6 Hours of Nürburgring

6 Hours of Nürburgring

File:Nürburgring - Grand-Prix Stecke.svg
FIA World Endurance Championship
Venue	Nürburgring
First race	1953
First FIA WEC race	2015
Duration	6 Hours
Previous names	ADAC 1000 km Nürburgring iRacing.com 1000 km Nürburgring
Most wins (driver)	Stirling Moss (4)
Most wins (team)	SpA Ferrari (7)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Porsche (13)

The 6 Hours of Nürburgring, ran from 1953 to 2014 as the Nürburgring 1000 km, was an endurance race for sports cars held on the Nürburgring in Germany. It was organized by the ADAC, while the German Grand Prix is hosted by the AvD.

History

On the traditional 22.810 km long Nordschleife ("Northern Loop") version, the competition took usually 44 laps (1003.64 km, since the addition of the Hohenrain chicane in 1967 1004.74 km) and lasted initially about 8 hours, since 1965 under 7 hours, since 1971 less than 6 hours. While the 1974 event was shortened by 25% in the wake of the oil crisis, 1976 saw a new situation with a divided World Sportscar Championship calendar: the Group 6 sportscars opened their 1976 World Sportscar Championship with a 4 April 1976 race for only 300 km without driver change. The new Group 5 "Special Production Cars" 1976 World Championship for Makes season would visit on 30 May, colliding with the 1976 Monaco Grand Prix, thus Porsche factory drivers Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass as well as Hans-Joachim Stuck and others were absent from the Int. XXII ADAC-1000-km-Rennen Nürburgring race that was extended by 3 laps to 47, covered 1073.245 km and lasted 6:38 hours. In turn, the "Internationales 6-Stunden-Rennen" in July lasted only 4 hours as part of the European Touring Car Championship.

The inaugural race, which counted towards the 1953 World Sportscar Championship, was won by Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Farina in a Ferrari 375 MM. The attendance was disappointing, blamed in part on the lack of a serious German entrant with more than only 1500cc. While a Borgward 1500 RS finished third, the new Porsche 550 was absent, as was Mercedes. The successful 300 SL raced only in 1952 as in 1953 Mercedes prepared for the 1954 F1 season which it entered late, in July. Once it became clear that the sportscar derived from the F1 car, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, would not be ready in time for any 1954 World Sportscar Championship event, the 1000km race was cancelled. The 1955 event suffered a similar fate, reduced to 500km for 1500cc in the aftermath of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. It became quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s though, and even more so after Formula One decided not to race at the Nürburgring after the 1976 German GP on safety grounds, having already boycotted in 1970.

The last race on the already shortened Northern Loop in 1983 was won by Jochen Mass and Jacky Ickx in their Rothmans Porsche 956. In that year, due to the ongoing construction work, the track had been shorted to 20.832 km and provisional pits were used. This event saw the fastest ever timed competition lap of the Nordschleife when German driver Stefan Bellof lapped his 956 in 6:11.13 during practice, at an average of over 200 km/h. Bellof also set the race lap record during that race lapping in 6:25.91 in traffic with slower cars, one of them driven by the defending F1 champion.

Since 1984, the 1000 km races were run on the new, much shorter Grand-Prix-Strecke, while the 24 Hours Nürburgring stayed on the legendary long track. In 1991, the 1000 km races were first shortened to 480 km, then discontinued overall due to the demise of the World Sportscar Championship.

In 2000, the 1000 km were resumed, with new competitive cars of BMW and Audi. The race was held as a part of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), the European version of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). In a wet race, the unusual front-engined Panoz of Jan Magnussen and David Brabham won, ahead of a BMW V12 LMR, an Audi R8 and the second Panoz.

On September 4, 2005, the 1000 km was held as a part of the Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES).

The 500 km Nürburgring was also similar event for smaller sportscars during the 1960s and 1970s. Current and eternal record of most 1000 km wins belongs to Stirling Moss who won the race in 1956, 1958, 1959, and 1960.

VLN/NLS also runs a 6-hour endurance race, while racing only 4h in other heats. In 2010, for the first time a distance of more than 1000 km was covered by the winning Porsche 911 GT3. In 2010, the winning Porsche 911 GT3 R of the 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen race was the first to cover more than 1000 km in a 6-hour VLN endurance race for GT3 and touring cars, lapping the 24.369 km long modern version of the Nordschleife 42 times for 1023.498 km in a time of 6:06:56.091. The 2012 winner, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, covered the same distance in a time of only 6:01:29.541, at an average of 169.879 km/h.

As a part of the Oldtimer Festival in 2010 the tradition and name of the renowned ADAC 1000 km of Nürburgring will be continued by the motor sport club DAMC 05. In contrast to former years, the race is organised for older cars and therefore the term “classic” was added to the name.

The 2013 race was the first under the Blancpain Endurance Series banner of the Stephane Ratel Organisation.

