Memories of the Year: Zandvoort magic

May 13, 2011, mid-afternoon, and I'm standing on what seems like the top of a cliff (it's actually just a big sand dune) and looking over the ultra-quick Malborobocht at Zandvoort.

It's my first visit to the legendary Dutch venue and I can't resist the temptation to venture trackside during the DTM's 90-minute practice session that kicks off the German tin-top series' weekend at the seaside.

Wandering past iconic corners like Tarzan and Gerlachbocht, it's obvious that this is a track from the old school, rather than some of the stale venues that come later in the season, raising the ghosts of so many legendary drivers that competed here in Formula 1 or sports and touring cars over the years.

But it's Marlborobocht - a bend that didn't even exist until the new section of circuit, designed to bring the facility back to its former glory, opened in 2001 - that catches my attention. The reason? No two drivers look the same coming through.

From my vantage point high up on the outside of the track and just at the start of the braking zone, the view is sensational as a variety of driving styles are employed.

First, it's amazing just how planted the cars look through the third-gear flick, in total contrast to a fortnight earlier at Hockenheim, where I'd watched a damp but drying practice from the Sachs Kurve and witnessed cars struggling for grip at low speeds.

Van der Zande still drove his Merc like an F3 car at Marlborobocht

Next up is the sensory overload provided by the 2008-spec Mercedes, the tailpipes on this machine producing a high-pitched whine far superior to the drone of the '09 version (its exhausts having been placed on either side of the car for better efficiency).

It reverberates around the dunes and leaves me waiting for the next appearance of David Coulthard or Maro Engel.

Finally, there are the drivers. Most spectacular by far is HWA Mercedes man Gary Paffett, who really flings his black C-class into the corner, taking a small piece of 'Ludwig' kerb on the concrete slab just inside the apex for good measure.

It looks quick, but upon consulting the timesheets later on, he proves slower than Timo Scheider, easily the most conservative-looking driver during the afternoon.

Most curious is what I see from single-seater converts Edoardo Mortara and Renger van der Zande (I'd passed a horde of the local hero's fans at the preceding Scheivlak turn, most wearing T-shirts displaying the message 'Who the f**k is Renger?'), as both seem not yet to have shaken off the tendencies developed in years of F3 competition.

Both enter earlier than the old hands, using a little extra braking on turn-in to get the nose of their cars into the apex, and then flooring the throttle early to power through the bend.

In an F3 car, the amount of downforce available would make this nothing short of a perfect cornering process, but the less efficient DTM car washes out - only slightly - and misses the apex in a lovely four-wheel drift.

It's probably not costing either any laptime, but it will be hurting their front tyres as they slide.

Sure, it's just one corner for less than half an hour of one session, but it was still a fascinating snapshot into the intricacies of driving bloody fast.