I'm holding a lottery ticket in my hand.
On the ticket, there are three scratch opportunities; matching all of them means winning the grand prize: the perfect story.

I scratch off the first part and the destination appears: the northeast corner of Poland. The deepest lake in the country – Hańcza. Unexpected and unconventional. The Suwałki Region is one of the cleanest areas in Poland. Clean in terms of nature, free from crowds of tourists, from advertising banners along the roads, and from… light!

Scratch-off number 2. I excitedly scratch it with my thumbnail and there it is! Four nights in a luxury condo. Date: (almost) mid-August. I must bring the hotel room to the location myself. It's a Mercedes EQS SUV. The largest passenger car in Mercedes' electric family. A condominium on wheels. The key phrase during the pandemic. I've never spent a holiday in a camper, but at first glance, the EQS resembles a living room with leather lounges rather than a complete living space with a bedroom and bathroom.

I quickly glance at the specification sheet. With the rear seats folded down, the distance from the end of the boot, to the front-row seats is about two meters. So, theoretically, there's room for an inflatable mattress, my “hotel bed”. And the view from the window, or rather from ten windows? I can choose it myself, travel halfway across the globe (that electrified part), and stop sideways, across, or upside down. I have a vista on all sides of the world and even upwards, towards the starry expanse.

Scratch-off number 3. I start to scratch it off but think that the previous two turned out so well that I'll save this one for dessert… Maybe I'll scratch it off on-site and let myself be surprised again by what I find?

Alright, it's time to make myself at home in my new home. The “S” class has always been synonymous with luxury. For many years, limousines have carried politicians, CEOs, and heirs in their rear seats. Those who wanted to identify with a more active lifestyle and take along a dog, a bike, or a picnic set, and drive off the paved roads, would look either to the G-class or altogether towards Great Britain. And for those of them, to whom Geländewagen, with its rich history and excellent off-road capabilities, wasn’t “posh” enough and not “S” enough, the biggest seller is its non-leaky nature. Then came the American aspirations of European and Japanese brands, and in 2006 in Detroit, Mercedes unveiled the GL model (X164). Ten years later, its now grown-up descendant from the 2013 model year, saw a facelift and a letter badge, around which this entire article revolves – The (GL) S. At this point, it became clear what this car was supposed to be—an S-class where one sits high in fashionable manner, an S-class in station wagon version. The third generation added a Maybach version, which will also appear in the EQ family – fully electric.

What is the EQS SUV all about? Although a new nomenclature for electric cars has appeared in the world of Mercedes, the “S” still means the same: the largest model in the line-up. The largest and most luxurious, with all the latest technological bells and whistles and travel comfort at the highest level (more luxurious can only be the previously mentioned Maybach version). The test version is the 580 4Matic model equipped with a 120 kWh battery. The official range promises 485 kilometres, but that's only a theory. The energy goes to two motors producing a total of 544 bhp and 858Nm of torque, and despite weighing nearly three tons, the car accelerates rapidly to speeds that are not proper to mention here. Moreover, the sense of guilt in terms of breaking the law is enhanced by the silence inside. The absence of a combustion engine is one thing, but the tested model was equipped with a soundproofing package containing double-glazed glass windows. The only sounds that come from outside are generated by the tyres (a 275/45 on 21” rims with a GoodYear Eagle F1 tyres) and the wind at much higher speeds.

I release the accelerator and check if the strongest recuperation can stop the car. It can – the car slows down almost to a halt, but not wanting to cause a disturbance on the road, I keep driving. The silence of lawful driving can be disturbed in three ways. The first is to choose one of three sound simulations of acceleration (the intensity decreases when driving at a constant speed) – two of them sound quasi-engine-like, and the third seems straight out of a sci-fi movie.

None of them appealed to me enough to win over the quiet potential of a concert hall. Because inside the EQS, when you play music, you can feel like you're in a concert hall. The stars on the hood – one large and hundreds of small ones – prompt the search for music inspired by space. The choice falls on Gustav Holst's suite “The Planets”. Burmester audio with its numerous speakers on board creates a depth that pierces the entire body.

What concert halls lack (at least in the few where I've had the chance to listen to concerts), are such comfortable seats. The massage function in any car is a stretch for me because the inflating balls pressing on my back do not relax me, but rather irritate me. More interesting are the “training” and mini-kinetics of the seats, which motivate you to tense your muscles and change your position during the journey. But all of that is nothing compared to the ventilation with cool air, especially on such a hot day as this summer. Dolby Surround of air conditioning.

Another surprise is the steering wheel. I’m a sucker for nice steering wheels, I appreciate their design, and I value the most those that are the original – round. To my delight, the “Electric Art” trim includes one. Without a flattened bottom for too-long calves (there's plenty of room, and you can also activate the comfort entry function), without aggressive profiling for thumbs (it's there, but almost unnoticeable). The rim is definitely thicker and probably has a larger diameter than those in the AMG versions. Really, it's only while holding the steering wheel that I felt I was driving a large vehicle. Despite the external dimensions, it's not obvious, most likely also due to the rear-wheel steering. At low speeds up to 10 degrees, which makes the turning diameter only 11 meters (VW Golf is only 10 cm better), and I must mention that the car is over five meters long. The interior accommodates passengers quite snugly. Wooden accents, warm tones of materials, and flowing, organic lines of the dashboard and doors enhance the sense of cosiness. The effect is further enhanced by atmospheric lighting – God only knows in how many different hues – and the cherry on top are the pillows in the headrests…

Alright Michael, time to wake up!

Such an expensive car – starting at 110000 € – cannot promise only comfort features and senses pleasing add-ons. The car must be smart and have at least two screens larger than those on which I watched “Seven Wishes” (Polish TV series) thirty years ago. Moreover, at the command of "Hathor, hathor, hathor!" (in German: "Hey, Mercedes"), it should tell jokes about BMW.

Onboard system can be asked to adjust a series of functions, but the effect of interaction in Polish slightly spoils the synthetic way the system speaks. In the tested model, there were five screens (plus one HUD), three of which were hidden under a single glass panel – the Hyperscreen. They can be operated in various ways: touchscreen, partly from the steering wheel, or voice control. There are as few buttons on the dashboard as possible, and I particularly missed those for controlling the air conditioning. Well, you can say "Hathor, hathor, hathor," but first – I'm shy, and second – I would rather not shout over the orchestra (still playing), now passing the Jupiter.

And since we've already fallen into the gravitational field of the gas giant, let's talk about the G-forces to which our Star is capable. The car weighs 2810kg and, just like Jupiter among its planetary companions, is the heaviest model in the Mercedes range. Despite this, it accelerates to 62 Mph in 4.6s. It's not a record in the electric world, but perhaps the AMG version will beat it. One might think that stiffer suspension in “Sport” driving mode, a low-mounted battery, and “torque vectoring” would keep the giant on course in the corners. Unfortunately, the laws of physics are hard to bend, and one must accept that it's not a light roadster that changes directions nimbly and confidently.

What limits interstellar voyages is also a matter of fuel. Planning a tour around Poland is also like planning a conquest of space – there are few chargers in the northeast. It is like planning with a map and a caliper. Calculating distances and setting priorities for power consumption. Fortunately, Hańcza is not far from Suwałki, where I located a 140kW station. While charging, I was alone for a while (at two stations) and managed to charge 91kWh in 60 minutes, which seems a tolerable result. Cost: 80 €. But that's also because I'm not a frequent grid user and have no subscription. That would be more economical for those who use chargers more frequently.

Waiting for the batteries to recharge, I remembered that I have one more scratch-off! One more chance to complete 100% of the plan. And that plan includes photographing the Perseids fall. I'm at the spot a couple of days too early for their peak, but something will definitely enter Earth's atmosphere, as the phenomenon lasts over a month. I'm prepared from A to Z. I have a camera and a tripod, and a stars-ready Nikon binoculars.

