Most Ringers are happy to offer passenger laps, but if you want to see how it really should be done, how does a lap with a racing driver who has twice won the Nürburgring 24-hour race sound?

Book online at the official BMW Ring Taxi site here

The Ring Taxis (there are two) are V10 BMW M5s with modified suspension and brakes, one of them driven by Sabine Schmitz (formerly Sabine Reck). Both come highly recommended, but Sabine is said to be faster. A lap costs €195, but can take three passengers so it's pretty good value split three ways. In fact, it's excellent value as it is reputed that it costs BMW €480 per lap. (Following an accident years ago in which either a wheel or suspension component failed, BMW changes the tyres every 10 laps, the brake-pads every 20 laps and the suspension every 50 laps. The cars are replaced annually.)

The Taxis get fully booked around a year in advance, but they do sometimes get cancellations. To book, call +49-2691-932 020 or email ringtaxi@ok-speedmarketing.com. If you can't get a booking, it's always worth asking at the office on the day, and also watching out for people who have hired it but are not using all three passenger seats: more than one person has got a lap by asking the people who've hired it if they can pay for a place in the empty seat.

As Sabine would say, 'Naughty car!' (Photo: Andrew Bent)

The current Ring Taxis surprisingly don't have rollcages. When we asked Sabine about this, she said the structure was very strong and there are airbags everywhere. She used gestures to make sure we understood about airbags ...

You're particularly likely to get a cancellation in the wet, when some people just cancel their trips, and this is well worth doing.

Thanks to Simon Malisse for this pic

You can also buy a passenger lap in a Zakspeed Viper, though this is incredibly expensive at €260! The car is not actually the 24H race car, but a second Viper stickered-up to look like the race one. It certainly looks fast, but not €260's worth!