24 hours in the “Green Hell”. Preview of the Nürburgring 24 hours

One of the most prestigious and toughest endurance races in the world takes place this weekend at the iconic German Nürburgring circuit, surrounded by the Eifel mountains.

The Nürburgring is known as one of the hardest and most dangerous circuits in the world, which is exactly why the race is so popular among both drivers and motorsport fans. Drivers face 25 kilometres of relentless challenge, while the length of the circuit also creates unique weather conditions. It may be sunny and dry on the starting grid, while conditions on the opposite side of the track can be completely different. This is mainly due to the Eifel mountains surrounding the circuit.

Fans are an inseparable part of the event, and this year is expected to be record-breaking in terms of attendance. Up to 300,000 fans are expected to visit the Nürburgring throughout the weekend!

But what cars will we see racing this weekend?

The main category fighting for the overall victory is GT3-SP9. Up to 41 GT3 cars will compete in this class alone. Another category is GT4, which features slightly slower cars compared to GT3 machinery. The Cup classes will also compete and will definitely provide some entertaining on-track battles.

We also cannot forget the Touring Car category, where cars such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI will take part. However, one class stands out from the rest — SPX. This category is reserved for experimental projects. One of the most interesting entries is the BMW M3 Touring 24h, driven by Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen behind the wheel, (you can read more about this project in the previous article). Another unmissable car will be the Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II from HWA, with the team bringing three of these legendary cars to the Nürburgring.

Favorites for Victory

We can all agree that the Team Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 #3, run in cooperation with Winward Racing, is one of the favourites for victory. Driving duties will be shared between GT racing expert and factory Mercedes driver Jules Gounon, DTM driver Lucas Auer, current WEC driver Daniel Juncadella, and four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen. Verstappen himself admitted before the weekend that the goal is simple — to win.

But it certainly will not be easy, as the famous “Grello” Porsche 911 GT3 from Manthey will also be among the favourites, as usual with an incredibly strong and experienced lineup. Sportscar legend Kévin Estre will share the cockpit with two DTM champions — Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven.

In the top SP9 category, we can also find two very strong BMW crews. The first is the #1 ROWE Racing car driven by factory stars Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello, Jordan Pepper, and Kelvin van der Linde. The second is the #77 BMW from Schubert Motorsport, where driving duties will be shared by Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng, Charles Weerts, and Robin Frijns.

HRT Ford Performance will join the grid with three GT3 Mustangs, while the strongest lineup could be the #64 crew featuring Dennis Olsen, Christopher Mies, Frédéric Vervisch, and Arjun Maini.

And that is still not the end of the list — fans will also be able to spot cars such as the Ferrari 296 GT3 and the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 on the starting grid. But at the Nürburgring, the winner can truly be anyone, as the race is famously unpredictable.

The entire race weekend will be streamed for free on YouTube: Watch here