Furthermore, I'm in one of the two darkest regions in the country. I even have two roof windows of the EQS – I can stare at the sky all night. I pull out the ticket and scratch. Category: weather. Result: clouds, rain, and no visible stars. All or Nothing. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, rain drizzles, and droplets gather on the lens; nothing will come out of it except big disappointment. All the local bugs and other creatures make their way into the dry and seductively comfortable sleeping quarters at the back of the Mercedes, which at this point can only become a sleeping capsule, accompanied by the rumble of rain…

The disappointment of the previous evening's weather was compounded by the rays of sun that woke me the next day. I look through all the windows, a beautiful day is promised. Over Hańcza, there's still a remnant of fog, in the background someone is fishing from a boat.

While preparing a mo(u)rning coffee and meditating about Space. The only stars I've seen here are the ones on the EQS grill. I feel angry at Mother Nature, I resent the calendar, and blame fate. But that's how it is with lotteries – you usually lose. At least on the way back, I felt interstellarly relaxed.

Thank you for your continued interest and I invite you to subscribe to the newsletter. I also encourage you to support the site on Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon. The funds collected will be used to develop the Heel and Toe magazine and ultimately allow full focus on the project. In the aforementioned service, sales of photos of the tested cars, including from this article, have started. These are collector's prints in numbered series on archival papers.

Have a good one!

Oil flows calmly through the forests and foothills of Jaworzynka spring. It passes a small cemetery from World War I, turns northwest towards Blechnarka. Exactly 300 meters south of Gipsies Well, it intersects with another tributary, doubling its force as it snakes through Wysowa-Zdrój and Gorlickie Mouth. There, it flows into Klimków Lake and continues its path to a village named in its honour.

Now a tricky part:
Ropa is a Polish word for Petroleum.
Ropa – the river – is a left-bank tributary of the Wisłoka river, which it meets in Jasło.
Ropa is also a village situated along Ropa – the river.

The fume of oil continued to hover over Ropa (the village) for a long time before petroleum took the form we know from modern times. The first mentions in Polish come from the chronicles of Jan Długosz. The term originates from the Latin Petroleum (Petra – rock, oleum – oil).

Several decades after Długosz, the area was explored by a gold seeker – Seweryn Boner (no pun intended – I kid You not) – who found his mine was flooded with rock oil. Thus, supposedly, oil was discovered in these lands, although the legend of Mr Seweryn probably aimed to symbolize its quiet discovery by the locals, unanchored in time. Petroleum has been known since antiquity and was used, among other things, as a medical remedy.

I fast-forward the hands of the clock and stop in 1789, when the owner of Ropa (the village) became Władysław Siemieński, whose wife was named Petronela… More petrochemical signs from the skies!

Deposits of rock oil stretch under the entire Low Beskids. The first, manually dug shafts were created in the village of Siary, below Gorlice. Industrial-scale extraction began in 1854 by Ignacy Łukasiewicz. He was the one who distilled kerosene from rock oil and who constructed a kerosene lamp fuelled by what is known as lamp oil. The place where the pickaxe struck the ground for the first commercial oil mine was Bóbrka, and the owner was the world's first oil company: Trzecieski-Łukasiewicz. The entire region transformed into an oil province with mines, distilleries, and refineries.

The development of the next century was based on oil. No economy in the world is associated with an oil as much as the USA’s is. No automotive culture celebrates fuel combustion like that of the USA. What car, then, to pay tribute to Petroleum? Obviously, an American muscle.

