Nurburgring 24 Hours Is A Blast, So Here's Why You Should Go Too

A few weeks ago, I drove to Germany to watch the Nurburgring 24 Hour race. It’s the one event I look forward to most every year - here’s proof - for reasons that I’ll get onto in a sec.

The car I’d be taking was CT’s long-term test car - the Hyundai i30N - because 1. It’s quick, comfortable and spacious and 2. The ‘N’ in i30N stands for ‘Nurburgring’, so it would be cool to take the car back to its spiritual home.

Now, let me now tell you why visiting N24 is a must, in the hope that you’ll read this, call your friends and make a promise to each other that you’ll be at N24 in 2019. Because if this is the case, I will personally shake your hand next year…

1. It all starts with a road trip

People don’t do road trips enough these days, so it’s easy to forget just how much fun and how satisfying they are.

That’s because road trips are a great way to reconnect with, and fall back in love with a car after spending weeks, months and maybe even years just doing the daily grind. Road trips expose a car’s weaknesses like uncomfortable seats, but also highlight a car’s merits such as incredible fuel economy or carrying capacity, and only then can you appreciate what you have. And only then will you feel inspired to make your car great again.

For me, I’d be driving the +800-mile round trip in a Hyundai i30N, a car that’s taken the hot hatch market by storm.

The reason why it’s been such a success is thanks to a bloke called Albert Biermann (formerly of BMW’s M Division) and his team who created an affordable alternative to cars like the Golf GTi. You can read all about the i30N here, but in summary, it’s comfortable, looks great, offers good interior space and a high level of safety and entertainment kit, and will do over 150mph, which you can explore on the many derestricted German motorways.

Yes, it’s an underdog in the hot hatch market, but trust me when I say that it’s every bit as fun and accomplished as its competitors.

2. Camping is a fun part of the experience

Most people who attend N24 camp there. It’s part of the N24 culture, as is alcohol and German techno music.

Despite going to N24 for the last six years, though, this year was my first camping experience at the event, and as you can see from the pic above, the word ‘glamping’ is much closer to the truth; Hyundai provided actual beds, we had plug sockets in our teepees, and even a hot tub!

Elsewhere around the track, people cope with two-man tents, while other more seasoned attendees arrive in campervans, create a home from home with TVs, fridges and a lot of beer, and erect massive structures to get good vantage points over the track.

3. The incredible racing

The Nurburgring 24 Hour race is one, if not the, most challenging race of the year. There are sudden weather changes, there’s the tiredness that drivers and teams have to contend with, and the track is one hell of a punishing old girl as this on-board footage proves…

As a spectator, the sensation of speed of these things, especially at night, is incredible. Cars like R8s and AMG GTs flash past in a blaze of glowing discs, belly scrapes and howling gearbox whine, only to reappear a few minutes later with missing body work and a new challenger at their rear three quarter.

Be in no doubt, then: this is proper racing where duct tape and zip ties are sometimes the only engineering solutions available.

4. The atmosphere

For most attendees, the N24 weekend isn’t only about the race. It’s about meeting up with friends (a big part of the weekend for me), eating good food, being surrounded by car lovers, walking through the forests, people watching, drinking beer and forgetting about work and stress.

N24 is a bubble of noise, excitement, forgetting about hygiene for a few days and really letting your hair down.

So if all of this appeals to you, then make that call to your friends now and start planning your road trip to the ‘Ring, because it’ll be one of the best things you do in 2019.