Winners

Year	Drivers	Team	Car	Time	Championship
1000 km distance, 22.835 km circuit
1953	Alberto Ascari Giuseppe Farina	Automobili Ferrari	Ferrari 375 MM Spyder	8:20:44.000	World Sportscar Championship
1954 to 1955	No Races
1956	Piero Taruffi Harry Schell Jean Behra Stirling Moss	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 300S	7:43:54.400	World Sportscar Championship German Sportscar Championship
1957	Tony Brooks Noël Cunningham-Reid	David Brown	Aston Martin DBR1/300	7:33:38.200	World Sportscar Championship
1958	Stirling Moss Jack Brabham	David Brown	Aston Martin DBR1/300	7:23:33.000	World Sportscar Championship
1959	Stirling Moss Jack Fairman	David Brown	Aston Martin DBR1/300	7:33:18.000	World Sportscar Championship
1960	Stirling Moss Dan Gurney	Camoradi USA	Maserati Tipo 61	7:31:40.500	World Sportscar Championship
1961	Lloyd Casner Masten Gregory	Camoradi USA	Maserati Tipo 61	7:51:39.200	World Sportscar Championship
1962	Phil Hill Olivier Gendebien	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 246 SP	7:33:27.700	International Championship for GT Manufacturers
1963	John Surtees Willy Mairesse	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 250 P	7:32:18.000	International Championship for GT Manufacturers
1964	Ludovico Scarfiotti Nino Vaccarella	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 275 P	7:08:27.000	International Championship for GT Manufacturers
1965	John Surtees Ludovico Scarfiotti	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 330 P2	6:53:05.400	International Championship for GT Manufacturers
1966	Phil Hill Jo Bonnier	Chaparral Cars Inc.	Chaparral 2D-Chevrolet	6:58:47.600	International Championship for Sports-Prototypes International Championship for Sports Cars
1967	Joe Buzzetta Udo Schütz	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 910	6:54:12.900	International Championship for Sports-Prototypes International Championship for Sports Cars
1968	Vic Elford Jo Siffert	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 908	6:34:06.300	International Championship for Makes
1969	Jo Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 908/02	6:11:02.300	International Championship for Makes
1970	Vic Elford Kurt Ahrens Jr.	Porsche Salzburg	Porsche 908#908/03 (1970)Porsche 908/03	6:05:21.200	International Championship for Makes
1971	Vic Elford Gérard Larrousse	Martini Racing	Porsche 908#908/03 (1970)Porsche 908/03	5:51:49.300	International Championship for Makes
1972	Ronnie Peterson Tim Schenken	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 312 PB	6:01:40.200	World Championship for Makes Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
1973	Jacky Ickx Brian Redman	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 312 PB	5:36:53.400	World Championship for Makes Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
1974	Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Equipe Gitanes	Matra-Simca MS670C	4:07:24.100 33 laps, 753 km	World Championship for Makes Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
1975	Arturo Merzario Jacques Laffite	Willi Kauhsen Racing Team	Alfa Romeo 33TT12	5:41:14.100	World Championship for Makes Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
1976	Albrecht Krebs Dieter Quester	Schnitzer Motorsport	BMW 3.5 CSL	6:38:20.600	World Championship for Makes
1977	Rolf Stommelen Tim Schenken Toine Hezemans	Gelo Racing	Porsche 935	5:58:30.500	World Championship for Makes
1978	Klaus Ludwig Hans Heyer Toine Hezemans	Gelo Racing	Porsche 935/77	5:55:46.600	World Championship for Makes
1979	Manfred Schurti Bob Wollek John Fitzpatrick	Gelo Racing	Porsche 935/77	5:57:35.100	World Championship for Makes
1980	Rolf Stommelen Jürgen Barth	Joest Racing	Porsche 908/4 Turbo	5:52:15.100	World Championship for Makes
1981	Hans-Joachim Stuck Nelson Piquet	GS Tuning	BMW M1 Gr.5	2:16:50.860 17 laps, 388 km	World Endurance Championship
1982	Michele Alboreto Teo Fabi Riccardo Patrese	Martini Racing	Lancia LC1 Spyder	5:54:10.830	World Endurance Championship
1000 km distance, 20.830 km circuit
1983	Jochen Mass Jacky Ickx	Porsche Racing International	Porsche 956	5:26:34.630	World Endurance Championship
1000 km distance, 4.551 km circuit
1984	Stefan Bellof Derek Bell	Rothmans Porsche	Porsche 956	6:00:43.590	World Endurance Championship Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
1985	No Race
1986	Henri Pescarolo Mike Thackwell	Kouros Racing Team	Sauber C8-Mercedes	3:42:30.020 121 laps, 599 km	World Sports Prototype Championship
1987	Eddie Cheever Raul Boesel	Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-8	5:55:53.120	World Sports Prototype Championship
1988	Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass	Team Sauber Mercedes	Sauber C9-Mercedes	5:53:00.600	World Sports Prototype Championship
480 km distance, 4.551 km circuit
1989	Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass	Team Sauber Mercedes	Sauber C9-Mercedes	2:47:14.599	World Sports Prototype Championship
1990	Jean-Louis Schlesser Mauro Baldi	Team Sauber Mercedes	Mercedes-Benz C11	2:39:15.913	World Sports Prototype Championship
430 km distance, 4.551 km circuit
1991	Derek Warwick David Brabham	Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-14	2:23:41.028	World Sportscar Championship
1992 to 1999	No Races
1000 km distance, 4.556 km circuit
2000	Jan Magnussen David Brabham	Panoz Motor Sports	Ford Panoz LMP1-Élan	5:45:55.173	American Le Mans Series
2001 to 2003	No Races
1000 km distance, 5.148 km circuit
2004	Allan McNish Pierre Kaffer	Audi Sport UK Veloqx	Audi R8	6:00:32.64 180 laps, 925 km	Le Mans Series
2005	Tom Chilton Hayanari Shimoda	Zytek Motorsport	Zytek 04S	6:01:06.739 193 laps, 991 km	Le Mans Series
2006	Jean-Christophe Boullion Emmanuel Collard Éric Hélary	Pescarolo Sport	Pescarolo C60-Judd	6:01:26.300 189 laps, 971 km	Le Mans Series
2007	Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy	Team Peugeot Total	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Diesel)	6:01:13.628	Le Mans Series
2008	Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy	Team Peugeot Total	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Diesel)	5:44:48.174	Le Mans Series
2009	Jan Charouz Tomáš Enge Stefan Mücke	Aston Martin Racing	Lola-Aston Martin B09/60	5:57:26.595	Le Mans Series
1000 km distance, 25.378 km circuit
2010	Wolfgang Pohl Daniel Schrey		Porsche Carrera RS	7:00:42.2 48 35 laps, 888 km	FHR Langstreckencup
2011 to 2012	No Races
1000 km distance, 5.137 km circuit
2013	Maximilian Buhk Maximilian Götz Bernd Schneider	HTP Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3	6:00:46.354 178 laps, 916 km	Blancpain Endurance Series
2014	Laurens Vanthoor César Ramos Christopher Mies	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	6:00:07.848 158 laps, 813 km	Blancpain Endurance Series
6 hours time, 5.148 km circuit
2015	Timo Bernhard Brendon Hartley Mark Webber	Porsche Team	Porsche 919 Hybrid	6:01:16.966, 203 laps, 1045 km	FIA World Endurance Championship
2016	Timo Bernhard Brendon Hartley Mark Webber	Porsche Team	Porsche 919 Hybrid	6:01:16.183, 194 laps, 999 km	FIA World Endurance Championship
2017	Timo Bernhard Brendon Hartley Earl Bamber	Porsche LMP Team	Porsche 919 Hybrid	6:00:09.607, 204 laps, 1050 km	FIA World Endurance Championship
2018 to 2019	No Races
2020	Matteo Cairoli Christian Engelhart Sven Müller	Dinamic Motorsport	Porsche 911 (991 II) GT3 R	6:01:08.058, 173 laps, 882 km	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

