ADAC 24H Nürburgring Series: What is it and what does it mean for the NLS and N24?

Credit: Luna Maas

Thursday the 30th of July saw the release of a 134 car entry list for this weekend's NLS 7 race (6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen), but that was very quickly brushed over as conversations swiftly turned back to that of Monday's Nürburgring based news.

At the beginning of the NLS race week, ADAC Nordrhein announced their plans for a new Nürburgring-only series, the 24H Nürburgring Series. The championship - centered around the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in May - is set to launch in 2027.

The five-round calendar is expected to get underway during the first weekend of April, with the inaugural 24h Nürburgring Prologue, followed by the traditional double-header 24h Qualifiers weekend at the end of that month.

Round 3 will be the main event itself, with the teams going twice around the clock at the end of May. with the ADAC Eifelrennen and ADAC 1000km Race concluding the season in August and September.

So a series based around the framework of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with events held solely on the Nordschleife. Where have we heard of that before?

24H Nürburgring Series vs Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS)

This new series is of course, entirely separate from the already existing and already established NLS. But the two do have their distinct differences.

In 2026, the NLS will run 10 races around the Nordschleife - nine four hour events alongside this weekend's six hour.

It's important to note, the N24 itself has never been apart of the NLS calendar and has always been a standalone race in terms of championship standings. Of course it does run by what is almost exactly the same rulebook, with the Qualifiers linking the two directly - the top finishers in each Qualifier race are granted automatic qualification for Top Qualifying for the N24.

Those Qualifier races though, will now be absent from the NLS calendar with the surprise emergence of this new 'rival' series. The newly formed series will also include the flagship event.

So why would competitors stick with the NLS over the 24H Nürburgring Series?

That question becomes even more prominent when you add in the fact that teams who sign up for the five-round calendar next season will benefit from guaranteed entry and reduced entry costs for the N24.

The thing is, the NLS has the history and heritage to back it. It was founded under the VLN name back in 1977 (2027 will be it's 50th anniversary) when several clubs that raced the Nordschliefe in different series came together to form a unified series. The series' name changed to the NLS in 2020, but VLN remains the name of the formation of motorsport clubs make up the series.

The history is particularly important as, just a couple of years ago it faced another rival series. The Nürburgring Endurance Series (NES) was announced in 2023, and ran it's first race in 2024. However, before it's second event, 88 of the series' marshalls staged a walkout and the race could not be run.

From there the rest of the 2024 NES season was cancelled, with plans to re-focus on a 2025 season. But nothing ever came of those plans, and the NES became a failed rival to the NLS.

The NES didn't provide the USP that the 24H Series seems like it will provide. The calendar for it's inaugural season includes the N24 Qualifiers and the N24, the two events that many teams run in the NLS for. What can the NLS actually do here?

The ILN's response

Credit: Luna Maas

On Wednesday afternoon the Interessengemeinschaft Langstrecke Nürburgring (ILN, a Nürburgring Endurance Racing Interest Group) spoke out against the introduction of the new series.

The group was founded by Olaf Manthey (Manthey Racing) back in 2015, and has been a registered association since 2018. Martin Rosorius currently sits as chairman, while the executive committee is formed from members of teams such as Black Falcon, Scherer Sport, Sorg Rennsport and Schnabl Engineering just to name a few. A table of who's who in modern endurance racing around the Nordschliefe.

The body looks to represent the large and (in particular) the smaller teams that race on the Nordschliefe in situations such as this.

With all of those names, the ILN is a very influential body at the Nürburgring, and they are strongly of the opinion that this new series will harm all of those involved, and damage the level and amount of endurance racing we see around the infamous circuit.

“As was the case in 2023 during the dispute over the NES – which ultimately failed – the same principle still applies: two racing series competing in parallel for the limited dates available on the Nürburgring Nordschleife make no sense from the perspective of the teams and participants" said Rosorius.

“Motorsport only works when we work together! We therefore appeal once again to all those involved: sort out your differences and finally pull in the same direction to find an economically sound and long-term viable solution for endurance racing on the Nordschleife. This also means that the ADAC and its three participating regional clubs must adopt a unified stance” he continued.

The main point of the ILN is clear, having two rival series with essentially the same formula will not work. For them, it's about certainty and creating a structure to allow racing at the Nürburgring to flourish.

In 2025 and 2026, both the NLS and N24 have seen a significant boom in spectator numbers and overall interest in the series as it benefits from the current growth seen in all forms of Sportscar racing around the globe.

“Looking ahead, the ILN would like to see clear organisational structures and designated points of contact for all endurance races at the Nürburgring,” Rosorius added.

“We must now capitalise on this potential and utilise the available resources to further develop endurance racing on the Nordschleife.”

They believe, that cannot happen with two series competing against each other, despite both having a common goal.

What's the solution?

When all is said and done with this all-new series, it will have gone one of three ways.

The first one of which is quite simple. It joins the NES in the bin of failed Nürburgring series. Despite it's USP's, perhaps it finds it difficult to compete with the 50 years of loyalty the competitors can find in the NLS, and they never quite get the number of entries they wished for.

Even with the benefits of reduced fees and a guaranteed N24 entry, the ILN's response shows that many of the big names are against the introduction of the series, so the interest simply might not be there.

However, it could also go the opposite way. Maybe those USP's are too good to say no, and the NLS is the one to go down. While less likely, it still could very well be a possibility.

The main solution though, and the one everyone should be working towards is a joint venture. It's been made clear by the ILN that the two series cannot run simultaneously, at least not sustainably. So they would have to find a way to co-exist.

This answer to the question would actually suit all parties involved quite well. It's a well-known fact that, after the N24 finishes up it's action in May, the NLS sees a fairly significant drop off in entry numbers for the rest of the season. Until it fires back up again in Spring of the following year, when teams want to get back to running in preparation for the 24 Hour.

Let's say the NLS and the 24H Nürburgring Series combine forces, the incentives of a guaranteed spot and reduced entry fees become apart of the NLS, so more teams choose to compete the full season.

Credit: Luna Maas

The teams benefit from the above, while the organisers can expect to see increased participation across the board and the fans can see more great action from the best drivers and teams.

Of course, discussions of this nature will be going much, much deeper than these more surface level points. But in this situation we have, where the ILN are adamant the two cannot co-exist, picking out the positives from each and creating somewhat of a mash-up could work in both of their favours.

Alongside the need to go deeper into regulations and organisation, there also begs the question of, what actually is this series? The NLS or the 24H Nürburgring Series.

Whatever happens, we may not actually see results until 2028, the year after the expected start of the new series. "Planning certainty is of the utmost importance to our teams. We will therefore only consider changes from 2028 onwards.” said Rosorius.

The 24H Series could still well run in 2027, but no doubt with effects on both it and the NLS.

Only time will tell what is actually to happen with racing on the Nordschliefe. But one thing the ILN has made clear, and that every fan, team member, driver and organiser will agree, these decisions have to be made with one clear goal in sight - a clear platform for teams and drivers to race on one of the world's greatest racing circuits.

You can witness some of that action this weekend, with NLS 7 getting underway at 11:00 BST on Saturday morning, running for six hours.