedal and Killer Hermines’ thrust pushes me firmly into my seat. When the rear end breaks out in the first left-hand bend of the Michael Schumacher S, we are doing about 150 km/h (Denise estimates, there is no speedometer). Shift gears, turn in, counter-steer, pull the handbrake, accelerate, turn into the following right-hand bend. Denise reacts quickly and precisely, has the vehicle totally under control. Faster than I can think, we’ve already passed the last bend of the Müllenbach­schleife. The interior fills with coarse tyre dust and a grin spreads across my face. Again!
After two more laps, the free practice session of the Nürburgring Drift Cup is over. Alexander, Laureen and I spend a few more hours in the paddock, taking photos and bombarding Denise and her team with questions. We learn a lot about the drift queen, the sport of drifting and the passion that everyone here in the paddock shares. It’s fun to get an insight into a world that was previously unknown to us and to capture people’s stories.
Curious? Our report on Denise Ritzmann will appear in the upcoming magazine “Deins Meins Unsers” from ADAC Baden-Württemberg. 

Daniela Peuckert