Max Verstappen’s Nurburgring 24 Hours Debut Has Done Something That’s Never Happened in Over 50 Years

Race Director Walter Hornung talked about how the entry process worked:

“The fact that he is taking his start seriously and approaching it in an incredibly professional manner is already evident from his intensive preparation. He went through the normal qualification process without any special treatment, prepared himself with drives on the Nordschleife, completed the mandatory e-learning and familiarised himself intensively with the track with countless SimRacing laps.”

The race gets underway on Saturday, May 16 at 3pm local time and runs for 24 hours straight, with the four-day event opening on Thursday, May 14 with free practice.

ADAC Nordrhein has also introduced a new F1-inspired knockout qualifying format, the revamped ‘Top Qualifying,’ divided into three segments – Top-Q1, Top-Q2, and Top-Q3 – reserved for the highest-performing classes including the SP9 GT3 category where Verstappen competes.

If You Don’t Have a Ticket, Stay Home Saturday

The advice from the circuit is to stay home. All multi-day tickets have already sold out in advance, leaving only single-day tickets for Thursday, Friday, and Sunday available. Anyone without a ticket valid for Saturday should under no circumstances drive to the Ring on Saturday on a whim.

Parking and camping capacity around both the GP circuit and the Nordschleife is finite, and the limited access roads to the venue simply cannot absorb additional visitors on the busiest day.

Hornung discussed the sheer scale of the demand:

“We are, of course, delighted by the overwhelming support from long-time and new fans, who have literally flooded us this year. At the same time, however, we are naturally working closely with the Nürburgring and the authorities to ensure an orderly and safe experience for all visitors. That is why, for the first time in the 24h Nurburgring’s more than 50-year history, we had to limit the number of tickets.”

In 2025, the previous attendance record already stood at around 280,000 fans over the race weekend.

Whatever the 2026 figure ends up being, it’s going to be pretty insane. Verstappen chasing a bucket-list race in a GT3 has done more for endurance racing’s visibility in Europe than years of marketing budgets ever managed. Whether he wins is almost beside the point – though you can be certain he doesn’t see it that way.