The ADAC 24h Nürburgring is expanding into a full Nordschleife series. ADAC Nordrhein confirmed the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Series on 27 July, a five-event, six-race calendar for 2027 built around the 24-hour regulations. It adds a second endurance series alongside the established Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), and the teams’ body ILN has already come out against it.
Five events and six races on the 24h layout
The plan puts the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on a wider footing from 2027. Alongside the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring and the 24h Qualifiers, ADAC Nordrhein wants to add a 24h Prologue as a season opener, giving teams more track time before the four-day showpiece. Two summer rounds complete the schedule, run within the ADAC Eifelrennen and the ADAC 1000km race, both organised by DAMC 05 Veranstaltungs-GmbH. Both are long-standing Nürburgring events. The Eifelrennen predates the circuit itself, first held in 1922 on public roads in the Eifel, and it provided the Nürburgring’s opening race when the track was inaugurated in June 1927. Meanwhile, the Nürburgring 1000km was first held in 1953 as a round of the inaugural World Sportscar Championship and remained a major international sportscar fixture for much of its history.
Every round would use the 24h layout that combines the Grand Prix circuit without the Arena section and the Nordschleife, under the same technical rules as the main event. “We are thereby responding to the wishes of many teams who wanted compact and targeted preparation for the ‘race of the year’ on the Nürburgring Nordschleife,” said Walter Hornung, sporting director of ADAC Nordrhein.
Registered entrants would receive reduced entry fees and a guaranteed starting place in the 24 Hours, while prize money is also planned.
The 2027 calendar lists five events and six races, with the Qualifiers serving as a doubleheader:
- 24h Nürburgring Prologue: 2–3 April (provisional)
- 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers: 30 April – 2 May (confirmed)
- ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring: 27–30 May (confirmed)
- ADAC Eifelrennen: 30 July – 1 August (provisional)
- ADAC 1000km Race: 10–12 September (provisional)
ILN rejects a second series
The Interessengemeinschaft Langstrecke Nürburgring (ILN), which represents teams and competing at the Nürburgring, rejected the plan on 28 July. NLS powerhouses Manthey, Sorg Rennsport, Scherer Sport, Black Falcon, Adrenalin-Motorsport and Schnabl Engineering are among the members of the ILN. Its argument is that two series chasing the same limited pool of Nordschleife dates weakens everyone and could cut the number of quality endurance races on offer in the Eifel.
“Two racing series competing against each other on the Nordschleife endanger the future of endurance racing in the Eifel,” said ILN chairman Martin Rosorius in a statement. He said the 2027 start comes at too short notice for teams to plan around, and that the ILN would only consider changes from 2028.
Rosorius put the issue in terms of cooperation rather than a contest. “Motorsport only works together!” he said, appealing to everyone involved to settle their differences and pull in the same direction towards a financially healthy, long-term solution. He also called on the ADAC and its three regional clubs involved in the NLS to hold a single, united line, and asked that the long-running legal dispute between the circuit operator and NLS organiser VLN be brought to a close, with clear organiser structures and fixed points of contact for every Nordschleife endurance race.
2023 dispute
The ILN compared the proposal with the dispute that culminated in competing NLS and Nürburgring Endurance Series (NES) calendars for 2024. That followed a long-running legal conflict between the VLN organisation and the Nürburgring over access to Nordschleife race dates.
The NES called off the remainder of its 2024 season in mid-May after two cancelled races, difficulties with stakeholders and low entry numbers. The Nürburgring offered the freed dates to the NLS, as required under a court judgment.
For now most of the calendar is provisional, with only the Qualifiers and the 24 Hours themselves confirmed.
