Max Verstappen could make more Nurburgring appearances as new championship announced

Verstappen-AMG and Red Bull-Lamborghini at 24h Nurburgring start — Photo: © IMAGO

Nurburgring 24 Hours

Max Verstappen could make more Nurburgring appearances as new championship announced

Big changes to the Nurburgring

By Vincent Bruins.

Tuesday 28 July 2026 22:30

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Max Verstappen made his debut earlier this year in the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nurburgring – the renowned endurance race on the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife.

ADAC Nordrhein has unveiled a new championship that places this 24-hour race at its heart.

For over fifty years, the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) has been exclusively staged on the Nordschleife. Organized by VLN, the NLS runs separately from the 24h Nürburgring. Its calendar features ten races that last four hours each, with one six-hour event, hosted by different regional motorsport organisations.

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Last year, Verstappen competed in the NLS by taking part in the 57th ADAC Barbarossapreis alongside Chris Lulham in an Emil Frey Racing Ferrari.

In March he also took on the 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis as preparation for the 24-hour race, finishing first with his Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG before a disqualification for exceeding the allowed number of tyre sets.

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Prologue and two extra races

In addition to the long-standing NLS, a new championship will launch in 2027: the ADAC 24h Nurburgring Series, organised by ADAC Nordrhein.

This series will feature the 24h Qualifiers, two four-hour races held a month before the main event, along with the epic 24-hour race itself. Three additional events are set to round out the schedule.

The season will kick off with a 24hr Prologue, giving teams and drivers even more valuable testing time. The championship also includes two summer events, run under the same technical regulations as the Nurburgring 24h race.

These events are part of the traditional ADAC Eifel Rennen and the ADAC 1000km Race, both organised by DAMC 05 Veranstaltungs-GmbH.

Teams registering for the ADAC 24h Nurburgring Series will secure a guaranteed spot in the 24-hour race, ensuring they won’t be turned away by a large entry list, and they will benefit from reduced entry fees.

More Verstappen Action?

Here’s what the 2027 schedule for the new ADAC 24h Nurburgring Series looks like:

24h Prologue – April 2-3

24h Qualifiers – April 30 to May 2

24h Nurburgring – May 27-30

Eifel Rennen – July 30 to August 1

1000km Race – September 10-12

Whether this new series will see further action from Verstappen remains to be seen. It is expected that Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, and Dani Juncadella will join the four-time world champion in the Verstappen Racing car prepared by Winward Racing.

Both Juncadella and Verstappen have expressed a desire to return in 2027. However, Verstappen's involvement will largely depend on his commitments with Red Bull in Formula 1.

Although next year’s F1 calendar has yet to be released, and while the 24hr race is anticipated not to clash with F1’s top-tier events, the scheduling of the Prologue, Qualifiers, and the two summer races still remains an open question.