The Nordschleife
Built in 1927 through the Eifel forest in western Germany. Jackie Stewart called it the "Green Hell". One lap climbs and falls 300 metres through more than 170 corners. The 24h uses the Nordschleife joined onto the modern Grand-Prix-Strecke for a combined lap just under 26 km.
The famous corners
170 corners. These are the ones you'll hear about most during the broadcast.
Flugplatz
Named after a former airfield. A long, blind, downhill right-hander GT3 cars take at 250 km/h. Get it wrong and there's a wall waiting.
Schwedenkreuz
"Swedish Cross". A flat-out kink through tall trees. Spectators stand metres from the cars. Closing speeds at night are extraordinary.
Adenauer Forst
A tight downhill chicane through forest. The first proper braking zone of the lap. Heavy on tyres, easy to lock up at night.
Bergwerk
"Mine". A 90° right-hander at the bottom of a long downhill. Niki Lauda crashed here in 1976. The exit dictates the whole next section.
Karussell
The Carousel. A concrete-banked corner shaped like a bowl. Inside wheels run on the banking, outside on regular tarmac. Looks impossible. It works.
Brünnchen
"Little Spring". Two right-handers with a compression, above a public car park. The single best spectator spot. Cars get airborne over the crest.
Pflanzgarten
"Plant Garden". A flat-out compression that throws cars into the air. The fastest section through the woods.
Schwalbenschwanz
"Swallow's Tail". Esses leading into a tight left, then the small Karussell. Technical, low-speed, easy to lose the rear on cold tyres.
Döttinger Höhe
The long back straight. About 2 km flat-out. GT3 top speed just under 300 km/h. The only place TCR cars get overtaken at +80 km/h closing speeds.
What happens at each time of day
15:00 · Race start
Sunshine usually. Cars roll off the GP grid, link onto the Nordschleife, settle into stints. Watch for first-lap drama at the join.
19:00 · Sunset
Light drops fast in the Eifel. Lights on for the next 9 hours. Forest sections go from green to pitch black.
23:00 · Night running
Temperature drops. Tyre choices change. Fog forms in the low sections. Lap times rise by 30 seconds.
04:00 · The dead hours
Driver fatigue peaks. Mechanical attrition cresting. The race is often decided here by who avoids contact.
07:00 · Sunrise
Light returns. Lap times drop. Surviving cars open up. The fight for the lead resumes in earnest.
15:00 · Chequered flag
24 hours done. Whoever crosses the line first wins, regardless of who's on the same lap.
See it move
The live map shows the racing line drawn from OpenStreetMap, all 161 cars as moving GPS pins, and live weather over the Eifel.
Open Live Map →