Norisring

History

On 18 May 1947, the first motorcycle racing event took place at the Nuremberg street circuit that ran around a 360 m long grandstand, called the Zeppelinhaupttribüne or simply the Steintribüne. In 1950, the name Norisring was chosen for the venue in a competition to win a light motorcycle. Motorcycle racing events remained central to the circuit until 1957, as six motorcycle manufacturers were based in Nuremberg at the time, but a crisis in the industry led to no racing events taking place in 1958 and 1959.

Although automobile racing events were held at the circuit as early as 1948 and on its revival in 1960, they would only become the venue's primary focus after the Norisring Trophy was introduced in 1967. During the 1970s and 1980s, sports prototype racing was popular at the Norisring and motorcycle racing events were abandoned after 1976. The World Sportscar Championship events that took place in 1986 and 1987 each attracted more than 100,000 spectators to the circuit. After the 1980s, the venue switched its primary focus to touring car racing. In 2000, the premier Germany-based touring car series was revived under the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters moniker and the annual Norisringrennen became the circuit's most important event.

The Norisringrennen traditionally takes place halfway through the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season in late June or early July. The race, which regularly attracts between 100,000 and 140,000 spectators to the circuit, is considered a highlight of the touring car series, as fans get closer to the action and the drivers than on modern venues. Since 2015, there has been one race on Saturday and one race on Sunday.

After the beginning of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Norisringrennen was planned to take place in mid-July as the season opener, but it was eventually cancelled in accordance with the restrictions on public events in Nuremberg. As the 2021 season began in late June, it was known that the Norisringrennen would not take place during the summer, but by the end of July the circuit was confirmed as the venue for the season finale in October for the first time in its history. In 2022, the Norisringrennen returned to its traditional spot in the race calendar, and a round of the TCR Europe Touring Car Series was run in support of the main event for the first time.

Due to its proximity to the Dutzendteich lake and its location inside a large city, the Norisring has been compared to the Circuit de Monaco.

Layout

Different configurations were used in the early years of the circuit, including figure-8 layouts. Until 1972, the track length varied between 2 km and 4 km, before being permanently set to 2.300 km. The start-finish straight in front of the central grandstand, the Steintribüne, leads to a right-hand sweeper, followed by a left-hand U-turn that is located near the Grundig tower and called the Grundigkehre. After the U-turn, the track heads back to the Steintribüne via a left-hand sweeper, with the Schöller-S right-left chicane placed between the sweeper and the back straight. This is the place where cars often touch the outside wall. After a right-hand kink, a left-hand U-turn called the Dutzendteichkehre leads back to the main straight via a flat-out left-hand kink.

The Norisring is laid out on streets that are otherwise used for public traffic. The construction of the circuit begins two weeks before the race weekend. It includes installing 7 km of crash barriers, 6 km of catch fencing and several temporary stands. After the race weekend, the equipment is removed from the area within a week.

Fatalities

Mexican racing driver Pedro Rodríguez died at the Norisring in 1971 when the Ferrari 512 he was hired to drive (in championship events, he used to race a Gulf Racing-Porsche 917) hit the bridge wall before the Schöller-S and burst into flames. Afterwards, the track was shortened by moving the Grundigkehre U-turn closer in order to reduce corner speeds. In 2006, a memorial plaque was inaugurated at the site of the crash.

In 1988, Hungarian racing driver Csaba Kesjár (quoted to enter the Formula One in the follow years) also died after crashing into the barriers at the Dutzendteichkehre during a practice session in the German Formula Three Championship.

Events

; Current

• July: DTM Norisring Nürnberg 200 Speedweekend, Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, ADAC GT4 Germany

; Former

• ADAC GT Masters (2008, 2023)
• Audi Sport TT Cup (2015–2017)
• BMW M1 Procar Championship (1980)
• British Formula 3 International Series (2012)
• Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (1973–1985)
• DTM Trophy (2021–2022)
• European Formula Two Championship (1973)
• FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2012–2018)
• Formula 3 Euro Series (2003–2012)
• Formula BMW ADAC (1997–2007)
• German Formula Three Championship (1985–1986, 1990–2002)
• Interserie (1970–1973)
• Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe (2009)
• NXT Gen Cup (2024–2025)
• Porsche Supercup (1993)
• Prototype Cup Germany (2023, 2025)
• Super Tourenwagen Cup (1997–1999)
• TCR Europe Touring Car Series (2022)
• Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup (2004–2014)
• W Series (2019)
• World Sportscar Championship (1986–1987)

Lap records

As of July 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Norisring are listed as:

Notes

References

References

1. "List of FIA licensed circuits".
2. (June 2004). "Eine Strecke mit Tradition und Zukunft". MCN GmbH / e.V..
3. Voigt, Alexandra. (June 2004). "Ein Neustart auf vier Rädern". MCN GmbH / e.V..
4. (17 January 2020). "2000 – 2019". MCN GmbH / e.V..
5. Haidinger, Sven. (2020-06-04). "Nach neuem DTM-Kalender: Norisring-Auftakt abgesagt!".
6. (2021-07-28). "Offiziell bestätigt: Norisring trägt DTM-Saisonfinale 2021 aus".
7. (2021-09-03). "Six countries, nine events, 18 races: DTM announces 2022 race calendar".
8. (1 February 2022). "TCR Europe to join DTM platform for three events in 2022". TCR Europe.
9. Friese, Rebecca. (2019-02-16). "10.000 Arbeitsstunden pro Saison: So entsteht der Kultkurs Norisring".
10. (7 July 2019). "DTM 2019 » Norisring Round 8 Results".
11. (28 June 1987). "Norisring 200 Miles 1987".
12. (2 July 2017). "DTM 2017 » Norisring Round 8 Results".
13. (2 July 2017). "2017 Norisring European F3 - Round 15".
14. (10 October 2021). "DTM Norisring 2021".
15. (9 July 2023). "2023 DTM Norisring Prototype Cup Germany Race 2".
16. (23 June 1996). "ITC 1996 » Norisring Round 10 Results".
17. (24 June 1979). "DRM Norisring 1979".
18. (5 July 2025). "2025 DTM Round 4 Norisring - Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland - Race 1 - Final Classification".
19. (9 September 1973). "1973 Norisring F2".
20. (7 July 2024). "2024 DTM Norisring - ADAC GT4 Germany - Race 2 - Result List".
21. (28 June 1992). "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1992 » Norisring Round 13 Results".
22. (22 June 1980). "1980 Norisring BMW Procar".
23. (29 June 1997). "STW Cup 1997 » Norisring Round 9 Results".
24. (27 June 2004). "2004 Formula BMW ADAC Norisring (Race 2)".
25. (3 July 2022). "TCR EU 2022 » Norisring Round 8 Results".
26. (27 June 1976). "1976 European GT Norisring".
27. (7 July 2024). "2024 DTM Norisring - NXT Gen Cup - Race 3 - Result List".
28. (11 June 1971). "II 200 Meilen von Nürnberg".
29. (29 June 1969). "1969 200 Meilen von Norisring".
30. (21 July 1963). "XVII ADAC Norisringrennen".