Driving Regulations

FOR DRIVING ON THE NÜRBURGRING

Status: February 2025

The Nürburgring (Nordschleife and/ or Grand Prix Track) is made available for touristic rides (tourist rides) on days when it is not being used for events or testing. The German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) apply to such rides, unless specified otherwise below.

§ 1 – DRIVING LICENCE

  1. Only motor vehicles that comply with the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO) are allowed to drive on the Nürburgring. 

    For motorbikes, participation is only possible on the Grand Prix Track.

    Excluded from the tourist rides are vehicles
    > whose registered manufacturers top speed is less than 130 kph
    > with a permissible total weight of more than 3.5t
    > that do not have the driving dynamic characteristics of a passenger car (e.g. pick-up trucks, vans, motorhomes etc.). This applies regardless of the permissible total weight
    > such as quads, trikes, karts and formula-like vehicles
    > with the following specific modifications:
        > full bucket seats (driver or passenger seat)
        > modified or non-standard removable steering wheels
        > HANS system (Head and Neck Support)
        > unpadded cage
        > spoilers or aerodynamic components that protrude beyond the actual vehicle dimensions or have sharp edges
    > with transit plates, temporary licence plates and classic car transferable licence plates
  2. Every driver must be 18 years of age and in possession of a valid driver’s licence. Tourist rides are subject to a fee, meaning that the driver must have sufficient credit or a valid season ticket.
  3. Drivers of vehicles that are not registered in Germany must carry proof of insurance.
  4. Multi-track motor vehicles must be equiped with a valid front and rear licence plate.
  5. Participating in tourist rides using a season ticket is permitted only in combination with valid ID.
  6. The validity of the season ticket is limited to the duration of the season. A season ends on 31 December of the respective year at the latest. The season ticket is personalised and therefore not transferable, including for use in individual cases. Season tickets cannot be returned and no refund will be made, neither in full nor in part. The general right of withdrawal will be excluded if the season ticket has demonstrably already been used in the respective season.
  7. NG reserves the right to exclude vehicles with visibly recognisable defects from the tourist rides. No claims for compensation may be derived from such exclusions.

§ 2 – USE OF THE NÜRBURGRING

  1. The Nürburgring may only be entered and exited via the points that have been set up for this purpose and are marked accordingly.
  2. The Nürburgring is a one-way street. Vehicles must drive in a clockwise direction.
  3. Vehicles must use the roadway. They must drive on the right-hand side. Overtaking is only allowed on the left. Drifting is not permitted.
  4. There is an absolute ban on stopping on the entire Nürburgring, including the sidelines, with the exception of specially marked areas. Vehicles involved in accidents and vehicles with technical defects are excluded from this ban. Turning and reversing on the Nürburgring is also prohibited.
  5. If a vehicle is no longer fully roadworthy, or if it is leaking operating fluids, the driver is obliged to immediately park the vehicle in a safe position on the hard shoulder or in another suitable spot. The incident must be reported immediately (phone: 08000-302 112). The vehicle occupants are obliged to get themselves to safety behind the guardrails if possible. If necessary, following traffic is to be warned from a safe position. Furthermore, the vehicle must be removed from the track by the towing service authorised by Nürburgring as instructed by track safety staff. The resulting costs are to be borne by the driver of the vehicle. Private towing is not permitted.
  6. Motorcyclists must wear complete protective clothing.
  7. Drivers and passengers must wear seat belts. This also applies to persons in the rear seats. Children must be secured in appropriate child restraint systems.
  8. There is an absolute ban on overtaking in the area of accidents and other danger spots. These must be passed at an appropriate speed, but at a maximum of 50 km/h. The signalling of the track safety personnel, the light panels and the track safety vehicles must be strictly observed. Infrictions will be penalised with a driving ban. The posted safety rules and instructions must be observed at all times.
  9. The posted safety rules and instructions must be observed at all times.
  10. Any commercial use of the NG premises requires the express consent of NG.
  11. No timekeeping whatsoever is permitted during tourist rides. This also applies to so-called BTG lap times. All kinds of timekeeping devices are to be switched off before starting a lap. In the event of non-compliance, NG staff is entitled to stop drivers from starting their lap or to issue a general driving ban. The tourist rides do not serve the purpose of achieving top speeds as a matter of principle.

§ 3 – SPEED

  1. During tourist rides, the basic rules on driving speeds in accordance with §3(1) StVO must be observed (see StVO excerpt below).
  2. Motor vehicle races are banned in accordance with § 315 d StGB. This explicitly also includes attempts by individual vehicles to achieve speed records.
  3. Speed limits must be observed.

§ 4 – LIABILITY AND DAMAGE

  1. Driving on the Nürburgring takes place excluding any liability on the part of NG and persons appointed by it. This particularly applies to damage incurred by the user due to violations of the obligations stated in §§2 and 3 committed by the user themselves. This exclusion does not apply to damage to life or limb or impairment of health caused by intentional or negligent breach of duty – including by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the group of persons released from liability – and also not to damage caused by intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty – including by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the group of persons released from liability.
  2. Accidents and technical defects as well as damage to the track, the hard shoulders, the fences, the guardrails and other facilities of the Nürburgring must immediately be reported to NG staff. Violations will be reported to the police as hit and run offences. The damage caused will be documented in a damage report that has to be signed by the person who caused the damage. The cost of repairing the damage, including the deployment of track safety staff and/or intervention vehicles, shall be borne by the person who caused the damage. Upon request, the hourly rates for staff and/or vehicle deployment charged to persons causing accidents, dirtying the track etc. can be seen at the track management. The assertion of higher damage, to be proven in individual cases, remains unaffected by this regulation. This provision also applies to deployments that are not related to accidents but caused by a technical defect of a vehicle or by spilled operating fluids.
  3. NG shall be entitled to demand an adequate advance cash payment for any damage caused by the user in accordance with the provisions outlined in subsection 2.

