All about the 24 Hours Nürburgring Race

By aigerim
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Updated: July 24, 2019
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Almost every fan of motorsports will have heard of the 24 Hours Nürburgring Race.

This monster of an event is a 24-hour annual Gt and touring car endurance race designed to test the mettle of major and minor players in the field alike. It takes place on the Nordschleife, or “North Loop” of the Nürburgring track in central Germany.

As of this year (2019), the current title sponsor is TOTAL Oils, who are replacing the insurance group Zurich. The first 24 Hours Nürburgring Race was held in 1970 on the 25 km track and has been a staple of motorsports ever since. On average, over 200 cars and 700 drivers participate each year, with vehicles containing driving teams of up to four members.

As of 2019, the current manufacturer holding the most wins is BMW, which has managed to take away 19 victories over the last 49 years. The Manthey Racing team continues to be the one with the most wins with 6 victories, while three individual drivers are tied for the most wins with a whopping 5 victories apiece: Timo Bernhard, Pedro Lamy, and Marcel Tiemann.

The official title of this race is the ADAC 24h Rennen Nürburgring or the ADAC 24 Hour Race Nürburgring. It was created by the ADAC and is often compared to the Spa 24 Hours, which was developed in 1924. It advertises itself as one of the real endurance races, covering a reasonable amount of time but still demanding speed and endurance from its participants.

In general, the 24 Hours Nurburgring Race is targeted towards amateurs to give them a chance to develop their skills and also to ensure there is a starting field of around 200 cars. This is officially an international event that is bilingual and broadcast in German and English to attract even more participants.

Documentation is available in both languages and fans can take advantage of interpreters if they do not understand either language well. The entry fees for participants vary based on the type of car being brought, with more expensive vehicles drawing larger fees.

An advance payment is also expected to help cover the cost of fuel necessary to keep the cars running. Because spectator numbers dropped drastically in the 1990s when only standard FIA Group N cars were allowed to compete, the race organizers have started to admit more elaborate and spectacular vehicles starting in 1999. Now in 2019, several brand new models are expected to compete, drawing excitement from new droves of fans.

Because of the length of the race, all of the vehicles that participate in the 2019 24 hours Nurburgring Race are required to have teams that consist of more than one driver, when the current average being teams of 4. Some participants only submit teams of 2, meaning each driver is expected to remain in control for a whopping 12 hours.

For the practice sessions, 230 cars are allowed. Afterwards, 210 qualify for the actual race, ensuring there is enough room on the track. This means as many as 800 drivers can be expected to participate in a single event, giving numerous amateurs a chance to test their mettle. A single driver is allowed to drive for 150 minutes non-stop before being required to take at least a 2 hour break before their next session.

This year’s 24 Hours Nürburgring Race will be held from June 20th – 23rd and will consist of an action-packed day and night as over 160 vehicles try to prove themselves as superior to the rest. In previous years, the maximum number of laps completed has been 156, and many fans wonder if this year’s entries will be able to outshine their ancestors by bringing new levels of speed and endurance to the event.

Naturally, the organizers of the race do concern themselves with the teams’ safety, and races have been flagged in the past for up to nine hours for inclement weather. This year’s forecast is for a day and night of sunshine and clear skies, meaning there will likely be no fog or rain delays to keep the race from going on.

The 2019 Teams

So, who can spectators expect to see? At present there are almost 200 teams getting ready to participate. Some of the well-known frontrunners include: #1: Manthey-Racing

Richard Lietz
Frédéric Makowiecki
Patrick Pilet
Nick Tandy

#2: Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon

Adam Christodoulou
Maro Engel
Manuel Metzger
Dirk Müller

#29: Audi Sport Team Land

Christopher Mies
Rene Rast
Kelvin van der Linde
Christopher Haase

#35: AMR Performance Centre

Marco Müller
Tony Richards
David Thilenius
Heinz Jürgen Kroner

#42: BMW Team Schnitzer

Augusto Farfus
Martin Tomczyk
Sheldon van der Linde
Timo Scheider

#44: Falken Motorsports

Klaus Bachler
Jörg Bergmeister
Martin Ragginger
Dirk Werner

#81: Hofor-Racing

Martin Kroll
Roland Eggimann
Christian Titze
Gustav Engljähringer

#159: Köppen Motorsport

Franco Arcidiancone
Axel Wiegner
Marco van Ramshorst
Alexander Müller

There are also some teams that are brand new to the world of endurance racing, including #89 Giti Tire Motorsport by WS Racing. This team is controlled by the Giti Tire Group, which just entered motorsports three years ago and will be completing their first endurance event at the 2019 24 Hours Nürburgring Race.

The team consists of four different vehicles of four drivers each, meaning the Giti Tire Group stands a good chance of placing this year. The car labelled #89 also features four female drivers, a rare site even at Nürburgring: Jasmin Preisig, Carrie Schreiner, Ronja Assmann, Petra Baecker.

Ferrari Fire

The Octane 126 team encountered a serious issue just a few hours into the 24-hour competition. Their Ferrari 488 GT3 began to smoke and caught fire, causing driver Alexander Prinz to have to leave the track and rush out of the car.

Prinz made a valiant effort at trying to salvage the car, attempting to douse the flames with a small handheld fire extinguisher and at one point trying to pull the car off the grass with his own hands. Luckily Prinz was not hurt during the fire. While the race was able to continue without a hitch the Octane team was forced to drop out.

It does not appear that any contact with other cars caused the fire, rather it seemed to spring up out of some sort of mechanical failure. In races like these fires can be incredibly dangerous, as the high-powered fuel in the car is extremely combustible. Fire marshals were deployed immediately and did manage to get the blaze under control right away.

Over 200,000 Fans in Attendance

The Nurburgring 24 hour race is an affair that lasts several days, between qualifying and practice laps, secondary races, and the final 24-hour event itself. This year’s attendance was strong, as it has been in recent years.

Reports are that about 230,000 people attended the event at some point. Many of these fans arrived in their own motorhomes which were parked in the area around the track.

With a day-long race there is plenty of time to watch the action, then cycle around to any of the food vendors in the area or participate in the festival-like atmosphere around the track. Attendance on this scale puts the Nurburgring race among the best-attended sporting events in the world.

Unlike stadium sports like soccer or basketball, the wide-open track area allows massive numbers of fans to come and enjoy the sport. People came from all four corners of the globe just to watch this event.

Opel Manta Races for 20th Year in a Row

This year’s edition of the 24-hour race was a platinum anniversary for one car in the SP3 class. The Opel Manta affectionately known as ‘Foxtail’ raced at Nurburgring for the 20th year in a row.

This particular car has been run in this race for well over half of the race’s history at this point. The SP3 class is for cars whose engine displacement is less than 2.0 liters, so this car was never going to be the fastest on the track but still has a good shot at taking down its group.

However, the Manta’s day was cut short when it made early contact with a Mercedes car and was forced to retire. The car is known as a fan favorite around the track and sports a distinctive foxtail on its backside. Possibly not the most aerodynamic choice, but this car more than makes up for that in style and, of course, longevity.

No word yet on whether the Manta will be back for a 21st race next year. If her team can pull together the budget to make a run at it, maybe we’ll see the old Foxtail once again.

Conclusion

As the date of the race draws closer and closer, it’s time for excited fans to get their tickets, choose their favorite team, and maybe some face paint. This year’s lineup promises 24 hours of pure ecstasy and excitement with previous winners arriving as well as some newcomers ready to test their mettle on one of the most famous tracks in racing history.

Nurburgring Race