The longest currently produced generation of sports car in the United States is the Dodge Challenger. In 2008, the third incarnation of the legend from the seventies debuted. The original from the seventies was the essence of a sports car from across the ocean. Better not to mention its successor – a to post-fuel-crisis victim and, instead of an original design, Dodge slapped its badges on a Mitsubishi Galant Lambda. A quarter-century later, the Challenger resurrected like a Phoenix from the ashes. The premiere engine was a V8 with a 6.1 litre capacity and a Mercedes-Benz five-speed automatic. In the sixteen-year production run, eighteen different versions were created with V6 and V8 engines, and the largest one to be placed under the hood was the 6.4 litre Apache. It is with such a version that we will celebrate the existence of ICE. Where? You have the regional clue above, and a pin on the map will point to the Museum of Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka. The institution, founded in 1961, is exceptional for many reasons. First: it combines two functions: it is both a museum and an active oil mine (the one that Łukasiewicz founded in 1854). Second: on the museum site, there is a technological cross-section of the Polish (and Soviet) oil industry. Third: the scent of the surrounding dense forests mixes with the scent of petroleum oil, which has caused me a pleasant dizziness several times.

We cross the gates on a Sunday afternoon. In front of us lies an extensive avenue that leads to the heart of the outdoor museum. The warm July sun illuminates the row of drilling rigs on the left, and on the right, the exhibition pavilion. Further, we pass boiler house buildings and various winches and working machines. After our first reconnaissance, we select numerous locations for photos, but we are deeply absorbed by acquainting ourselves with the exhibits and history of the place. There is so much here that we would need to sit a week! But one thing at a time.

The first spot we planned at the most intriguing vehicle we found – a vibroseis, used by Geofizyka Toruń until 1976. Between its axles is a mechanism that, when lowered to the ground, generates controlled, strong vibrations that penetrate the earth's crust. Seismic waves bounce off different geological layers and are received by geophones – sensors distributed on the surface of the earth. Geologists can make maps of underground structures by studying signals. This can help them find oil and gas deposits. Our rather large American car looks very petite next to the yellow vibroseis.

The second photo shoot plan is the CPN gas station, type: “mountain”. Under its sloping roof stands a tanker, surrounded by fuel dispensers of several generations from the many years of existence of the Central Petroleum Products. Inside the room, which at a contemporary station is mainly used for selling hot-dogs, you can admire a collection of photographs and memorabilia from the precursor of Orlen.

On day two, we focus more on the car. The Challenger SRT8 with a 6.4 litre engine (392-cubic-inch HEMI) with Scat Pack, Wide Body, and distinctive green livery reminiscent of a reptile's colouration presents itself threateningly and dominantly. The sound? Well… Nothing resonates with my heart as strong as the sound of a powerful V8, whether from the stables of Mercedes, Ford, or Dodge. The naturally aspirated version in our car, as it revs up, generates an unobstructed husky roar and elevates the drama to the limits of physical pain. Reptilian, green (in colour) energy. That's how I imagine the automotive version of the most ferocious late Cretaceous representative. I would rather not throw around dinosaur names because through popular culture it would sound banal, but certain myths have permanently settled in our heads. My favourite description of petroleum is “dinosaur juice” and I was surprised to read the words of Reidar Müller – It's a myth. Oil is the remnants of plankton and algae…

Our routes to and from the museum confirm another myth: American muscle cars feel best on the straights. The steering system with electric power assistance is far from the finesse of European competitors, and with power approaching 500 Bhp, it mainly serves to counter oversteer. The energy from the engine is transmitted by an eight-speed ZF automatic to the rear axle and is distributed on both sides by a limited-slip differential.

The second day is busy, we photograph the car and museum elements. It's Monday – most museums rest-day, we have all the objects to ourselves. I look at the constructions, mechanisms, and buildings. I remember what I was doing here 20 years ago. It was a photographic outing with an association where I took my first photographic steps. We travelled across the country to live on the museum grounds (I think we stayed in “Naftusia” – one of the wooden workers' cottages) and photograph the black-and-white landscape – it was the middle of the winter. Now we are here in summer, so I need to clear the snow from those views.

