The classes
One race, more than twenty classes — and in 2026 a 161-car entry, the biggest in over a decade. SP9 is the headline act: BoP-controlled FIA GT3 machinery contesting outright victory, split into Pro, Pro-Am and Am, with Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche all represented. Around it sits the famous Eifel class soup: GT4 in SP10, TCR, one-make Porsche and BMW cup grids, the SP engine-size brackets, near-production VT and V classes, alternative-fuel AT entries and the SP-X specials. Everyone shares the same 25.378 km combination of Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife — 73 corners of it, in traffic, in whatever weather the Eifel chooses.
The race
Twenty-four hours from Saturday afternoon, with a rolling start releasing the giant field in groups. The winner is simply the car that has covered the most laps when the clock runs out on Sunday. Crews number two to four drivers, governed by stint limits and mandatory rest periods, and cross-entry is allowed — a driver may race two different cars, provided the rest minimums are respected. Every entered driver must complete at least two timed qualifying laps, and each car must lap within 120 per cent of its class-best to make the race at all.
The grid
New for 2026: a three-stage Top Qualifying, Formula 1 style. Top Q1 and Top Q2 run 35 minutes apiece and whittle down the quickest classes — GT3, GT2, SP-Pro, AT1 and approved SP-X — before Top Q3 settles pole with a twelve-car individual time trial. Up to six cars pre-qualify straight into Top Q3 on pace shown in the NLS rounds and the 24h Qualifiers race, and SP9 Pro crews must field a different driver in each of the three sessions. The rest of the field lines up from the standard qualifying sessions.
How it's won
There are no points and no season — this is a single event, and the overall win is one of the most coveted prizes in GT racing. Class wins carry real weight of their own: for most of the field, beating your direct rivals is the realistic summit. The race also counts towards the Intercontinental GT Challenge, but make no mistake — the Eifel marathon is its own reward.