WITH THIS "RING. . . . . . You could be dead. AMG school lowers the risk.(NEWS)(AMG's Driving Academy)

Byline: MAC MORRISON

No disrespect to Laguna Seca, Road America, Mont-Tremblant, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen and the rest of North America's most fearsome, challenging racetracks, but those places are for babies. If you want to drive on the edge of the envelope, head for the more than 13 miles and 70 corners of German tarmac 40 miles south of Cologne in the Eifel Mountains.

Known as the Nurburgring, the Nordschleife, the Green Hell and the place where Niki Lauda became a human marshmallowleading to the end of Formula One on the original course, in 1976the "Ring's daunting combination of elevation changes and blind corners separates truth from B.S. more than any other track on the planet. Testifying to this is the never-ending stream of bent sheetmetal and motorcyclists spatulaed out of the guardrail by the recovery team day after day.

Yet the greatest appeal of the old North Loop (Nordschleife) might be that anyonedriving just about anythingcan pull up to the gate, pay e21 (about $29) and go for it. For those on this side of the Atlantic, such a policy is unfathomable in the murky depths of American liability law. But visit the "Ring in real life, unprepared and with a desire to test its limits, and you realize quickly that this is an utterly ridiculous activity that makes Russian roulette or covering yourself with chum in South African waters seem like less risky propositions.

You can avoid becoming the "Ring's shark bait thanks to AMG's Driving Academy, which provides such a comprehensive two-day experience that you will rehash your trip for weeks, replaying laps over and over again in your mind. You will actually know where the corners go.

AMG founded the school in 2007, and it offers five levels of training. The "Ring event is classified as "Pro and requires completion of the "Basic course. Mercedes-Benz and AMG invited us along to promote the academy's 2009 launch in the United States, with stateside venues and details yet to be determined. While U.S. academy participants will no doubt enjoy themselves, we recommend that you take only the Basic class here, then commit fully and make the trip to Germany. Sell your soul. Sell your house. Sell your kids on eBay. Do whatever it takes to raise the approximately $5,000 AMG charges for the "Ring session, use of a car, a three-night hotel stay and meals. You have 11 months until the next event on the North Loop. Start saving.

After a first day that included classroom sessions, a skidpad and autocross, day two dawns gray and cold on the Nordschleife and reveals an impressive array of AMG models. Our group of six drivers is assigned to the 515-hp SL63 provided by Mercedes, while 58 other AMG fans boast everything from a C63 station wagon to the SLK55 Black Series to a few rarefied examples of CLK DTM road cars. Cars are split into eight groups, each with a dedicated instructor.