Now it's easier to peer into every nook and admire the forward-thinking thought. In the warm air, the scent of rock oil from the active “Franek” shaft spreads faster. We peer into the black interior and see the shimmering, sometimes bubbling thick sludge. It is it – here, not so deep underground – the primal form of the petrol. Imagination educated by the scattered photographs and descriptions throughout the museum paints stories from the mid-19th century. Before machines were put to work, workers were lowered into the shaft to manually extract the oil. Over the following years, the industrial revolution swung to the extent that in some areas, humans were replaced by machines. Everything was powered by oil or steam, engines driving flywheels, transmitting energy through belts to drills and jacks. The racket that once resounded here now echoes under the hoods of our cars.

We leave Bóbrka full of admiration and respect for what we've seen. The technology pioneered by Łukasiewicz made the world revolve around Petroleum. Thanks to it, we have the automotive, aviation, partly textile, polymer, and even construction industries. It has sparked numerous conflicts, wars, and economic crises. And supposedly it has irreversibly changed the climate. To take a stand on this issue, it's worth knowing at least a part of the history of climate changes (including the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its impact on the development of a flora), rather than putting the blame on the fossil fuels. Yes, I agree with the opinion that humanity has done more harm than good to the Green Planet, that we will probably never dig ourselves out of environmental pollution, and that future generations will tread on a degraded, depleted earth. Still, let's not be deceived that what will replace oil is true “green energy”. This technology looks green only at the end-stage of use, and the conditions and rates at which people mining rare earth minerals work are shrouded in silence.
I'm not saying that electric powering of anything, including cars, is bad, but I claim that fossil fuels have fallen victim to negative marketing, and what we have achieved thanks to them has no significance in the current narrative.
Miners in Bóbrka extracting oil were working just as hard as a miners extracting cobalt in the Congo.
The shade of dubious green of both energy sources is the same.

Thank you to the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Museum of Oil and Gas Industry officials for their kind consideration of my idea and for enabling the production of this story. I would also like to thank Hardcore Car Rent for providing the car. The car was tested on a closed road, under controlled conditions.

Thank you for your continued interest and I invite you to subscribe to the newsletter. I also encourage you to support the site on Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon. The funds collected will be used to develop the Heel and Toe magazine and ultimately allow full focus on the project. In the aforementioned service, sales of photos of the tested cars, including from this article, have started. These are collector's prints in numbered series on archival papers.

Have a good one!

How many times have we all been told that the latest “M” is the best and the only one? The best that BMW has ever produced and the only one you need to buy because it’s the end of an era and there won’t be another…

The craze for the sporty, compact BMW started in 1974 with the launch of the 2002 Turbo model. Eleven years later, the groundbreaking M3 E30 debuted, considered for many years as “Peak BMW”. Even the M3 E46 during its market presence didn't take down the reputation of the E30, though today, many years after production ended, it grows into a bigger legend. The next generation (E90/E92/E93) had a problem – it became a larger and more overwhelming car. Moreover, after the launch of the 1 Series, it lost the “entry-level” title. The smallest car in the manufacturer's range, especially on steroids, was always welcomed with open arms by BMW enthusiasts. In 2011, the 1 Series M Coupé hit the showrooms as the spiritual successor to the M3 E30. Supposedly great, supposedly the best M ever. Again. It was no different in 2016 when the M2 F87 arrived. Revolution! Peak form! On Grand Tour, none other than Jeremy Clarkson said it. He wasn’t joking. Not much water has passed in the Thames, and it turned out that the general public didn’t like that the car was powered by the N55 unit – not a pure Motorsport division powerhouse. The same engine powered a range of other, standard models from Bavaria. Fortunately, it stopped meeting the emission regs (officially) and had to be replaced. And, as the market well received the M2, they transplanted into it the heart from the M3/M4 (F80/F82) with the designation S55, but fearing a fratricidal fight, they detuned it to 405 bhp. And again, a hit! Another peak form, another “The last of its kind”.

