start

The story of a legend.

Almost 95 years of racing, legendary victories and historic dramas – that‘s the story of Nürburgring. Opened in 1927 in the shadow of the more than 800-year-old “Noureburg“, the Nordschleife remains to this day one of the most beautiful and challenging race tracks in the world. But the story of the “Ring” is also about people, legend and motors.


1925

How it all began.

In the summer of 1925 at the heart of the Eifel mountains, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for a race track that is beyond comparison in the world of motorsport. Construction cost 14 million Reichsmark and involved up to 2,500 workers at peak times. Only two years later, the then 28.265 km track hosted its first race.

1927

The legend celebrates its premiere.

The Eifel Race for motorbikes (18 June) and the subsequent car race that was won by Rudolf Caracciola on 19 June 1927 went down in history as the birth of the Nürburgring.

 

"When we came to the newly opened Nürburgring in 1927, we opened our eyes. We had never experienced anything like it. There was a road in the middle of the Eifel mountains, a closed loop with almost 180 bends spread over 22 kilometers. It was a track with gradients that were a sharp blow to the engine, but also with unspeakably beautiful views far across the country, of valleys and villages."

Rudolf Caracciola


© Daimler AG

1934

The birth of the Silver Arrows.

Legend has it that the W25 Grand Prix racing car was still painted in the white German racing colour on the day before the big Eifelrennen – and was thus one kilogramme too heavy. The mechanics worked overnight, scraping off the paint in order to comply with the weight limit of 750 kg. The next day, 3 June, Manfred von Brauchitsch wins the race in a shiny silver Mercedes – a trademark is born.


© Daimler AG

1940

The engines stand still.

Because of World War II, racing came to a halt in 1940 – no races took place between 1940 and 1946.


During the war years, the sports hotel “Tribüne” was used as a military hospital and also served as division headquarters. In 1943, the wire fencing surrounding the Ring had to be taken down and handed over to the arms industry.


© Archiv Nürburgring

1947

New beginning.

On 17 August, races for motorbikes with and without sidecars took place on that time’s Südschleife, watched by some 80,000 spectators. Admission included sausages and potato salad, rolls and wine.


Start of the 125 cc motorcycles for the Grand Prix of Germany 1949. © Archiv Nürburgring

1951

First Formula 1 race.

On 29 July, the Eifel welcomed the elite of motorsport. Alberto Ascari wins the Grand Prix of Germany in a Ferrari.


© Archiv Bernhard Völker

1953

Premiere of the 1,000 km race.

As part of the newly established World Sportscar Championship, the first 1,000 km race took place at the Nürburgring on 30 August.


1954

Enthusiasm for motorsport at the post-war debut of the Silver Arrows.

With team manager Alfred Neubauer at the helm, Mercedes-Benz celebrated its Formula 1 debut with the new W196 in 1954, watched by about 400,000 spectators. The team’s driver Juan Manuel Fangio won both the Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and the drivers‘ championship.


© Daimler AG

© Daimler AG

© Daimler AG

1957

Legendary race.

Following a spectacular catch-up race, Juan Manuel Fangio won the Grand Prix in his Maserati, crowning himself world champion for the fifth time. The Grand Prix of Germay 1957 was to down in the history oft he Nürburgring as one oft he greatest races the track has ever seen, since Fangio appeared tob e hopelessly behind but ultimately managed to overtake the leading Ferraris of Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn, thus clinching his third and final victory at the Nürburgring.


© Archiv Bernhard Völker

1961

Germany in a world championship frenzy.

Wofgang Graf Berghe von Trips was the new crowd puller, who competed for the Grand Prix of Germany in 1961. Era of the German Economic Miracle – during that time, motor sport symbolized the new self-confidence of an entire nation.

Followed by a huge media frenzy for that period of time, in 1961 over 100,000 spectators fevered with the gentleman racer during the race. Graf Berghe von Trips lost on this day against Stirling Moss, who seemed simply unbeatable.


© Trips-Stiftung

1968

"The Green Hell".

This is what Jackie Stewart told his fellow driver Graham Hill as he looked down on the rainy Nürburgring from the plane on their way to the Grand Prix of Germany, thus coining the term still in use today "Green Hell".

