The lights are burning on the Christmas tree, cookies and a hot drink are ready and the couch at home invites you to linger… Only one thing is missing for absolute happiness: thrilling racing in the Green Hell. The time has finally come: on December 21, the Digital Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie kicks off with the RAVENOL 3h Race. The livestream will start at 12:15 a.m. on VLN.de and provide answers to the most important questions: How will DTM champion Mirko Bortolotti perform in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO from Dörr Esports on his debut in the DNLS? What will the Ford Mustang GT3’s first race kilometers on the Nordschleife be like? Can last year’s champions from SimRC also shine in the GT4 class? And how close will it be in SP3 with the Renault Clio?
While construction work is currently taking place on the real Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the unique ribbon of asphalt that winds its way through the rolling hills of the Eifel region presents itself at its best in the iRacing racing simulation. Clear the ring for the BMW M4 GT3, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 R to compete for overall victory in the GT3 class SP9. Well-known teams from the real NLS will also be taking part this year: Haupt Racing Team by GnG, Mühlner Motorsport/XSmilla, Dörr Esports and Falken Simracing. They will be up against strong sim racing teams such as BS+COMPETITION and the AMG teams Williams and Apex Racing. Esports teams from well-known racing drivers will also be taking part in the action: M&J Downforce from Marek Böckmann and Jan Philipp Springob, Pole Promotion Esports around René Rast or Nürburgring eSports with Marc Hennerici and Andy Gülden. The line-up is rounded off by other interesting constellations: DTM champion Bortolotti will take the wheel for Dörr Esports and Benjamin Leuchter will start for Falken in the Porsche 911 GT3. The fact is, the battle for overall victory will be exciting.
The Cup 2 class has some new features. In the Porsche Esports Endurance Trophy Nürburgring, which is organized by Manthey, there will be a Pro and Am driver classification alongside the normal class classification for the first time this year. It is particularly interesting that one of the winners of the real PETN, Lucas Daugaard from Denmark, is classified as an amateur in the virtual world for AVIA W&S Racing. Other teams from the NLS are SRS Team Sorg Rennsport, pb Performance by GnG, Halder Motorsport, Scherer eSport and Team75 Bernhard by SimRC. The organizers were faced with a huge problem after receiving the entries: there was simply too much interest in this class, so the teams had to pre-qualify for the 24/25 season. iRacing allows a maximum of 64 cars in one race. Even if some of the top teams failed to qualify and are unable to take part, fans can look forward to thrilling races because the line-up is fast and, above all, close together.
Incidentally, the same applies to the GT4 SP10 class. Here too, the protagonists had to go through a pre-qualification. This was no problem for Falken Simracing, Dörr Esports and Nürburgring eSports, as well as for the professional simracing teams BS+Competition, Team Heusinkveld and Coanda eSports. Last year’s champions have decided to move up to the GT4 class this year. Marvin Strehl and Corentin Guinez will compete for SimRC in the Mercedes-AMG GT4.
There will be a major revival in the winter season in SP3, which will be contested this year with Renault Clio cars. Long-time NLS fans will remember the years when the Renault Clio Cup enriched the Nordschleife races. Interesting teams will also be competing in the virtual comeback. For example, Tomas Enge Racing around the former Formula 1 and DTM driver from the Czech Republic. The runners-up in last year’s VT2 class, WolfMotorsportSimracing, will be taking part again. RACE SIM Zone, including RCN driver Nadia Brülisauer, and the kart and simracing circle of friends Eifel Racing by GTÜ, who are also planning to take part in real Nordschleife racing in the medium term, will also be there.
The livestream on VLN.de starts Saturday at 12:15 with a summary of the practice session. The virtual starting lights will switch to green at 1 pm for the three-hour distance.
