04.06.2025
A large field of competitors will gather at the Nürburgring Nordschleife for the highlight of the season: The starting list for the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring (June 19–22, 2025) has finally been officially announced, and it is stronger than it has been in years: Over 140 cars will compete for the prestigious trophy on Corpus Christi weekend, which is sure to be hotly contested. In the top class of GT3 cars alone, teams from eight different manufacturers will battle it out for overall victory! And across the starting field, extremely promising fights are shaping up in the 20 classes, some of which are very strongly contested. All signs point to fantastic racing for this full-throttle festival, which fans should not miss.
The defending champion's #1 starting number belongs to Scherer Sport PHX this year, and the team would love to clinch its eighth overall victory in team history with the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II. Christopher Haase, Luca Ludwig, and Markus Winkelhock will attempt to do so. And although Audi has officially withdrawn from GT3 racing and the picture-perfect R8s are now considered “young used cars,” two pole positions in the previous NLS races for the Juta team's Audi show that the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer is still a force to be reckoned with on the racetrack. A total of four Audi R8s will compete, with Scherer PHX facing stiff competition from within its own team in the form of the Porsche 911 GT3 R, which the team from the Eifel region has been using since this year – because the “911s” have been the benchmark on the Nordschleife in 2025 so far.
Porsche is the benchmark for this year's 24hA Porsche 911 GT3 R crossed the finish line as the winner in all races of this year's Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS). Most recently, Scherer PHX scored a double victory in the two 24h Qualifiers, which also count towards the NLS. Falken Motorsports won the first two NLS races, and Manthey EMA also took home a winner's trophy with the “Grello” 911 with the distinctive #911 start number.
Manthey, like Scherer PHX, is the leader in the race's all-time statistics with seven 24-hour overall victories to date. It is sending an excellent team of drivers to the start and, like Scherer PHX and Falken, is one of the close circle of Porsche contenders for victory. With a total of seven cars, the 911 GT3 R is also numerically the most represented in the GT3 class. The Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo and the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 are also represented four times each.
Strong driver line-ups and fascinating GT3 carsThe Mercedes-AMG GT3s were once again among the frontrunners this year. Two of the three cars on the starting grid are fielded by Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed, which can also rely on extremely fast and reliable drivers. New to the GT3 lineup is the Ford Mustang GT3, which is sure to make fans of American pony cars salivate. HRT Ford Performance is sending the new GT3s onto the track, with many Nordschleife specialists behind the wheel. Finally, the BMW M4 GT3 Evo from Rowe Racing and the Ferrari 296 GT3 fielded by Realize Kondo Racing can be considered “exotics,” as there will only be one of each on the starting grid. In the case of Rowe, fans can always expect a surprise, as the team relies on very successful GT3 drivers who are also very familiar with the Nordschleife.
Strong line-up for the “class battle”A total of over 140 vehicles will line up at the start this year in 20 classes ranging from production cars to GT3. In addition to the highly competitive SP9 (GT3), other classes also stand out, where fierce battles are expected. The two Cup classes reserved for specific Porsche models have almost two dozen participants, some of whom like to “poach” in the GT3 field, especially in wet weather. Ten GT4 cars from five different manufacturers also make the category of the supposedly “smaller” GTs a competitive and exciting affair. At the other end of the performance scale, the “small” production cars in VT2 offer a wide variety of brands and participants. There are six front-wheel drive cars in the field, ten rear-wheel drive cars, and a total of six brands. Not to forget the fleet of vehicles powered by alternative fuels. A total of eleven vehicles are at the start in this booming category, demonstrating that fuels with an increasingly high non-fossil content could be a model for the future.
Many exciting starters ensure top-class entertainmentWhen the wheels finally start turning in the first qualifying session on Corpus Christi Thursday, spectators can also look forward to some exotic cars that traditionally hold a special place in the hearts of fans. These include the Dacia Logan (#300), which “Ollis Garage” is fielding in SP3T, and the “White Angel” VW Beetle RSR (#13), which is competing in the same class and was built and tuned from scratch by Bernd Albrecht's team.
But the two small BMW 318ti (#275 / #277), which MDM Racing is fielding with the help of RAVENOL, also deserve a special round of applause. Built with a lot of private initiative and enthusiasm, the horsepower underdogs from Ensdorf are among the thoroughbred private teams that make up an important part of the 24h family. The Porsche 997 of the Saugmotoren Motorsport team (#97) can be seen in a similar light – probably the last representative of the sixth generation of the 911 produced until 2012 in the field.
But there are also brand-new models. Dörr Motorsport is fielding a McLaren Artura Trophy Evo (#59) in the SP8T, which is making its debut at the 24h Nürburgring. This marks the brand's return to the race for the first time since 2014. The Lynk & Co brand will make its very first appearance, becoming the 68th make to enter the eternal statistics. The Lynk&o 03 TCR #827 will be fielded by Fancy by Teamwork Motorsport for an all-Chinese team of drivers in the AT3 class. The list of exciting entries, debuts, and interesting details could go on and on, demonstrating that the 24h Nürburgring remains a playground and showcase for ambitious teams, exciting technology, and automotive innovation in its 53rd edition.