The 38th (and my first) Nurburgring 24 hours. 33 left turns, 40 right turns and just shy of 16 miles a lap. And eight big highlights…

1. Everyone here is a proper petrolhead. My fears the Ring phenomenon had gone too far, too commercial, were blasted apart by the numbers of ‘people like us’ present, every one a car and motor racing nut.

2. Camping is cracking. While I did it in a posh VW California (no shabbily erected tent to be seen), it was one of those experiences everyone should take away from the Ring. Yes, some of the regulars are a tad feral, but in an entirely harmless and fascinating way. See some of their campsite artwork as an example...

3. The start of a 24-hour race is phenomenal. The first pass by the front-running 911s and Audis was enthralling, almost entirely due to the knowledge there were another 153 laps and 1440 minutes to go…

4. The sheer mix of cars – an Opel Manta and Merc 190 Evo, through numerous mk3 Golfs to screaming Lexus LFAs and seemingly unstoppable 911s – is unlike that of any other race on the planet.

5. Roger Green is fine. And not just unhurt and unscathed, but something of an internet celebrity. Click this way to see his dramatic exit from a burning Lotus.

6. Sabine Schmitz, drunk (below).

7. Teamwork is everywhere. An overnight stroll from Dottinger Hohe to the mighty Karussell saw me come across a couple of stranded cars, a SEAT Leon with serious mechanical woes and a BMW 1-series that had suffered a big smash (below). The latter took hours and hours to repair, mostly with sellotape. Both completed the race. After Meaden and Harris, these were the two finishers I was proudest of.

8. Walking overnight and seeing sunrise. I’d been warned against entering the woods, or straying too far from the track, but with serious traffic stopping media shuttle buses, the only way to film this video at the Karussell was to walk all the way there.

On my travels I met some drunk but harmless characters, saw some awesome driving, got to know the circuit’s extreme inclines and declines first hand, heard the LFAs and Z4 V8s at full chat, and marveled at the greatest thing 24 hour racing offers – that eerie but wonderful middle-of-nowhere, middle-of-the-night spectating. I’m hooked. Bring on Le Mans…

Click here to see the rest of our Ring 24 coverage