Nurburgring 24 Hours: Why 'total madness' on the Nordschleife is the craziest race in the world

Verstappen and Ravenol cars together — Photo: © IMAGO

Nurburgring 24 Hours

'Total madness': Why Nurburgring 24 Hours is the craziest race in the world

Unpacking the madness of the Nurburgring Hours race

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 16 May 2026 08:55

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The Nurburgring 24 Hours is one of motorsport's most iconic races, but part of its appeal is the sheer madness of the whole event.

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has long been enchanted with GT and endurance racing, finally making his dream a reality in 2025 when he obtained his DMSB Permit to compete at the Nordschleife.

Three NLS appearances later and Verstappen is ready to take on his first 24 hour race at the Nurburgring, not only ticking off another achievement on his CV, but also bringing a whole new fanbase to the event.

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For the first time in the history of the Nurburgring 24 Hours, tickets have sold out for the race weekend, with there never being more eyes on the endurance race.

As with any new sport, it has come with a lot of questions for new viewers and, to put it simply, trying to dissect it all exposes the pure madness of the 'Green Hell'.

Nurburgring 24 Hours: Full schedule with session times for this weekend

Nurburgring complexities explained

Former racing driver and GT competitor Juan Cruz Alvarez explained why he considers the Nurburgring 24 Hours to be the most difficult race in world, highlighting its 'madness' on social media.

"Why is it the most difficult race in the world? Partly because of these things, you have on the track cars that exceed 300km/h and others that barely manage 160km/h," he wrote.

"Imagine the speed difference in curves, with amateur drivers to boot, with the possibility that you encounter them at night, with rain, and among another 100 cars, and you're fighting neck and neck for the lead in the race—when you think about it in cold blood, it's total madness."

So, how on earth do drivers contend with and understand how much is going on at track at once?

Every single car competing in the Nurburgring 24 Hours use an onboard GPSoverIP system, which can indicate a single yellow flag, double yellow flags, Code 60 zones and green flags. The speed, exact location and overtakes are also continuously registered, with this system being in place for several years.

To complicate matters further (for those with F1 orientated brains), there are no safety cars at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, with a Code 60 used as an alternative to neutralise the section of the track where an incident as occurred.

When a Code 60 is deployed, drivers must slow to 60kph and maintain that speed through all the marshals' posts that are affected by the incident.

Nurburgring 24 Hours: Rules and regulations as Max Verstappen races into action

F1 Max Verstappen Nürburgring Nurburgring Nordschleife 24 Hours of Nurburgring