Today (January 2024) the next-generation M2 G87 is already on the market, but it’s not certain that it will inherit the crown from its predecessor because the appearance of this car is… well, not into my taste, to be honest. I wouldn’t call it ugly, but for me, it's a bit too square. Straight angles and perpendicular lines dominated the air intakes, diffuser, and even the “kidneys”. Slopes and triangles from the depicted here F87 generation seem more dynamic. Looking at the profile of the two-door coupé, the viewer's eye, starting from the front lights, is led by the curve of the hood, not too heavily embossed. At the meeting point of the hood and the A-pillar, a vent cover is installed – a strong graphic point (especially on the white paint) – starting for the crease running backwards along the side of the car. This ascending line includes a door handle, and thanks to the light and shadow game, it doesn't stand out too much. That line fades in the space between the rear wheel arch and the point connecting the C-pillar to the boot lid. The line of the roof and windows is rounded, though the latter ends visually turning back with two sharper corners known as “Hofmeister kink” and leads the eye back, towards the front. Our attention stops at the characteristic mirror with two bars. The lower, mounting one is horizontal and installed in the front corner of the window. Base black, cover in body colour. Visually appealing and supposedly effective aerodynamically.

The cabin is quite spacious, with a wide range of possibilities for setting the seats in the first row and the steering wheel. MS is a tall lad that always complains about this aspect in most cars he sits in. Here he took a position he described as “ideal”. In the smallest M! I am not much taller than Danny DeVito and have no ergonomic problems in any car. I do, however, have issues with design. The interior of the F87 generation does not dazzle with trinkets and gigantic screens. That idea has been known for years, and the visual language is derived from the 3 Series F30. The steering wheel is round with a round airbag cover and a thick rim, typical of M models. Not everyone likes this thickness, I treat it as a hallmark of these cars. The design of the steering wheel is in my top three favourites. It is a gauge that combines both worlds – analogue and digital. The needles are analogue, but the dials give a digital impression. This might be due to the perfectly matched blacks of the materials and the uniform backlighting. The edges of the gauges are defined by plastic frames, which visually reflect the trim installed around the airbag cover on the steering wheel. A very pleasant design.

Our test car in Alpine White is set on 19–inch Y-Spoke alloys with 245/35 rubbers at the front and 265/35 at the rear. A nice combination. Power is sent to the rear wheels only via an electronically controlled limited–slip differential and, heading towards the engine, through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. The engine, as I mentioned earlier, is the S55 unit, more powerful than its predecessor by 39 HP (405 HP at 5230 – 7000 rpm) with an increased torque of 85 Nm (from 465 Nm to 550 Nm at 2350 – 5230 rpm). Other changes include adding  a second turbo, stronger connecting rods and cylinders, a closed engine block, and improved cooling. Weight? Just over 1.5 tonnes. Result? 4.2 seconds to 60 mph. 

To test “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, we need to find “The Ultimate Driver’s Road”. Stelvio Pass is too far, but a small taste of it can be found on the most picturesque road in Poland – route 28 through Przysłup in the Silesian Mountains. We navigate its eighteen turns perhaps a hundred times, at varying speeds, on both dry and wet surfaces. Conclusions? What a car that is! As soon as the engine revs above 2000 rpm, it becomes eager, the upper band is aggressively enticing, and the gearbox transmits power quickly and efficiently. The DCT has three modes, and I am, craving sports thrills, switching it to the most aggressive mode, resulting with jerky upshifts, adding 10 points to the drama. Very satisfying! I press the gas pedal harder to feel the vicious character of the car. Thanks to its compact dimensions and suspension tuning, I can precisely determine the car's position on the road, and due to a smaller wheelbase than the M3, I feel the rear tends to swing out. 

