If you’re a race fan sick of the artificial polish and glamour of Formula 1, the Nürburgring 24 Hour is the perfect antidote.
Every year the exquisitely difficult 25-kilometre track carved into the countryside draws hundreds of thousands of endurance fans to Germany, where they watch a bizarre mix of cars compete for glory.
It’s not just the racing that’s challenging, either.
This year spectators navigated freezing weather, long walks, and crowded viewing areas. If the racing ceased to amuse, there were plenty of places to watch enormous tractors pull hopelessly bogged cars out of knee-deep mud.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t an influencer in sight.
Famously named “the Green Hell” by three-time F1 champion Jackie Stewart, this year’s race has an unlikely contender: Max Verstappen.
One of the superstars of global motorsport, Verstappen took an enormous risk by stepping away from the highly controlled world of F1 to race a V8-powered Mercedes muscle car on the world’s toughest track.
And thousands of fans came with him. This weekend’s race was a sellout for the first time in the event’s history.
This has largely been attributed to the Dutch driver getting behind the wheel of a car that merges Mercedes power with Red Bull branding — a combination you’ll never see in F1.
But the increased crowd numbers have put pressure on the already stretched infrastructure around the German track.
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While traffic jams have long been a problem during the event, regulars say the congestion is unprecedented.
It’s the sort of traffic that compelled me to sleep in a rented Volkswagen rather than ducking down the road to a hotel. There’s only 24 hours of racing, after all. It would be a shame to miss any of it sitting in traffic.
If you think that sounds like the ingredients for a terrible night’s sleep, you’re right. I thought it was nothing a gallon of energy drink, dry shampoo and makeup applied like spackle couldn’t fix. But it turns out nothing could have prepared me for the ’Ring.
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It’s an overwhelming spectacle from start to finish on both sides of the safety fence.
While I was sleeping in my car, veteran fans had campsites closer to established homes. There were dining rooms, kitchens, bars and two-storey viewing platforms. I’ve been to Mount Panorama more times than I can care to count, but I’ve certainly never seen a fish tank there.
Then there’s the techno music.
Among the tents were elaborate sound stages, some within metres of each other, all playing competing music at full volume. Often you couldn’t hear the cars.
Unsurprisingly, for some people the Nürburgring is a compulsory pilgrimage. Paul Weisgerber hasn’t missed a race in 22 years — and he’s not even 22 years old yet.
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Along with being an endurance racing fan, Weisgerber drives a shuttle bus around the track. His job — which has always been fraught with narrow roads, congestion and the occasional drunken spectator to avoid — has become much harder this year.
“On Wednesdays and Thursdays we could once drive normally. But now everywhere is gridlock,” Weisgerber said. “There’s so much standing time and congestion that’s abnormal.”
According to Weisgerber, Nürburgring regulars are split on whether the new wave of Verstappen fans are good for the sport.
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“For me personally it’s okay,” he said. “But I’ve heard both sides. I think [it will be better] when he drives for more years here, and it’s not so overwhelmed.”
Christian Wilke, another long-time fan, agrees. Wilke first came to the Nürburgring in 1998 when he was just three years old. This year, he says, has been the craziest race he’s attended so far.
“There are a lot of people coming here to just see Max Verstappen,” Wilke said. “There are a lot of different fans than we usually have.”
The sprawling Nürburgring track is likely to be a shock for this new wave of Formula 1 spectators accustomed to the glitz of the open-wheel series.
“I think they are not familiar with the mud, the dirt, the weather conditions, everything,” Wilke says.
But it’s not just their attitude Wilke is concerned about. He says the crowds are taking their toll on the track and the regulars who come here every year.
“We have too many people here now. Way too many. The infrastructure isn’t made for it.”
Not that you can blame Verstappen for his popularity.
In this instance there’s much to admire about the Dutch driver. While Verstappen might be a divisive personality, you can’t question his bravery. He has nothing to prove as a four-time world champion, but much to lose racing at the Nürburgring.
This is more than a challenging track. Not only must he share the track with blisteringly fast sports cars stocked with teams of professional drivers, he also had to contend with humble hatchbacks run by small teams of varying skill levels.
It’s a dangerous gig which could have interfered with his real job — driving in the world’s most competitive and desirable racing series, Formula 1.
Verstappen didn’t win this year’s race. Driveshaft trouble struck his ‘Benz with about three hours to go, bringing a heartbreaking end to what would have been a fairytale victory.
But it’s likely that Verstappen is under the same spell as anyone who comes to the Nürburgring. The beauty, the challenge, the danger, the spectacle and the people combine into something utterly unique.
For the true racing fan this is practically a spiritual experience.
