 Street Circuit (1972–present) | |
| Location | Nuremberg,Germany |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°25′53″N11°07′30″E / 49.43139°N 11.12500°E /49.43139; 11.12500 |
| FIA Grade | 2[1] |
| Opened | 18 May 1948; 77 years ago (1948-05-18) |
| Major events | Current: DTM Norisring Nürnberg 200 Speedweekend (1984, 1987–1996, 2000–2019, 2021–present) Porsche Carrera Cup Germany (1986–1992, 1994–1996, 1998–2017, 2019, 2025) ADAC GT4 Germany (2024–present) Former: TCR Europe (2022) W Series (2019) F3 European Championship (2012–2018) Super Tourenwagen Cup (1997–1999) Porsche Supercup (1993) World Sportscar Championship (1986–1987) BMW M1 Procar Championship (1980) Formula Two (1973) |
| Website | http://www.norisring.de |
| Street Circuit (1972–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.300 km (1.429 mi) |
| Turns | 8 |
| Race lap record | 0:46.618 ( Nico Müller,Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2019,2019,Class 1) |
| Street Circuit (1948, 1952–1957, 1961–1971) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 3.940 km (2.448 mi) |
| Turns | 8 |
| Race lap record | 1.13.800 ( Peter Gethin,McLaren M8E,1971,Group 7) |
| Short Street Circuit (1960–1968) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.620 km (1.007 mi) |
| Turns | 6 |
| Street Circuit (1949–1951) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 4.000 km (2.485 mi) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Street Circuit (1947) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.000 km (1.243 mi) |
| Turns | 7 |
TheNorisring is astreet circuit inNuremberg,Bavaria,Germany. Originally established as amotorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as asports car racing venue in the 1970s.[2][3] Since 2000, it has been annually used by theDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters, the premier Germany-basedtouring car racing series. The length of the simple track with twohairpin turns and achicane has been set to 2.300 km (1.429 mi) since 1972, after various lengths were used in its early years.
On 18 May 1947, the firstmotorcycle racing event took place at the Nuremberg street circuit that ran around a 360 m (390 yd) long grandstand, called theZeppelinhaupttribüne or simply theSteintribüne. In 1950, the nameNorisring was chosen for the venue in a competition to win a light motorcycle.[2] Motorcycle racing events remained central to the circuit until 1957, as six motorcycle manufacturers were based in Nuremberg at the time, but a crisis in the industry led to no racing events taking place in 1958 and 1959.[2][3]
Althoughautomobile racing events were held at the circuit as early as 1948 and on its revival in 1960, they would only become the venue's primary focus after theNorisring Trophy was introduced in 1967. During the 1970s and 1980s,sports prototype racing was popular at the Norisring and motorcycle racing events were abandoned after 1976.[2][3] TheWorld Sportscar Championship events that took place in1986 and1987 each attracted more than 100,000 spectators to the circuit.[3] After the 1980s, the venue switched its primary focus totouring car racing. In2000, the premier Germany-based touring car series was revived under theDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters moniker and the annualNorisringrennen became the circuit's most important event.
TheNorisringrennen traditionally takes place halfway through the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season in late June or early July. The race, which regularly attracts between 100,000 and 140,000 spectators to the circuit, is considered a highlight of the touring car series, as fans get closer to the action and the drivers than on modern venues.[4] Since2015, there has been one race on Saturday and one race on Sunday.[4]
After the beginning of the2020 season was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, theNorisringrennen was planned to take place in mid-July as the season opener, but it was eventually cancelled in accordance with the restrictions on public events in Nuremberg.[5] As the2021 season began in late June, it was known that theNorisringrennen would not take place during the summer, but by the end of July the circuit was confirmed as the venue for the season finale in October for the first time in its history.[6] In2022, theNorisringrennen returned to its traditional spot in the race calendar, and a round of theTCR Europe Touring Car Series was run in support of the main event for the first time.[7][8]
Due to its proximity to theDutzendteich lake and its location inside a large city, the Norisring has been compared to theCircuit de Monaco.[9]
Different configurations were used in the early years of the circuit, including figure-8 layouts. Until 1972, the track length varied between 2 km (1.2 mi) and 4 km (2.5 mi), before being permanently set to 2.300 km (1.429 mi). The start-finish straight in front of the central grandstand, theSteintribüne, leads to a right-hand sweeper, followed by a left-hand U-turn that is located near theGrundig tower and called theGrundigkehre. After the U-turn, the track heads back to theSteintribüne via a left-hand sweeper, with theSchöller-S right-left chicane placed between the sweeper and the back straight. This is the place where cars often touch the outside wall. After a right-hand kink, a left-hand U-turn called theDutzendteichkehre leads back to the main straight via a flat-out left-hand kink.
The Norisring is laid out on streets that are otherwise used for public traffic. The construction of the circuit begins two weeks before the race weekend. It includes installing 7 km (4.3 mi) ofcrash barriers, 6 km (3.7 mi) ofcatch fencing and several temporarystands. After the race weekend, the equipment is removed from the area within a week.[9]
Mexican racing driverPedro Rodríguez died at the Norisring in 1971 when theFerrari 512 he was hired to drive (in championship events, he used to race aGulf Racing-Porsche 917) hit the bridge wall before theSchöller-S and burst into flames. Afterwards, the track was shortened by moving theGrundigkehre U-turn closer in order to reduce corner speeds. In 2006, a memorial plaque was inaugurated at the site of the crash.
In 1988, Hungarian racing driverCsaba Kesjár (quoted to enter theFormula One in the follow years) also died after crashing into the barriers at theDutzendteichkehre during a practice session in theGerman Formula Three Championship.
As of July 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Norisring are listed as:
