A beginner's guide to NLS classes

Benjamin Crundwell
Mar 19
3 min read

Written by Benjamin Crundwell, Edited by Rohan Brown

On the 22nd March the green flag will fly for the first time in 2025 at the Nürburgring to kickstart the 2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) season. Staggeringly, almost 40 classes will once again be competing this year.

These classes can be gathered into more general groups: 24h-specials, TCR touring cars, VLN production cars, Cup class cars and Gruppe H historic cars.

The fastest group of cars are the 24h-Specials which are purpose built race cars, the classes inside are: SP3, SP4, SP5, SP6, SP7, SP8, SP9, SP10, SP11, SP2T, SP3T, SP4T, SP8T, SP-Pro and SP-X.

Classes SP3 - SP8 vary depending on engine size, with SP3 having a maximum engine capacity up to 2000cc, and SP8 having housing cars with a capacity greater than 4000cc. The larger the engine size, the faster the car.

The SP2T, SP3T, SP4T and SP8T classes follow the same regulations as above, except the fact that they are turbocharged cars. SP2T has an engine capacity below 1750cc, and SP8T has a capacity above 2600cc.

SP9 includes FIA-homologated GT3 cars, which can be split into a pro, pro-am and am category depending on the rankings of the drivers.

SP10 consists of FIA (Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile) and SRO homologated GT4 cars, and SP11 has GT2 cars, also split into pro, pro-am, and am categories.

SP-Pro would fit into SP6-SP8 and SP8T classes as the engine size must be greater than 3000cc, however they are vehicles “without approval as a vehicle with close-to-production engine.”, which means the engine is not closely related to a road-going power unit.

Cars which do not fit into any other category will enter the SP-X class.

The TCR Touring Car Group only contains one class: TCR. The class is made up of TCR Touring cars, which are homologated by the FIA. These are front wheel drive cars, based on four or five door production cars, powered by a 1750-2000cc turbocharged engine.

VLN production cars are constructed by nine classes: V3, V4, V5, V6, VT1, VT2, VT3, VT Hybrid and VT Electric. V3-V6 are differentiated by their engine size, as V3 have a capacity up to 2000cc, and V6 have a capacity above 3000cc.

VT1, VT2 and VT3 are all turbo charged, as VT1 has a capacity up to 1600cc, and VT3 has a capacity above 2000cc. VT Hybrid and VT Electric have a hybrid and electric power unit, respectively. VLN AT class is for cars run on alternative fuels, such as biofuels.

The Cup Class Cars can be broken into Cup 2, Cup 3, M2 CS, M240i and 325i challenge, all of which are one make: Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, Porsche Cayman GT4 Trophy, BMW M2 CS, BMW M240i and BMW 325i respectively.

The final group is Gruppe H historic cars, which includes production cars built before 2013. The only difference between the two classes (H2 and H4) is the engine size, H2 has a capacity lower than 1999cc, whilst H4 has an engine capacity between 2000-6250cc.

Each class is considered to be in their own separate race with the others in their class, however the most attention goes towards the ‘overall leaders’, which is usually cars from the SP9 class, as it has the fastest cars, and the fastest drivers.

The new addition to the 2025 season is the NLS-Light race. This is a grassroot level of racing, which is made more accessible to drivers with a lower license, as faster classes (SP9, Cup 2, SP-X and SP-Pro) are removed from the grid. VLN managing director, Mike Jäger said: ‘we want to make access to the NLS as easy as possible.’

The first NLS race is to be on the 22nd March, and will be followed by nine more races across 2025. The main class to watch is the SP9 class, where the fastest cars on the grid will go head to head.

Youtube fans should keep an eye on SP8T, where Jimmy Broadbent, Steve Brown and Misha Charoudin are once again joining forces with Manuel Metzger in the debuting BMW M4 GT4 Evo.

An incredibly broad range of cars race in the NLS, which is made possible by the large number of classes. There are many stories to follow throughout each race, and the 25.3km track is constantly covered by action. As a proving ground for young drivers, and a lion pit for experienced ones, racing the Nürburgring is a true test of a driver's talent.