§ 5 – TAXI RIDES

  1. Operating commercial taxi rides, whether for a fee or free of charge, is forbidden within the framework of tourist rides without authorisation by NG. A commercial taxi ride is every type of transportation of third parties, whether for a fee or free of charge, that serves to achieve or initiate a direct or indirect profit and/or service provision. In particular, this includes the initiation or deepening of business relationships with third parties, links with other services of the person performing and/ or operating the taxi rides, company incentives (internal, external), raffles as well as the auctioning off of rides via online auction sites such as “eBay”, and the offering of such rides via websites, newspaper advertisements, etc.
  2. Persons violating subsection 1 will be banned from the premises immediately.

§ 6 – NOISE / ENVIRONMENT

  1. Any type of environmental damage must be reported to NG immediately.
  2. Vehicles that do not comply with the noise limits specified in the vehicle registration papers with regard to noise emissions when driving and standing will be banned from driving on the Nürburgring. Furthermore, the noise limit according to the near-field measurement method (95 dB [A]) as well as the maximum sound-power level stipulated by NG (130 dB [A]), measured when the vehicle is driving past, must not be exceeded. NG carries out noise measurements along the track and excludes vehicles that exceed the aforementioned noise limits from the tourist rides. This is undertaken even if the noise limits specified in the vehicle registration papers are complied with. Vehicles with defective or illegally modified exhaust systems will be excluded as well. 
  3. Drivers shall not be entitled to claims for compensation or refund of driving fees because of a ban imposed under subsection 2.

§ 7 – MISCELLANEOUS

  1. The instructions of NG staff must be followed at all times.
  2. Photographs, filming and video recordings are banned during ongoing tourist rides as a matter of principle. Exceptions from this rule require the explicit approval of NG. Holders of driving licences according to §1 who do not want to be photographed or filmed by third parties (including commercial photographers) while driving on the Nürburgring are required to put a marker on the sides of their front and rear windows before going on the track, thus signalling that they object to such photo- and video recordings. The corresponding markers are available at the ticket container.
  3. All kinds of commercial use of the tourist rides require the explicit approval of NG. Driver training sessions or guided rides conducted by third parties or private persons are forbidden during tourist rides as a matter of principle. This ban also applies to driving schools.
  4. All types of guided rides, with vehicles travelling in pairs or in convoys, as well as all kinds of training formats, are forbidden. Violations will be punished by imposing a ban on the respective driver. Users shall not be entitled to compensation or a refund of driving fees in case of such a driving ban.
  5. Rides for training purposes to increase safety during tourist rides require the explicit authorisation of NG.
  6. In case of loss of the season ticket, this must be reported to NG within 48 hours, so that a replacement card can be issued. If NG is not notified within 48 hours after discovering that a card has been lost, no replacement card will be provided. If the loss is reported in time, NG will provide a replacement card. A processing fee will be charged in this case.
  7. NG reserves the right to conduct random checks to verify the identity of registered users and drivers using season tickets. In case of misuse of the season ticket or registered ticket (e.g. through transfer), the account of the respective user will be disabled without refund of the purchase price. NG also reserves the right to impose driving bans on the respective persons and to report the misuse to the police.
  8. NG conducts technical inspections at the track access point in cooperation with a certified expert. Vehicles that have defects or represent a danger to other users of the track will be excluded from the tourist rides. No claims for compensation shall be derived from such bans.
  9. The track may be closed at any time without notice due to unforeseen circumstances (accident, weather, track conditions etc.). No claims for compensation shall be derived from such track closures.
  10. The privacy policy of NG can be found at www.nuerburgring.de/datenschutz.

§ 8 – SANCTIONS

  1. A contractual penalty of € 250 (in words: two hundred and fifty euros) to the benefit of NG shall be agreed between the user and NG for every culpable violation by the user of these driving regulations. Imposing such a contractual penalty explicitly does not exclude the assertion of claims for damages in addition to the contractual penalty.
  2. NG reserves the right to impose a driving ban on track users for serious culpable violations of these general terms and conditions for driving on the Nürburgring. Information on the nature and extent of driving bans imposed for various types of violations can be obtained from NG.

§ 9 – WEBCAM

  1. The driver acknowledges that 360° webcams are installed both at the access road to the Nürburgring Nordschleife and at the start and finish straight of the Grand Prix Track, which can be accessed on the internet through the following links https://nuerburgring.panomax.com/grand-prix and https://panorama.nuerburgring.de/nordschleife-start as well as via the Nürburgring website. The images shown are updated at certain intervals (after 5 minutes at the earliest). Persons are shown pixelated and are therefore not recognisable in the images. The archive function has been deactivated so that images taken at an earlier time can no longer be viewed.

Excerpt from § 3(1)StVO

“The driver of a vehicle may only drive at speeds at which they are capable of controlling the vehicle at all times. In particular, drivers must adapt their speed to the road-, traffic-, visibility- and weather conditions as well as their personal driving skills and the characteristics of the vehicle and its load.”