| Current Season: | Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie |
| Inaugural: | 1977 |
The Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie[1] (NLS) is an organisation of motorsport clubs of which each hosts one event of a nine-race series held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Participants of NLS races range from amateurs in small road legal cars with rollcages and harnesses to professional factory teams racing Group GT3 cars. The NLS series is closely associated with the Nürburgring 24 Hours, as it has similar rules (mostly), and mainly the same participants. In the calendar, several weeks around the 24h date in May/June are taken off to allow teams to prepare for the 24h, and to fix their cars afterwards. However, the 24h is no longer a part of the championship.
The championship is known for its large quantity of cars as well as its variety, with an average of 113 cars starting per race in 2023.[2]
As of December 2023, future of the championship is unclear, with the series' current right holders involved in a legal battle with Nürburgring owners over race dates for 2024,[3] and plans for a rival Nürburgring-based series currently under way.[4] [5]
The series was formerly known as VLN (German: Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring, Association of Nürburgring Endurance Cup Organisers) until 2020. The series was named "BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft (BFGLM)" from 2001 to 2009.
The VLN was founded in 1977 by several motorsport clubs, which are members of ADAC or Deutscher Motorsport Verband (DMV), in order to join forces. Previously, each club had run its own touring car racing event on the Nürburgring, lasting for 3.5 to 6 hours, with about 150 cars and 400 drivers taking part. The rules were unified and the races were made part of a series.
The winners of the series were awarded a Cup (German Pokal), sponsored by Valvoline and later Veedol lubrication products. Due to this, both organisation and races were simply informally called "Veedol-Cup" for many years. Since the change of sponsorship and the official recognition by Deutscher Motor Sport Bund (DMSB) as the German endurance championship (German Meisterschaft) in 2001, the former Veedol Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring was the BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring. The championship was renamed the NLS in 2020, however the name of the VLN organisation stays the same.
Apart from the 24 Hours, the Rundstrecken Challenge Nürburgring (RCN/CHC) and GLP are related smaller events dedicated to non-professionals.
Each NLS race is held as a "one-day event" on Saturdays only, in order to limit costs. The mandatory drivers briefing is at 07:30, qualifying is from 08:30 to 10:00. Following a warm-up lap behind safety cars, the first of three groups starts the race at 12:00, followed by the other two a few minutes later, in time before the fastest cars complete their first lap in just over 8 minutes. After parc fermé is opened and the winners are honoured, the teams can travel home on race day. At some events, the schedule also accommodates additional sprint races of visiting other series, mainly classic cars and youngtimers.
The "Nürburgring 6 Hours" is considered the season highlight – in 1998, even Sir Jack Brabham took part, at age 72. Here, 2 to 4 drivers per cars are entered, while in all others races, a single driver can drive all alone for 4 hours, or up to 3 can form a team. There are two other standout races – the NLS-6 "Barbarossapreis", in which Michael Schumacher's success with Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One is honoured with all podium placegetters receiving red wigs; and the NLS-9 "Münsterlandpokal" or "Schinkenrennen" (ham race), where large pieces of ham from the Münsterland area are presented to class winners.
Most of the fans watch the race on the Nordschleife. To get to the favourite viewing points it is often necessary to take a walk. Several sections, including "Adenauer Forst", "Karussell", and "Wippermann", are up to a kilometre away from the nearest main road. Easy to reach and always well attended are sections such as "Breidscheid", "Brünnchen", and "Pflanzgarten". Around most of the Nordschleife no entrance fee is raised. A ticket for the price of €20 is needed for access to the paddock and grid walk, the grandstands on the Grand Prix circuit of the Nürburgring, and two spectator areas at the Nordschleife.
A variety of cars compete at the same time during each race. In the 2023 season, cars in 22[6] classes competed in at least one race. Most of them can be classified in the following groups:
A large portion of the field is made of TCR and Cup classes (BMW M240i, BMW M2 CS, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport) that do not fit in specific groups.
Due to the length of the track and championship's format, the NLS has unusual safety procedures compared to other modern professional racing series. Safety cars are not used, double yellow flags indicate a local speed limit of 120 km/h, and code 60 flags, used locally for conditions warranting a safety car on shorter tracks, limit the speed to 60 km/h.[7] It is common for course cars and vehicle recovery trucks to travel around the course under local double yellow flags.
Closing speeds between the fastest and slowest car classes is a common concern, as the track has many blind crests and corners.
Four drivers have died in accidents in the NLS, Wolfgang Offermann in 1986, Wolfgang Scholz in 1998, Carola Biehler in 2000 and Leo Löwenstein in 2010.[8] [9] [10] [11] Two drivers have died of heart attacks at the wheel, Stefan Eickelmann in 1998 and two times drivers champion Wolf Silvester in 2013.[12] [13] One marshal and one spectator have died after being hit by a car in 1977 and 2015 respectively.[14] [15]
The NLS has the particularity of awarding its main championship, the drivers championship, based on group positions rather than overall positions. This means that championship contenders very often do not contend for overall wins or podiums, and do not race directly against each other. As of 2023, the last four drivers championships were won by entries in the slower production cars group, while drivers piloting entry level hatchbacks such as the Renault Clio, Opel Corsa or Suzuki Swift have won the championship in the past.
There is however an overall teams' championship, named NLS Speed-Trophy, based on overall results only, meaning that it is contested by the faster SP9 (GT3), or Cup 2 (Porsche 992 GT3) classes. Other trophies such as the Junior or Ladies trophy follow the same format as the drivers championship, while each class has its own individual drivers and teams championship.
| Year | Driver(s) | Car | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |  Ernst Thierfelder | Simca Rallye | ETH Tuning (1) | |
| 1978 | Hans Weisgerber | BMW 2002 (1) | MSTC Erbach | |
| 1979 | Wolfgang Kudrass Norbert Schiffbauer | Audi 50 | Veytal Tuning | |
| 1980 | Johannes Scheid | Autobianchi A112 | Scheid-Motorsport (1) | |
| 1981 | Johannes Scheid (2) Reinhold Köster | Fiat 127 Sport | Scheid-Motorsport (2) | |
| 1982 | Arno Wester Walter Jirak | Volkswagen Golf GTi (1) | Tannenkamp Motorsport | |
| 1983 | Karl-Heinz Schäfer | Opel Kadett GT/E (1) | Mich Tuning (1) | |
| 1984 | Heinrich Sprungmann Dierk Meyer | Volkswagen Golf GTi (2) | VAG Sprungmann Essen | |
| 1985 | Karl-Heinz Kuhlendahl | Volkswagen Scirocco (3) | Nothelle Motorsport | |
| 1986 | Herbert Kummle | Ford Escort RS2000 | Pontus Racing | |
| 1987 | Ludwig Nett Jürgen Nett | Peugeot 205 GTi | Nett Tuning (2) | |
| 1988 | Wolfgang Schrey Günter Schrey | Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 | Team Matter Sicherheit | |
| 1989 | Lutz-Wilhelm Höhl | Volkswagen Polo Coupé (4) | Veytal Tuning | |
| 1990 | Heinz-Otto Fritzsche(1) Jürgen Fritzsche (1) | Opel Kadett GSi 16V (2) | Mantzel Tuning (1) | |
| 1991 | Heinz-Otto Fritzsche(2) Jürgen Fritzsche (2) | Opel Kadett GSi 16V (3) | Mantzel Tuning (2) | |
| 1992 | Dirk Adorf Guido Thierfelder | Citroën AX Sport | ETH Tuning (2) | |
| 1993 | Heinz-Otto Fritzsche(3) Roland Senge | Opel Astra GSi 16V (4) | Kissling Motorsport (1) | |
| 1994 | Johannes Scheid (3) Hans Widmann | BMW M3 (2) | Scheid-Motorsport (1) | |
| 1995 | Johannes Scheid (5) Hans Widmann (2) | BMW M3 (3) | Scheid-Motorsport (2) | |
| 1996 | Dirk Adorf Thomas Winkelhock | Opel Astra GSi 16V (5) | Günther Müller Sports | |
| 1997 | Dirk Adorf (2) Heinz-Josef "Juppi" Bermes | Opel Astra GSi 16V (6) |  Mühlner Motorsport | |
| 1998 | Johannes Scheid (6) Sabine Reck | BMW M3 (4) | Scheid-Motorsport (3) | |
| 1999 | Peter Zakowski Hans-Jürgen Tiemann | Chrysler Viper | Zakspeed Racing | |
| 2000 | Jens Lührsen Uwe Unteroberdörster | Suzuki Swift | Fleper-Motorsport | |
| 2001 | Klaus-Peter Thaler Heinz Remmen | Opel Astra GSi 16V (7) | Kissling Motorsport (2) | |
| 2002 | Mario Merten | BMW 318iS (5) | Bonk Motorsport | |
| 2003 | Heinz-Otto Fritzsche (4) Jürgen Fritzsche (3) | Opel Corsa C (8) | Kissling Motorsport (3) | |
| 2004 | Arnd Meier René Wolff | BMW 318iS (6) | SAX Racing | |
| 2005 | Claudia Hürtgen | BMW 320 (7) | Schubert Motorsport | |
| 2006 | Mario Merten "Wolf Silvester" (Wolfgang Dess) | BMW 318iS (8) | Bonk Motorsport (1) | |
| 2007 | Heinz-Otto Fritzsche (5) Jürgen Fritzsche (4) Marco Wolf | Opel Astra (9) | Kissling Motorsport (4) | |
| 2008 | Alexander Böhm (1) Matthias Unger | BMW 325i (9) | Black Falcon(1) | |
| 2009 | Alexander Böhm (2) Seán Paul Breslin Christer Jöns | BMW 325i (10) | Black Falcon (2) | |
| 2010 | Mario Merten "Wolf Silvester" (Wolfgang Dess) | BMW Z4 (11) | Bonk Motorsport (2) | |
