The third of a total of six ADAC Racing Weekends of 2023 will take place at the Nürburgring sprint circuit this coming weekend. The packed programme of the three-day event in the Eifel region includes the GTC Race, the Special Touring Car Trophy (STT), the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup, the AvD Historic Race Cup, the DMV BMW 318ti Cup, the DMV BMW Challenge, the DMV Super Touring & GT Cup and the VFV GLP Pro. Once again, all races and classifications will be broadcast in a free live stream at ADAC Motorsport YouTube Channel; the live stream will start at 9:00 am on Saturday and 8:30 am on Sunday.

As always, the GTC Race consists of the GT60 powered by Pirelli endurance race and two GT Sprints. In the GT60 powered by Pirelli, GTC support driver Julian Hanses (Audi R8 LMS GT3) is ahead in the GT3 classification, while in the GT4 class a quartet consisting of Enrico Förderer, Jay Mo Härtling, Joel Mesch and Tim Neuser (all Mercedes-AMG GT4) is leading. The best of the GT Sprint is currently GT3 man Julian Hanses, in the GT4 class Härtling and Leo Pichler (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4) share first place. In the Eifel, Carrie Schreiner (Audi R8 LMS GT3) will also be in the mix again. The fast lady, reigning champion in the GT60 powered by Pirelli, was able to enjoy a very special success one week before her Nürburgring appearance: She won a round of the F1 Academy in Zandvoort, a race series founded by the FIA in which only women are eligible to compete.

In the STT, the duo Uwe Lauer / Francesco Lopez as well as solo starter Oliver Plassmann (all Ferrari 488 GT3) are fighting a close duel for the top spot in the drivers' standings, both rivals are currently exactly tied with 75.15 points each. Both have scored one victory each so far: Lauer / Lopez won at the season opener in Hockenheim, Plassmann was unbeatable at the Lausitzring. A total of 17 STT cars are expected at the Nürburgring, spread over three divisions. They all have two 40-minute races ahead of them, in which a pit stop is compulsory and a driver change is allowed since this season.

In the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup, the young drivers compete with identical VW up! GTIs. Since all the participants use the same equipment, exciting races are inevitable. Linus Hahne is currently leading the overall standings, but Leon Arndt is just seven points behind in second place. The two established drivers, who already fought for the top places in the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup last year, are being put under a lot of pressure by the fast rookies. Rookies Mattis Pluschkell and Mike Müller each won a race and Müller and Tim Melzer each secured a pole position.

With the AvD Historic Race Cup, the ADAC Racing Weekend welcomes a formula series to its programme for the first time this year. At the season opener, Stéphane Lechine (Reynard F389 VWSpiess) dominated the action; the Frenchman was unbeatable in both the dry and the rain. In the overall standings, which combine all classes, Lechine is second just behind leader Roberto Cocciarelli (Swift DB2 Ford).

In the DMV BMW 318ti Cup, defending champion Sebastian Vollak is in first place in the drivers' standings after six rounds, but the junior trio of Julien Rehberg, Leon Hoffmann and Niklas Kalus are hunting down the top dog. All participants drive a standard BMW 318ti from the E36 series, whose power unit develops around 140 hp. Two 60-minute races with compulsory pit stops are held each weekend. Next weekend, the 318ti Cup can boast a special starter: Laurents Hörr, one of the fastest in the Prototype Cup Germany, will make a guest appearance in the 318ti one-make cup.

In the DMV BMW Challenge, Eric van den Munckhof (BMW KK M4 GTR), Thomas Ardelt (BMW M4 GT4 F82), Jan Kortüm (BMW M4 GT4 G82) and Bastian Hein (BMW M4 GT4 G82) shared the winners' trophies among themselves so far. Van den Munckhof and Ardelt each took first place twice, while Kortüm and Hein managed to land a triumph. For a long time, Hein was also set to win the first race at Assen, until his fuel pump failed on the last lap while he was in first place. Kortüm was able to take the lead without a fight and bring it safely to the finish. One day later, Hein celebrated his first victory of the season in the DMV BMW Challenge. 

The DMV Super Touring & GT Cup was only created this year for touring cars and GT vehicles with a power-to-weight ratio of 4.5 kg/hp to 2.21 kg/hp. The racers are divided into a total of five different classes. Four heats have been started so far in 2023, each of which is 30 minutes long. Ioannis Smyrlis (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup) won all four rounds and now wants to continue his winning streak at the Nürburgring.

Finally, the regularity tests of the VFV GLP Pro round off the programme of the upcoming ADAC Racing Weekend. In the classifications, it's not about being the fastest in the field, but completing your laps at a steady pace. The less the individual lap times deviate from each other, the better one is classified at the end. In the current season, Alex Brinkmann has done this best with his 1980 Ford Escort MKII, consequently taking first place in the overall standings across all classes.

Friday will start at 8:05 a.m. with the free practice of the VFV GLP Pro Touring Car 1 and will be concluded at 5:50 p.m. with the completion of the first qualifying of the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup. On Saturday, the starting signal will again be given at 8:05 a.m. with the first qualifying session of the AvD Historic Race Cup, which will also end the day with its third qualifying session at 6:00 p.m.. 

Sunday will be ushered in by the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup with qualifying two; the end will be marked by the finish of the second heat of the DMV Super Touring & GT Cup at 5:10 pm.