It’s Sunday morning here at this year’s Nürburgring 24-Hour race and it’s already been a weekend of firsts for me.

First time driving out of the UK, first time pedalling an Aston Martin (V8 Vantage N430), first time on a de-restricted autobahn, first time visiting the awe-inspiring Nürburgring circuit and driving on the intimidating ‘Green Hell’ Nordschleife.

I’ll start with the autobahn experience midday Friday. There’s something wonderfully liberating and yet rather unnerving about creeping onto a de-restricted stretch of German tarmac, dropping from sixth to fourth in the N430’s manual ‘box and chasing the redline. But when this situation is presented in front of you, and you have 430bhp of Gaydon’s finest V8 under your right foot barking away, you just would, right?

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The therapeutic part was seeing the digital speedometer head north of 162mph and it being completely legal. The unsettling experience was passing vans and trucks that were cruising at least 100mph less than you’re travelling.

Despite German drivers possessing supreme lane discipline, the ‘what if?’ question is never too far from your mind. Anyway, with Twickenham to Nürburg done-and-dusted in nine hours (including a slight detour down some unfinished country road with Autocar colleague Doug Revolta in tow), it was time for dinner and an early night.

Ever since I first got my hands on the Gran Turismo 2 computer game back in November 1999, I’ve often wondered what it'd be like to clip the apex at the infamous Karussell on the Nürbürgring Nordschleife.

After a parade lap of the 12.9-mile ‘Green Hell’ section with more than 30 fellow Aston Martins in convoy, I can confirm no computer game comes even close to replicating the sheer bumpiness of the Karussell. Fellow passenger, photographer and all-round good guy Graham almost put his Nikon through the passenger window while numpty-novice here tried his best to clip the apex of the banked left-hander.

A quick chat afterwards with Aston Martin advisor, ex-racing driver and veteran of the Nordschleife, Marcus Mahy confirmed it’s pretty violent at full-chat in a GT racer.

“Some racing drivers, including myself, keep extra padding in the left-side of your helmet, as your head tends to bounce off the roll cage through the Karussell.

“Before the speed restrictions came in, you’d get airborne at least five times a lap during the N24,” he said, rather nonchalantly. My mind was baffled.