Next year, the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie will hold its first NLS-Light race. The special feature of the event planned for 5 July 2025 is that vehicles in the SP9, CUP2, SP-X and SP-Pro classes will not be entered. This is also being done in view of the fact that some teams from these classes have previously contested three 24-hour races within just three weeks. The NLS Light race is part of the grassroots sports offensive that the VLN is launching as the organisation behind the traditional Nordschleife championship.
‘There are two ulterior motives behind our first NLS Light event,’ says VLN managing director Mike Jäger. ’On the one hand, we want to offer participants from other series the opportunity to get a taste of the NLS and get to know our motivated team and the well-developed infrastructure. On the other hand, we want to make access to the NLS as easy as possible. By eliminating the large classes, it will be possible to drive the other classes with a DPN (DMSB Permit Nordschleife) of level C or level B. The Permit C can be obtained in a very simple way without having driven races that are below the normal NLS beforehand.’
Christian Vormann, NLS sports director, adds: ‘We have had many conversations with potential participants in the past. Some of them have great respect for going out on the track with GT3 cars on their first Nordschleife race. Even though our current accident statistics show that this fear is unfounded, we offer an NLS-Light event to interested parties to try out the NLS and circuit races on the Nordschleife. This is particularly easy with the level C DPN. I don’t want to keep quiet at this point that laps completed in this race do not count as permit laps for level A.’
The aspects that characterise the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie and have made it the most popular national racing series this year will not be curtailed at the Light event: the experienced and professional team behind the scenes, motorsport that fans can get close to, four hours of gripping multi-class action on the most beautiful race track in the world, and, last but not least, the excellent media coverage and communication surrounding the event.
‘We already have a lot of ideas on how to make our light premiere an unforgettable event,’ says Jäger. ’For example, I’m thinking of a big barbecue party in the paddock on Friday evening, where we can celebrate the popular sport together. And together with the other measures for the coming season, I am convinced that this will not be the only attempt in the future.’
The amateur racing campaign includes the NLS Light event as well as the introduction of a new BMW 325i Challenge class, which is aimed primarily at ambitious amateur teams with reduced entry fees.
