MORE THAN MOTORSPORT.

The Nürburgring’s owner regularly opens the gates to the Grand Prix and Nordschleife circuits for hobbyist drivers who don’t have any specialist racing experience. However, the 24-hour race is not open to motorsport amateurs.

To participate in racing events on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, a so-called ‘Nordschleife license’ (officially: DMSB Permit Nordschleife) is required. This is primarily for safety reasons, as it ensures that drivers have a basic level of Nordschleife experience and knowledge of the circuit’s rules. The easiest way to get a DMSB Permit Nordscheife is through one of the specially offered training courses.

The permit is available in three levels, from A to C. For the 24-hour race, a permit of level B or above is required. However, this is only sufficient for the smaller performance classes, with an A permit needed for the higher-powered vehicle categories. To get an A permit, drivers must have competed in two VLN Endurance Championship races (ADAC 24h qualifying races over six hours also count) at the Nürburgring.

Holders of an international C-licence can obtain a DMSB Permit Nordschleife comparatively easily via a Nordschleife driver training course or by proving participation in at least one RCN (Rundstrecken Challenge Nürburgring) series race.

Simple question, difficult answer: the combination of Nordschleife and Grand Prix track offers several sections that will set a driver’s heartbeat racing. At the forefront are the following sections, which have already left many over-ambitious competitors bitterly punished.

Schwedenkreuz: Drivers enter at high speed from a slight left turn, then braking hard down to a medium right turn. With many bumps and faults, it is extremely dangerous in variable weather conditions.

Exit Fuchsröhre: This is a very fast corner. From a dip it goes onwards into a slight left bend, which lies directly at the top of a crest. If you steer too hard at the wrong moment, you’ll quickly have to contend with an extremely light tail.

Adenauer Forst: A comparatively slow section, but the track turns suddenly, almost surprisingly, hard to the left, and immediately afterwards changes to a 90-degree right again. Anyone who is surprised by bad grip conditions here will at best drive straight across the green triangle between the two corners. In worse cases, the crash barriers almost directly adjacent to the track are waiting to greet you.

Brünnchen: The sticking point here is the medium-fast right. At first it looks as if it's on a slightly incline. But towards the exit of the curve, it falls off to the outside and "closes" a little. If you allow yourself to drift too far out, or accelerate too early, you’ll end up in a small but deep (and highly frequented) gravel trap – or in the crash barriers if that isn’t enough to stop you.

Caracciola Karussel: The carousel is legendary – a type of corner with elevation this uneven cannot be experienced anywhere else. Here man and machine are not only shaken vigorously: anyone who misjudges the speed at the entrance to the corner will be literally ejected as a result of the enormous centrifugal forces and quickly find themselves in the crash barriers above the road.

Schwalbenschwanz: From a fast right bend and a fluid left, drivers go straight into another left bend, which is not quite as fluid. The uneven concrete surface is particularly treacherous, which has given this section of the track the nickname "small carousel".

There are numerous spots to pitch your tent along the Nordschleife. Hatzenbach, Adenauer Forst, Metzgesfeld, Wehrseifen and Schwalbenschwanz are popular and accordingly lively. The camping and party zone par excellence is found at Brünnchen. The car park here, with its caravan and tent village, embodies the mythical qualities of the Nordschleife like no other section of the circuit. Even better, the equally popular Karussel, Wippermann and Pflanzgarten sections are easy to reach from here. It’s worth noting that these areas are open for early campers several days before the actual race (from 8am, June 17th to 12pm, June 24). None are suitable for those requiring any creature comforts or a good dose of peace and tranquillity, but for motorsport fans they offer the festival of a lifetime.

The so-called Balance of Performance, or BoP for short, is intended to guarantee exciting races. Its basis is the division of competing cars into different performance classes. The BoP includes measures designed to ensure equal opportunities between the numerous brands. To this end, different vehicle and engine concepts are brought into a narrow performance window. Typical restrictions are the minimum weight and the restrictor size for the intake, which directly influences engine performance. A look at the statistics shows just how incredibly thrilling the races can be as a result of BoP: in recent years, just seconds have been decisive for victory at the Nürburgring.

In 2015, a tragic accident occurred during a race of the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring, in which a spectator died. Track officials identified the extreme speed of the race’s top vehicles, in connection with the special track conditions, as the cause and established speed limits in particularly critical areas. In 2016, the speed limits of 250 km/h at Döttinger Höhe and 200 km/h at Schwedenkreuz were removed, after changes to the track, as well as performance adjustments by the regulations, made a return to unrestricted racing possible.