The ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie is coming out of hibernation with a bang – kicking off its 50th season with a bang on March 14, 2026, with the first race of the season. When the field of 132 registered vehicles lines up for the 71st ADAC Westfalenfahrt, it will quickly become clear that the density of top international drivers has rarely been as high as it is this year. Tickets are available from $25 at VLN.de/tickets. Young people up to the age of 14 have free admission. Those who are not there in person can follow the race day via the free livestream on VLN.de.
At the top of the field is Manthey's legendary Porsche 911 GT3 R with start number 911. Not only is reigning DTM champion Ayhancan Güven at the wheel, he is also sharing the cockpit with Porsche works driver Kévin Estre. However, the competition for the ‘Grello’ is more prominent than ever before. Dunlop Motorsport's car number 17 will be driven by Julien Andlauer, who is traveling to the Eifel with the momentum of his overall victory at the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours; he will share the cockpit with Nico Menzel. Team Falken Motorsport also wants to have a say in the overall victory. Morris Schuring, the reigning DTM Junior Champion, will start in the number 44 car alongside Klaus Bachler. REALIZE KONDO RACING with Rinaldi is fielding a real power trio in the race with start number 45. Thierry Vermeulen (Gold Cup winner of the GT World Challenge) and Dennis Marschall (Bronze Champion of the GTWC) will share the Ferrari 296 GT3 with Thomas Neubauer.
BMW and Mercedes-AMG upgrade
The Bavarian competition is particularly impressive: BMW is sending three absolute top teams with factory support to the Green Hell. Schubert Motorsport is attacking with start number 77 and a top-class line-up – here, factory drivers Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng, and Robin Frijns will share the cockpit of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. ROWE RACING is no less ambitious. Car number 98 will be driven by Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello, and Jordan Pepper, while car number 99 will be driven by Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Sheldon Van Der Linde.
The Mercedes-AMG faction is also gearing up massively. With start number 80, Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL is sending a trio into the race that embodies pure GT3 experience: Maxime Martin, Maro Engel, and Luca Stolz want to bring victory back to Affalterbach at the season opener. The line-up is complemented by another Mercedes-AMG GT3 with start number 3 from Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, with three exceptional talents at the wheel: Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella, and Lucas Auer. Four-time Formula 1 world champion and team namesake Max Verstappen will then join the action at NLS2.
After a successful debut season with one victory, the Haupt Racing Team is once again relying on the powerful Ford Mustang GT3. The Pro lineup is rounded off by Konrad Motorsport and the Red Bull Team ABT (both Lamborghini Huracán GT3), Walkenhorst Motorsport (Aston Martin Vantage GT3), Dinamic GT, and Lionspeed GP (Porsche 911 GT3 R).
A breath of fresh air in SP9 AM and PRO-AM
But it's not just the pure Pro category that is highly exciting; the SP9 Pro-Am and Am sub-classifications also promise thrilling duels and interesting stories. ProSport Racing, a familiar face on the Nordschleife, is returning to the top class and will be competing with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3. In the AM class, they will face Goroyan RT by Car Collection (Porsche 911 GT3 R), JUTA Racing (Audi R8 LMS), and Renazzo Motorsport (Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO 2). At the same time, exciting new additions to the PRO-AM class are bringing a breath of fresh air and new competition: GAMOTA Racing (BMW M4 GT3 EVO), Toyo Tires with Ring Racing (Mercedes-AMG GT3), and KKRämer Racing (Audi R8 LMS EVO II) are making their debut in the prestigious GT3 class this season. Their opponents include the two Porsche teams Lionspeed GP and 48 LOSCH Motorsport by BLACK FALCON, as well as another Aston Martin from Walkenhorst Motorsport.
Masterful driver pairings
However, the NLS is not just about the top class: although the fiercely contested Cup classes are not about overall victory, there is still a lot to win. In the BMW M2 Racing class, there is a constellation that will make fans of the championship sit up and take notice: Ranko Mijatovic and Michael Schrey are forming an alliance of champions in car number 888. Mijatovic, who has been the reigning NLS champion since 2024, is teaming up with two-time NLS champion Schrey to bring Team Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport to the forefront. Together, they already have four titles to their name in one car – a record that is normally difficult to beat.
But the bar is set even higher this year by the team that has dominated the series almost at will in recent years: Adrenalin Motorsport. The team led by team boss Matthias Unger is fielding a pairing in the VT2-RWD class with start number 500 that can confidently be described as the ‘gold standard’. Philipp Leisen (champion in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023) and Daniel Zils (champion in 2022 and 2023), two of the most successful NLS drivers in recent history, will be sharing a cockpit. Together, they have an impressive six championship titles to their name – a statistical demonstration of power that illustrates why Adrenalin Motorsport has been the team to beat for years. Philipp Stahlschmidt completes the trio.
Masterful team performances
Once again this year, the line-ups of some teams are impressive. SRS Team Sorg Rennsport leads the statistics with an impressive eleven registered vehicles, spread across the SP10, VT2, CUP2, and CUP3 classes. Close on its heels is the aforementioned Team Adrenalin Motorsport, which also has an enormous presence with nine cars, covering the highly competitive V6, V5, and BMW M240i categories, among others. Speaking of class strength: the CUP3 class of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN) for the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS has the largest starting field of the season opener with 21 starters, followed by the VT2-RWD with 14 and the CUP2 (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) with twelve cars.
Tickets for the opening race of the anniversary season, the 71st ADAC Westfalenfahrt, cost €25 (children under 14 free) and are available at VLN.de/tickets and at the box office. This gives access to the open grandstands on the Grand Prix circuit, the exclusive spectator areas Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten, as well as the paddock, pit lane, and starting grid.
The best positions on the starting grid will be decided in qualifying between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. During the break between qualifying and the race, fans will have plenty of time to experience the cars up close: with a ticket, they can enter the pit lane for the pit walk at 10:20 a.m., before the starting grid at 11:10 a.m. offers even more motorsport action up close. The four-hour endurance race starts at 12 noon. The livestream at VLN.de begins at 8:15 a.m. In addition, there is ‘Radio Nürburgring’ at rpr1.de and in the RPR1 app.