The steering is precise and consistent. Changing direction is assured, even in corners approached with higher speeds. Surprisingly, one can feel how soft, compared to the front of the car, the rear is. As you enter a turn, the M2 is slightly understeering, in the middle of the turn it finds balance (the weight distribution is close to ideal – 50/50), and how it exits depends solely on the driver. I set the drive mode to Sport+ and grip the steering wheel harder.

After completing the first day of tests and with several decent photographs on my memory card, we checked the current market value of the M2. Prices for used models range from 40 to 60 thousand dollars (in Europe), and currently about 30 units are listed in polish Otomoto.pl. The new generation starts at 75 thousand $. It's hard for us to choose, not having experience with the new generation, but the more analogue F87 seems more interesting.

We spent two days on this beautiful road. Additional photos and a strobe shoot after dark. Driving up and down this road is mesmerizing. This car is mesmerizing. Not too big, not too arrogant, not overly modern. Just right. A good foundation for a monument commemorating “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. 

 Thanks to Hardcore Car Rent for providing the car. The car was tested on a closed road, in controlled conditions. 

Dear Reader, I invite you to subscribe to the newsletter. I also encourage you to support the site on Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon. The funds collected will be used to develop the Heel and Toe magazine and ultimately allow full focus on the project. In the aforementioned service, sales of photos of the tested cars, including from this article, have started. These are collector's prints in numbered series on archival papers.

Have a good one!

The understanding of Paradise in all fields of art is close to a certain scheme: carefree heroes dressed only in a fig leaf, harmony prevailing between all beings and an all-pervasive idyll. Everything was going well until…
Hell places itself on the other side of the spectrum: tormented sinners, often consumed by hellfire or by monstrous creatures. Everything in the heat, everything in the crush and anguish. All in fiery reds, browns and charred blacks. And what if We were to replace it with vital greenery known rather from the left - paradise part – of the Bosch triptych? Is there a Green Hell somewhere?

I learned about the existence of the Nürburgring from a British motoring program I followed obsessively in the mid-2000s. Top Gear, even though it had its loop to measure the times of the tested cars, often referred to the German track and made not entirely serious films on it. The program gained fame and became the main opinion-forming and satirical automotive channel, and the loop located in south-western Germany, from the secret prototype testing centre - a mecca for all car enthusiasts.

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The history of the track dates back to 1918 when the idea of building the track was announced by Emperor Wilhelm II Hohenzollern. The concept began to crystallize seven years later, and the official opening took place on June 18, 1927. It is located in the Eifel Mountains in the Rhineland-Palatinate region. It is the longest racing loop in the world. It has a length of 25.37 km (depending on the race) and consists of up to 170 corners. Inside the northern loop (nordschleife) of the track, there are four towns and villages: Nürburg, Quiddelbach, Breidscheid and Herschbroich.
What makes it unique?

From the sports car manufacturer’s perspective, "The Ring" is an arena of unofficial championships - practically everyone is trying to beat the time record of their direct competitor and boast the title of "Fastest on the Nordschleife" and base their marketing on it.
Championships are also official – the GP loop has hosted Formula 1 drivers for years. The WEC (World Endurance Championship) - long-distance races - is regularly held.

But the most interesting seems to be the daily drivers' aspect. As no one is surprised by the presence of large players or the world of sports (after all, everything can be rented - a matter of budget), the presence of civilian cars with normal registration plates can be surprising. Well, the most difficult and dangerous track on Earth has the status of a public road, anyone can buy a ticket for the ride, punch it at the gate and drive through the "Green Hell".

Exactly… Where does this unofficial name come from? Jackie Stewart was the first to define the track in those words, and not without reason. It is a technically very difficult track, narrow, bent and dangerous. Built when safety was not a priority and geology strongly limited the possibility of modernization. Paradoxically, the track contributed to the revolution in the protection of racing drivers. In 1976, on the second lap of the German F1 GP, Niki Lauda, who, paradoxically, called for a boycott of the race, precisely for safety reasons, had a serious accident, from which he miraculously escaped living. The accident marked Lauda for the rest of his life, and the motorsport industry introduced, among other things, flame-retardant racing suits.

