The VLN championship organisation have just confirmed their 2017 race dates, and in doing so they’ve cemented a large part of the Nürburgring calendar.
Stickers, Ts, Hoodies...
In a shock move, the 2017 championship will only have 9 rounds, in contrast to the normal 10 rounds of previous years. Two results can be “throw-away”, meaning only the best 7 results will count. This enables teams with less budget to still contest the coveted VLN class and overall wins.
Below you’ll find a table showing the currently confirmed Nürburgring race dates of 2017. Dates marked with an asterisk(*) are provisional, and *might* change.
Did you want to know the public opening (TF) times? Read more below the table!
| DATE | RACE | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| 18.03.17 | VLN Testday | Official Test Day |
| 25.03.17 | VLN 1 | 63. ADAC Westfalenfahrt |
| 08.04.17 | VLN 2 | 42. DMV 4 Hour Race |
| 22-23.04.17 | N24 Qualification Race | 6-hour race |
| 25-28.05.17 | N24 | |
| 16-18.06.17 | Nürburgring Classic | |
| 24.06.17 | VLN 3 | 59. ADAC ACAS H & R-Cup |
| 30.06.17 - 02.07.17 | Truck Grand Prix | GP Circuit only, Nordschleife should stay open! |
| 08.07.17 | VLN 4 | 47. Adenauer ADAC World Peace Trophy |
| 14-16.07.17 | World Endurance Championship (WEC) | GP Circuit only, Nordschleife should stay open! |
| 06-06.08.17* | ADAC GT Masters | GP Circuit only, Nordschleife should stay open! |
| 19.08.17 | VLN5 | 6 hours ROWE ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen |
| 02.09.17 | VLN6 | 40th RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen |
| 07-09.09.17* | DTM | GP Circuit only, Nordschleife should stay open! |
| 23.09.17 | VLN7 | 57. ADAC Reinoldus endurance race |
| 07.10.17 | VLN8 | 49. ADAC Barbarossa Cup |
| 21.10.17 | VLN9 | 42nd DMV Münsterlandpokal |
NOTES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOURISTENFAHRTEN AND RACING DATES:
TF, or public driving sessions, have followed the same patterns for several decades now. I can’t guarantee any of the following, but here’s how it often plays out:
- VLN = No TF friday, 50% chance of 30minutes TF Saturday, FULL DAY of TF Sunday
- DTM, Truck Grand Prix, GT Masters = TF all day Saturday and Sunday
- N24 and N24Q = No TF. The big N24 race actually closes the track severals days either side of the dates shown.