| 2011 | Carsten Knechtges Manuel Metzger Tim Scheerbarth | BMW Z4 (12) | Black Falcon (3) | |
| 2012 | Ulrich Andree Dominik Brinkmann Christian Krognes | Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 (5) | LMS Engineering | |
| 2013 | Dirk Groneck (1) Tim Groneck (1) | Renault Clio (1) | Groneck Motorsport (1) | |
| 2014 | Rolf Derscheid Michael Flehmer | BMW 325i (13) | Derscheid Motorsport | |
| 2015 | Dirk Groneck(2) Tim Groneck(2) | Renault Clio (2) | Groneck Motorsport (2) | |
| 2016 | Alexander Mies Michael Schrey (1) | BMW M325i Racing Cup (14) | Bonk Motorsport (3) | |
| 2017 | Michael Schrey (2) | BMW M325i Racing Cup (15) | Bonk Motorsport (4) | |
| 2018 | Philipp Leisen (1) Christopher Rink (1) Danny Brink (1) | BMW 325i (16) | Adrenalin Motorsport | |
| 2019 | Yannick Fübrich David Griessner | BMW M240i Racing Cup (16) | Adrenalin Motorsport (2) | |
| 2020 | Philipp Leisen (2) Christopher Rink (2) Danny Brink (2) | BMW 325i (17) | Adrenalin Motorsport (3) | |
| 2021 | Philipp Leisen (3) Danny Brink (3) | BMW 325i (18) | Adrenalin Motorsport (4) | |
| 2022 | Daniel Zils Oskar Sandberg Sindre Setsaas | BMW 330i (19) | Adrenalin Motorsport (5) | |
| 2023 | Daniel Zils (2) Oskar Sandberg (2) Philipp Leisen (4) | BMW 330i (20) | Adrenalin Motorsport (6) | |
| Sources:[16] [17] [18] | ||||
Last updated 8 October 2023, listing drivers with 10+ victories only.[19]
| Driver | Overall wins | Manufacturer | Overall wins | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | 1 | 226 | |||
| 2 | 29 | 2 | Mercedes-Benz | 62 | ||
| 3 | Ullrich Richter | 28 | 3 | BMW | 54 | |
| 4 | 26 | 4 | Audi | 29 | ||
| 5 | Ford | 27 | ||||
| 6 | Edgar Dören | 24 | 6 | Opel | 21 | |
| 7 | Peter Zakowski | 22 | 7 | Chrysler | 17 | |
| 8 | Hans-Jürgen Tiemann | 21 | 8 | Alfa Romeo | 4 | |
| 9 | 19 | 9 | V8Star-Jaguar | 3 | ||
| 10 | Frank Stippler | 15 | 10 | Ferrari | 2 | |
| 11 | 13 | 11 | Aston Martin | 1 | ||
| 12 | Lexus | 1 | ||||
| 13 | Otto Altenbach | 12 | 13 | Toyota | 1 | |
| Jürgen Lässig | ||||||
| Jürgen Oppermann | ||||||
| 16 | 10 | |||||
Last updated 8 October 2023, listing top 10 drivers and maunfacturers only.[20]
| Driver | Group wins | Manufacturer | Group wins | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralf Schall | 67 | 1 | Porsche | 733 | |
| 2 | Edgar Dören | 53 | 2 | BMW | 506 | |
| 3 | 48 | 3 | Ford | 139 | ||
| 4 | Opel | 120 | ||||
| 5 | Andreas Schall | 45 | 5 | Mercedes-Benz | 108 | |
| 6 | Ulrich Richter | 41 | 6 | Audi | 46 | |
| Johannes Scheid | 7 | Honda | 43 | |||
| 8 | Volker Strycek | 40 | 8 | Alfa Romeo | 24 | |
| 9 | Arno Klasen | 39 | 9 | Renault | 19 | |
| 10 | Paul Hulverscheid | 35 | 10 | Volkswagen | 16 | |
| Sabine Schimtz | ||||||
Last updated 8 October 2023, listing top 10 drivers and maunfacturers only.[21]
| Driver | Class wins | Manufacturer | Class wins | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volker Strycek | 135 | 1 | 2179 | ||
| 2 | Johannes Scheid | 134 | 2 | Porsche | 1532 | |
| 3 | Ralf Schall | 105 | 3 | Opel | 884 | |
| 4 | Daniel Zils | 99 | 4 | Volkswagen | 779 | |
| 5 | Andreas Schall | 98 | 5 | Ford | 512 | |
| 6 | Peter Hass | 97 | 6 | Audi | 452 | |
| 7 | Jürgen Nett | 93 | 7 | Honda | 450 | |
| 8 | Heinz-Otto Fritzsche | 89 | 8 | Renault | 282 | |
| 9 | Wolfgang Weber | 77 | 9 | Mercedes-Benz | 268 | |
| 10 | Paul Hulverscheid | 76 | 10 | Peugeot | 256 |