Despite its bad reputation, the Nordschleife attracts petrol–heads. Both on "tourist" days (when it is open to civilian cars) and during races. It's like flypaper for car enthusiasts, they flock to it from all over the world, including me. For years it also interested me photography–wise, for the last few years seriously. But the last three were not fortunate enough to carry out the plans. In 2019 I was preparing to launch a coffee–shop, 2020 turned everything upside down (sports events were cancelled), 2021 similarly. 2022 came and the idea came back to me like a boomerang. I began to wonder if this was the right time, but the answer came by itself. The previously favoured race and at the same time the biggest event of the season - the 24-hour ADAC Totalenergies 24h Nürburgring - celebrated its 50th birthday. There was no question of postponing it to the next (and the next, and the next…) season.

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The first unknown was the date, as soon as it was announced, the official website of the race was launched.
I was able to move on to the next stage - obtaining accreditation. For this purpose, it was necessary to go through the official process of the organizer - ADAC (German Automobile Club). The most stressful was the verification. Freelancers have the hardest time, on the other hand, journalists from large editorial offices have it the easiest. I work with Nikon and regularly publish on its websites, which was received with scepticism by the organizer (but finally accepted). My photographic pedigree also worked to my disadvantage, I am not a sports photographer, I rather manoeuvre around humanistic documentary photography. And translating my premise, photographing the phenomenon of the track mainly through the prism of the fans, was the most difficult. Dozens of e-mails and phone calls with the press office and here it is! I have full accreditation! Now it's time to organize your stay.

Hotels? Not only that at exorbitant prices but also booked up to several years in advance! What's more, these are usually not objects with direct access to the track. Such access is mainly offered by campsites. So then what? Tent? The most budget-friendly option, but the riskiest. In 2021, the race was interrupted by heavy rains which eventually led to flooding across the region. Also, equipment and moisture? Bad idea. I'm still looking for something in between... a campervan! Not only is it safer than a tent (and easier to manage in terms of moisture), it's even more mobile. Budget–wise - exactly halfway between a tent and a hotel.

All pre-departure items ticked, time to depart. The only unknown was the parking space - the campsites do not accept reservations…
The road from Warsaw took sixteen hours (1200 km) + an hour of standing in line to the campsite. Well… Since I couldn't leave earlier, now I have to reckon with the fact that I will be looking for the remnants of parking spaces. Fortunately, I found one next to fans of Polish origin (living and working in Germany) who took care of me and kept an eye on the car while I was absent.
The next day I directed my first steps to the press office and after receiving the accreditation I could start working. For several weeks before the trip, I was wondering what issues to illustrate and how. I had a whole list of them, but instead of starting from point one, I started with a leisurely walk, hoping that the opportunities would find me. I thought, for example, that since the track has loyal fans, among the quarter of a million people who came to this event, there will definitely be someone who has the Nordschleife tattooed on their body. And I was not wrong! I have found several such people. The search was based on asking random people if they knew someone who knew someone… The surprising finale was that the photo that entered the final selection was taken fifty meters from my motorhome! 
Speaking of walking…

I am a supporter of the idea that you have to walk a good photo out. And indeed, I overlapped, as rarely! Each day is about thirty kilometres on foot, with a huge backpack, jacket and heavy (heavier with each step) equipment. The officials provided journalists with transport around the ring, which was helpful in terms of accessibility to the extreme points of the Nordschleife. Fortunately, the atmosphere around the track was very friendly, and tiredness was compensated by nice conversations and good shots. To challenge myself even more, I decided to work as long as the race lasted and ended up shooting for thirty hours, without a break for sleep. The result is three and a half thousand photos brought from Germany, which had to be sorted and selected to illustrate this complex and challenging issue, that the Nürburgring is.