Nürburgring GP-Strecke

Circuit guide by Chris Pollitt · dates updated 2 November 2026

The GP-Strecke opened in 1984 as a modern, safer replacement for the Nordschleife in Formula 1, and it was stretched to 5.148 km in 2002 with the Mercedes-Arena loop. It sits right beside its famous neighbour, sharing the paddock, the Ring Boulevard buildings and the same changeable Eifel weather.

After the Nordschleife it can feel tame, but it's a proper Grand Prix track with big braking zones, camber changes and plenty of tarmac and gravel run-off. That makes it a far kinder place to learn your car's limits. Organised track days run here for cars and bikes, and there are also public tourist sessions, sold as 15-minute stints (35 euros in 2026), usually on weekday evenings. Bikes now get their own stints rather than sharing with cars. Plenty of UK groups book a GP day before a Nordschleife day, which is a sensible way to bed in pads and get your eye in.

A lap of Nürburgring GP-Strecke

Layout: Grand Prix Strecke, 5.148 km (3.20 miles)

Start-finish runs downhill towards the Castrol-S, a tight right-hand hairpin with a big stop. Brake in a straight line, turn in late and get the power down where the track dips on exit. You go straight into the Mercedes-Arena, a medium-speed left, and then a tightening, off-camber downhill left where people get greedy with the throttle and run wide. A short, sharp right drops you back onto the original layout.

The Valvoline-Kurve is a long, slightly banked downhill left taken in third in most road cars. Don't hang off the inside kerb. Then comes the Ford-Kurve, a tighter right where the banking helps you carry speed, and a short blast down to the Dunlop-Kehre, the downhill hairpin at the bottom of the circuit. There's no obvious braking marker there, so use the kerbs and grey patches as your reference and pick it up early.

Climbing out of the Dunlop-Kehre, the Michael Schumacher S is the fastest bit of the lap: a quick left then right that asks for commitment and smooth hands. Stay off the high apex kerbs or the car will skip. Kumho-Kurve is an uphill left with a decent stop around the 100 m board, and the Bit-Kurve follows as a downhill right that turns into a fast kink at Advan-Bogen.

The last chicane (long known as the Veedol chicane) is a fast left-right where you brake between the 100 and 50 m boards and keep the car tidy over the kerbs. Then the slow Coca-Cola-Kurve, a second-gear right, takes you back onto the pit straight. Downshift calmly there, as plenty of rear ends step out on the way in.

Track day tips

• If you're doing a Nordschleife trip, a GP session first is a cheap way to bed in pads, check temperatures and find any loose bits on the car.
• The braking zone into the Castrol-S comes at the end of the fastest stretch, so watch your brake fade by mid-session.
• Weather sweeps in off the hills quickly. The Dunlop-Kehre and the Mercedes-Arena tend to stay damp longest.
• Public GP stints are short and the queue at the gate builds before opening, so arrive early and have your car ready.
• Fuel up at the stations in Nürburg or on the road to Adenau before you join the queue.

Getting there

The GP-Strecke shares a site with the Nordschleife at Nürburg, around 450 km from Calais via Belgium (Brussels and Liège), so it's about five hours' drive after the Dover to Calais ferry or Eurotunnel. Leave the A1 or A61 for the final country roads through Adenau. Cologne Bonn is the closest major airport, with Düsseldorf and Frankfurt as alternatives. There are hotels right at the circuit and plenty more in Adenau and the surrounding villages.