The ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring is drawing a spectacular crowd this year. Not only do fans from all over the world want to be there in person for the legendary endurance race, but so do an increasing number of international teams. The high demand is also ensuring a wide variety of manufacturers: With Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche, nine different brands are expected to be represented in the top SP9 class alone. On top of that, there are eight different tire manufacturers! A combination that is likely unique in today’s international motorsport. But for ADAC Nordrhein as the organizer, this also means a lot of work. After all, fans are supposed to experience exciting, close, and evenly matched motorsport on the most beautiful race track in the world. To achieve this, the organizer and the technical committee are working behind the scenes to find the perfect balance of technical parameters.
Transparency Instead of Tactical Games
At the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, too, teams and manufacturers naturally try to conceal their true performance capabilities for as long as possible. To determine the true potential of the cars, a technical commission was therefore established. “It consists of four people,” explains race director Walter Hornung, “and can now draw on years of experience and a wealth of data. Data was also collected during the recent NLS race and compared with existing data.” The commission has a wide arsenal of measures at its disposal. A key tool is the Balance of Performance (BoP). This is because the vehicle designs of the super sports cars at the front of the field vary greatly: front-, mid-, and rear-engine cars are on the grid, with a three-liter turbo expected to battle for victory just as much as a four-liter boxer engine or a 6.3-liter monster. The BoP makes it possible to balance the performance of the different vehicle designs through technical parameters. There is also the standard tire procedure, which is intended to keep costs and performance differences in the tire sector under control. Additional measures in the run-up to the season’s highlight are designed to prevent tactical games regarding lap times.
The virtual ideal line: No chance for tacticians
Since the 24 Hours of Nürburgring today resembles a long sprint race, the starting position has a higher priority than in the past. That’s why teams are doing everything they can to make it into the decisive third top qualifying session, where the front-row starting positions are awarded. Teams can secure some of the starting positions in advance through the NLS and the 24h Qualifiers. This reduces the pressure on drivers and teams. To prevent tactical games here as well, the organizer uses a sector-based analysis. The race track is divided into numerous sections for this purpose. Instead of evaluating only the time of an entire lap, the theoretically best sector times (even from different laps) are combined. So if a driver intentionally eases off the gas in one sector to worsen his time, the best time from another lap exposes him. This makes it much harder to hide a car’s true performance. “It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game,” Hornung continues. “The manufacturers have a veritable armada of engineers that the Technical Commission is tasked with outsmarting.”
Technical Adjustments for Greater Balance
The Technical Commission can make various adjustments to create a balanced competition between manufacturers and vehicles. The Balance of Performance (BoP) offers the ability to adjust performance-related parameters. These include, among others: minimum vehicle weight, air flow and boost pressure limits, the maximum permitted fuel volume, modifications to aerodynamic aids and, consequently, ground clearance, minimum ride height, angle of attack, and, last but not least, pit stop time and stint length. The race director has the authority—in consultation with the stewards, if necessary even during the event—to make changes to these parameters. In these last-minute adjustments, the minimum weight and boost pressure are frequently altered, as these changes can be implemented most quickly by the affected teams.
The reference tire procedure for a better overview
Until 2017, manufacturers waged a veritable “tire war” with countless special compounds. This not only caused costs to skyrocket but also made BoP nearly impossible, as the different tires had too significant an impact on the vehicle’s performance. The tire sample procedure in effect today therefore establishes clear rules: Manufacturers must deposit reference tires with ADAC Nordrhein e. V., which serve as comparison samples for chemical analysis. For each vehicle model this year, the tire selection for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring and the NLS races—including the 24h Qualifiers—is limited to just four specifications (compounds). New manufacturers or vehicle homologations are given the opportunity to designate additional specifications as a “starting aid.” Before each event, three of these specifications must be nominated, which may then be used. Switching specifications during an event is prohibited. The total number of slicks used is also limited. For the 24h Qualifiers, this is 48 tires (a maximum of 24 per race); for the 24h Nürburgring, up to 116 slicks may be used per vehicle.
Measures are already taking effect in advance
The second NLS race at the end of March demonstrated that these measures are working. Here, six different brands placed in the top 10—excluding a Mercedes-AMG GT3 that was subsequently disqualified: The team had used one more set of tires than permitted in the NLS. “The race results from recent years speak for themselves,” says Race Director Hornung, praising the work of the Technical Commission. “Even after roughly 4,000 kilometers of racing, there are usually still several manufacturers within a lap of each other at the end of the 24 hours—there is no dominance by a single brand. Last year, for example, we were still able to see a close battle at the front on Sunday morning.” Fans can therefore look forward to a spectacular weekend from May 14 to 17, 2026.