On 4 August 1968, the Scotsman delivered a performance that was almost beyond belief, winning the race under the most adverse conditions, including raing and fog, with an incredible lead of four minutes ahead of his competitors.

"It's going to be the Green Hell this weekend."
Jackie Stewart


© Rainer W. Schlegelmilch

1969

Drivers became pop stars.

New popular drivers, such as the Belgium driver Jackie Ickx drew scores of visitors to the motor sports events. Automotive racing were more popular than ever before – the drivers were treated like pop stars. The highlight of the year was the Grand Prix of Germany, at which Jackie Ickx is the victor. On this day, no one could even imagine that the Nordschleife would be challenged as a Grand Prix circuit.

However, just one year later this was the case: After a series of severe accidents in GP sports, numerous drivers demanded major changes to be made to the Green Hell, as the circuit was named with reverence by the drivers.


Jackie Ickx © Archive Nürburgring

© Archive Nürburgring

1970

The beginning of a success story.

The first 24-Hour Race at the Nürburgring took place. “Striezel” Stuck and Clemens Schickentanz (BMW 2002) secured the historic debut win.


Today, the endurance classic is the most important race on the Eifel race track, attracting more than 200,000 spectators year after year.


© ADAC

1971

Crash barriers and run-off areas.

A series of tragic accidents and ever faster cars necessitated extensive modifications in the late 1960s. Extensive work was carried out in 1970/71 to modify the Nordschleife and make it safer. Safety fences, emergency lanes and crash barriers were installed at the track, which had previously been lined only by hedges. Despite DM 17 million spent on these measures, the Formula 1 race in 1976 was the last ever on the Nordschleife.


© Archiv Nürburgring

1976

The last F1 race on the Nordschleife.

For some time before the race, there has been concern about the safety and track length of the Nürburgring in connection with Formula 1. The Grand Prix of Germany on 1 August 1976 gained notoriety due to the tragic accident of Niki Lauda in the section between Ex-Mühle and Bergwerk. In his attempt to catch up with James Hunt, who had managed to pull away, Lauda lost control of his car in the fast left-hand corner just before the Bergwerk section. His Ferrari 312 hit a rock face on the right-hand side of the road, caught fire and skidded across the track, where it was hit by three other racing cars.

This incident marked the end of the Nordschleife as a Formula 1 race track.


© Rainer W. Schlegelmilch

1981

Groundbreaking for the future.

The Nürburgring supervisory board decided that a new, shorter and more modern race track was to be built. Following tough negotiations, Bernhard Vogel, prime minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the time, was able to break ground on 30 November 1981. The Südschleife (southern loop) was abandoned as part of the reconstruction and the Nordschleife was shortened to today’s length of 20.832 km. It took three years to build the 4.5 kilometre long track that set new standards in terms of safety – thanks to wide run-off areas, safety fences and an extensive network of emergency roads.


© Archive Nürburgring

Dunlop Tower demolition, 1982 © Archive Nürburgring

Groundbreaking, 1981 © Archive Nürburgring

1983

6:11.13 – an eternal record.

During the final practice of the 1,000 km race, Stefan Bellof completed the fastest lap ever clocked on the Nordschleife in 6:11,13 minutes, driving a Porsche 956.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Stefan Bellof’s lap record on 10 August, a section of the legendary Nordschleife was named after him – the Stefan Bellof S.


© Porsche AG

1984

Opening of the new Grand Prix track.

Designed in line with up-to-date safety requirements, the new Grand Prix Track as well as the new motorsport museum were opened on 12 May 1984, after three years of construction. The occasion was celebrated with a varied show and motorsport programme, and with an event that was broadcast live on German television. The first race at the “new” Nürburgring saw a competition of 20 identical Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 touring cars, driven, among others, by nine former Formula 1 world champions. The race was won by Ayrton Senna, who was still relatively unknown at the time.

Formula 1 returned to the Nürburgring on 7 October 1984. Alain Prost won the race driving a McLaren.


© Daimler AG

1985

The first "Rock am Ring".

U2, Joe Cocker, Marius Müller-Westernhagen and more wow the crowds at the debut of Rock am Ring on 25 to 26 May 1985. 75,000 visitors celebrate the first music festival at the Nürburgring.


© Thomas Urner

1986

XXL motorsport.

The first Truck Grand Prix is a hit with spectators and has been a fixture in the annual programme ever since. 


© Gruppe C

1995

Germany in a Formula 1 frenzy.

Formula 1 returned to the Nürburgring on 1 October 1995, and with it came the first German driver who managed to win a Formula 1 race at the Nürburgring and clinch the world championship title: Michael Schumacher.

In the slipstream of people’s new motorsport enthusiasm, the Nürburgring once more attracted the crowd – which was also reflected in the construction of modern grandstands, VIP lounges and the innovative medical centre from the mid-1990s.


© Lukas Gorys

2000

DTM is back.

Despite the fact that the German Touring Car Championship had been immensely popular between 1984 and 1996, some manufacturers had withdrawn from the series. It returned in 2000 as the German Touring Car Masters and has been racing in the Eifel ever since under the name DTM.


© Kunibert Söntgerath

2001

The new millenium continued the full speed course.

The old start/finish house, the old pit building and the Conti tower were torn down in 2000. By the time of the European Grand Prix in 2001, three additional super VIP lounges were created instead and a state of the art start/finish house. The new Media Center with ultramodern technology offers journalists and photographers the perfect work environment in a space more than 1,650 sqm.

These modernisations and the new Mercedes Arena finally made the now 5.148-kilometre-long Grand Prix circuit one of the most modern race tracks in Europe.


2006

The Ring Champion.

Michael Schumacher celebrated his last victory at the Nürburgring at the Grand Prix of Europe in 2006. All in all, Schumacher finished on top of the podium as many as five times in his home race: in 1995, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006.

On 22 July 2007, the left-right turn combination after the Dunlop chicane was renamed in honour of the German Formula 1 record world champion and is now called Michael-Schumacher-S.


© Thomas Urner

2007

Full speed ahead into the future.

The start of construction works on 28 November 2007, designed to turn the Nürburgring into a multifunctional business- and event location with varied experience and accommodation options, marked another step towards the future. Weather-independent presentation and event areas, additional leisure facilities for fans and tourists as well as accommodation capacities in the immediate vicinity of the race track were the central elements of the project.


© Thomas Urner

Demolition of the old grandstand, 2007 © Thomas Urner

© Thomas Urner

2009

Setting the course for the future.

As part of the Grand Prix of Germany, the new multi-purpose motorsport, event and business location Nürburgring was opened on 12 July.


With ring°boulevard and Event-Center, presentation and event space that can be used regardless of weather conditions has been available since the opening in 2009. In addition, the ring°arena offers sufficient space to hold trade fairs, congresses, product presentations and show events. At the interactive motorsport museum ring°werk, visitors can get closer to the legend of the “Green Hell”. In combination with comfortable hotels and the family-friendly holiday park, all of this makes today’s Nürburgring a tourist and holiday destination as well as a modern business location in the midst of the unique atmosphere created by over nine decades of motorsport history.



© Thomas Urner

2017

Rock am Ring returned to its place of foundation.

After an absence of two years, Germany's most popular open-air festival took place again at the Nürburgring from 2 to 4 June 2017.

Suiting the 90th anniversary of the race track, the Rock am Ring veterans "Die Toten Hosen" returned to "their living room" as headliners, together with "Rammstein", "System of A Down" and many other bands.


© Rock am Ring

2018

New record on the Nordschleife.

Timo Bernhard completes a lap on the Nordschleife in a sensational 5:19,55 minutes, driving a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo.

Bellof’s lap time remains the fastest ever clocked as part of a race.


© Porsche AG

2020

Challenges & Solutions.

The worldwide Corona pandemic also forced the Nürburgring into lockdown in March. The concepts developed with energy and heart and soul enabled the opening of various offers soon afterwards: With the "contactless" tourist drives and driving trainings, the Ring was able to pick up speed again in early summer. Shortly afterwards, the green light was given for the first public events and the Nürburgring was the first location in Germany to welcome spectators back to the grandstands.

After seven years and only a few weeks of preparation, even the top class of motorsport returned to the "Green Hell" on 11 October. At the "Grand Prix of the Eifel", 13,500 spectators experienced a great motorsport festival despite difficult corona conditions.