The complex power struggle between ADAC, organizer of more than 80 per cent of racing events at the Eifel venue, and Nurburgring owner NR Holding is set to be fought on the battlefield of endurance racing.

NR Holding, a company owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Kharitonin, has become a majority stakeholder in the Nurburgring Endurance Series, the all-new racing series created by the Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD).

With NR Holding 51 percent, AvD 25 percent and the place-holding B&S GmbH co-owned by former VLN boss Ralph-Gerald Schluter and Peter Bonk, NR Holding has finally completed its envisioned structure that had originally been proposed to VLN back in spring 2023 , but subsequently got declined by VLN.

Proposed NLS structure 2024

Photo by: Heiko Stritzke

The Nurburgring Endurance Series is set to begin the season this weekend with test sessions on the Nordschleife and a trial race at the grand prix track. While a healthy number of teams is expected to take part in the test, after the official test days had been scrapped due to a lack of available dates for the two series, the number of teams entering the race remains to be seen.

VLN meanwhile is also preparing for its first racing weekend, consisting of a doubleheader on April 6th and 7th. With the formation of NES, the VLN-led NLS had originally been expelled from the Nordschleife but managed to gain access via a successful lawsuit against NR Holding in late 2023.

It has been announced that the ADAC is taking over title sponsorship of the series which will now run as the ADAC Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) via its three regional clubs ADAC Westfalen, ADAC Mittelrhein and ADAC Nordrhein, organizer of the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

With the new ADAC sponsorship, VLN hopes to gain access to some much needed funds in its ongoing judicial proceedings against NR Holding as the main trial is yet to start.