3 Hours of Nürburgring

Year	Drivers	Team	Car	Time	Championship
5.137 km circuit
2012	Marc Goossens Marc Hennerici Xavier Maassen	Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-R	3:01:00.965, 86 laps, 443 km	Blancpain Endurance Series
2013 to 2014	No Races
2015	Rob Bell Kévin Estre Shane van Gisbergen	Von Ryan Racing	McLaren 650S GT3	3:00:18.820, 88 laps, 452 km	Blancpain Endurance Series
2016	Mirko Bortolotti Christian Engelhart Rolf Ineichen	GRT Grasser Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracán GT3	3:00:08.036, 85 laps, 437 km	Blancpain Endurance Series
2017 to 2020	No Races
5.148 km circuit
2021	Mirko Bortolotti Andrea Caldarelli Marco Mapelli	Orange 1 FFF Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo	3:00:53.243, 87 laps, 448 km	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
2022	No Race
5.137 km circuit
2023	Raffaele Marciello Timur Boguslavskiy Jules Gounon	AKKodis ASP Team	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	3:01:33.469, 92 laps, 473 km	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
2024	Marco Mapelli Jordan Pepper Franck Perera	Grasser Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	3:00:09.068, 90 laps, 462 km	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
2025	Augusto Farfus Jesse Krohn Raffaele Marciello	ROWE Racing	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	3:01:14.583, 86 laps, 442 km	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

External links

• Official Website^{[link removed]}
• Le Mans Series – 2007 1000 km of Nürburgring
• Story and Photos 1966-1970 (German)
• Story and Photos of 2000 (German)
• Story and Photos of 2004 (German)