The ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring is putting the longest and most beautiful racetrack in the world into a state of emergency this week: The on-demand campsites around the 25.378 km long combination of Nordschleife and Grand Prix circuit are now open, and the arrival of the more than 200,000 visitors expected at the weekend has begun. They are all eagerly awaiting the clash of the best international endurance drivers, who will want to determine the fastest of their guild twice around the clock on the marathon distance on Saturday (1 June) from 16:00. More than two dozen vehicles in the overall victorious classes have submitted their entries for this season highlight in international GT3 sport, with a total of 130 touring cars and GTs in over 20 different classes competing for the prestigious winners’ trophies in the world’s biggest race. If you want to be there live, you can still buy tickets on site. Whether a day or multi-day ticket – all tickets include the complete racing experience including access to all visitor areas around the track, the open grandstands and the paddock. If you have to stay at home, you can follow the 24-hour action live and in full length with German free TV with television partner NITRO. From Thursday, you can also follow the action at the Ring online via www.24h-rennen.de/live – the live site offers several streaming channels as well as live timing, a race ticker and audio commentary.
The Porsche GT3 teams go into the weekend as favourites after a dominant performance in the preparations. Four races have been on the calendar so far this season: two each in the ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), which is run according to the same technical regulations, and in the official prologue as part of the 24h Qualifiers. All races were won by the 911 GT3 R (992) of the Falken Motorsports and Manthey EMA teams. A total of eight different vehicle brands are competing in the top category (GT3), and a closer look at the results reveals this: Other makes also have the necessary pace. BMW (Rowe Racing), Audi (Scherer PHX) and the Lamborghini of the Abt team have already finished on the podium this season. In the qualifying sessions, Falken was even the only Porsche team to make it onto the front row of the grid once, which was otherwise contested by the HRT-Mercedes-AMG GT3s alongside Rowe-BMW and Scherer-PHX-Audi. And the other teams and manufacturers in the top category will also be doing their utmost to be perfectly sorted in the race of the year: Aston Martin and Scuderia Glickenhaus, for example, with their beautiful SCG 004c. Not forgetting the only Ferrari in the field! Klaus “Frikadelli” Abbelen and his Frikadelli Racing team clinched the historic first overall victory for a Ferrari last year and will therefore line up to defend the title this year with the number #1 starting number in his strongly equipped 296 GT3.
A whole week of superlatives
The ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring earns the title of “biggest race in the world” several times over at this year’s 52nd edition. Nowhere else, for example, is there such a large starting field: 130 vehicles in over 20 classes will be competing. The battle for the class trophies is also tough in some cases, as the respective classes are heavily populated. Of course, the track, which is over 25 km long, is also a superlative, and the race can only be organised safely by a gigantic team of around 2,000 often volunteer helpers. And the insane party of over 200,000 visitors around the Nordschleife is unrivalled. The arrival of the countless groups of visitors has been underway since Monday morning, who are setting up home and ensuring that the first camping pitches will be full as early as Wednesday. But don’t worry: even with record crowds, there are always free camping options signposted along the route. Day visitors will also always find a car park (although the walk may be a little longer on the main visitor days on Fridays and Saturdays). There is also likely to be increased traffic and road closures around the route throughout the week. The organisers therefore recommend arriving early and following the radio traffic news.
Programme full of highlights
The fact that the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring is so popular with fans is not only due to the one-off action in the main race. The race weekend is also packed with other highlights. The first races in the supporting programme take place on Thursday (30 May). The highlight of the day is the second 24-hour qualifying session in the late evening, which runs until 11.30 pm and offers a foretaste of the long 24-hour night from Saturday to Sunday. Further support races follow on Friday and an absolute festival highlight in the late afternoon: the fastest teams battle for pole position in the two-part top qualifying session. Afterwards, the pit lane will open for a large autograph session with all the teams, which will be combined with a track and pit walk. At the same time, there will be plenty of action at the Falken Drift Show in the Müllenbachschleife. Saturday offers an extra programme before the start of the 24h in the afternoon. This includes the three-hour ADAC 24h Classic race with over 200 historic racing cars. Even when the starting grid is formed at 14:45, it won’t be boring, because there will be plenty to see at the start and finish – including the Energydrink Monster bike artists, who will also provide entertainment with their shows in the paddock throughout the weekend. There will be parades on the track before the start by BMW, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen, among others. The latter will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Golf during the 24-hour race with many activities – including the world premiere of the VW Golf GTI Clubsport. From Thursday, the ring°boulevard will also become a fan mile with many exhibitors and activities. In the paddock, there will be large fan hotspots around the RAVENOL Ferris wheel that can be seen from afar. Among other things, the Monster energy drink can be found here, Hyundai offers a large fan programme and Mercedes-AMG celebrates 130 years of motorsport success. On the track, the RCN performance test (Thursday on the Nordschleife), the two Cup and Touring Car Trophy races (Thursday and Friday), three rounds of the Touring Car Legends (daily Thursday to Saturday) and the 24h Classic (Saturday) will provide entertainment.
