How Nürburgring Endurance Series Works
New to Nürburgring Endurance Series? Learn how the Sprint and Endurance formats work, how class points are scored, and how to follow the season from round one.
The Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) — formerly known as VLN — is a ten-round endurance championship held exclusively on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife, one of the most demanding circuits in the world at approximately 25.3 km per lap.
2026 marks the 50th season of the series. The calendar features ten rounds from March to October, with the best eight results counting toward the championship. GT3 cars compete within the SP9 class against up to 200 entries across all categories on any given race day.
Two NLS rounds serve as official qualifying races for the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring 24 Hours, making them the most prestigious individual rounds of the season.
NLS rounds are four-hour endurance races held on the Nordschleife combination circuit — the GP circuit joined with the full 20.8 km Nordschleife.
The field typically numbers 150–200 cars across dozens of classes from GT3 down to standard road cars with minor modifications. GT3 cars compete in SP9, the top class.
Races start with a rolling start. Pitstops and driver changes are unrestricted throughout the race. The best eight results from ten rounds count for the championship — disqualifications and race bans cannot be dropped, encouraging clean racing as well as consistent participation.
Max Verstappen's NLS debut in 2026 brought global attention to the series ahead of his Nürburgring 24 Hours campaign.