VLN
Encyclopedia
The VLN, properly the Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring (Association of Nürburgring
Endurance Cup Organisers) is an organisation of motorsport clubs of which each hosts one event of a ten-race series held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife
, the "VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring" (VLN Endurance Racing Championship Nürburgring). The series was named "BFGoodrich
Langstreckenmeisterschaft (BFGLM)" from 2001 to 2009.
Participants of VLN races range from amateurs in small road legal cars with rollcages and harnesses to professional factory teams racing ex-DTM
cars, or Porsche 996
GT3 RSR as in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
and similar races. The VLN series is closely associated with the 24 Hours Nürburgring
, as it has similar rules (mostly), and mainly the same participants. In the calendar, several weeks around the 24h date in May/June are taken off to allows teams to prepare for the 24h, and to fix their cars afterwards. The 24h is not part of the championship anymore, though.
clubs, which are members of ADAC
or Deutscher Motorsportverband (DMV), in order to join forces. Previously, each club had run its own touring car racing
event on the Nürburgring, lasting for 3.5 to 6 hours, with about 150 cars and 400 drivers taking part. The rules were unified and the races were made part of a series.
The winners of the series were awarded a Cup (German Pokal), sponsored by Valvoline and later Veedol lubrication products. Due to this, both organisation and races were simply informally called "Veedol-Cup" for many years. Since the change of sponsorship and the official recognition by Deutscher Motor Sport Bund
(DMSB) as the German endurance championship (German Meisterschaft) in 2001, the former Veedol Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring was the BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring. The name of the VLN organisation stays the same, though, which is reflected by their website addresses and title.
Apart from the 24 Hours, the Rundstrecken Challenge Nürburgring (RCN/CHC) and GLP
are related smaller events dedicated to non-professionals.
is opened and the winners are honoured, the teams can travel home on race day. At some events, the schedule also accommodates additional sprint races of visiting other series, mainly classic car
s and youngtimers.
The "6 hours" are considered the season highlight – in 1998, even Sir Jack Brabham
took part, at age 72. Here, 2 to 4 drivers per cars are entered, while in all others races, a single driver can drive all alone for 4 hours, or up to 3 can form a team. Another highlight is the last race, the Münsterlandpokal, which is also called "Schinkenrennen" (ham race) as large pieces of ham
from the Münster
land area are presented to class winners.
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
Endurance Cup Organisers) is an organisation of motorsport clubs of which each hosts one event of a ten-race series held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
, the "VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring" (VLN Endurance Racing Championship Nürburgring). The series was named "BFGoodrich
BFGoodrich
BFGoodrich is an American brand of tires. Separated from the Goodrich company and now owned by Michelin.Some Michelin competition tyres are now branded BFGoodrich to increase brand awareness....
Langstreckenmeisterschaft (BFGLM)" from 2001 to 2009.
Participants of VLN races range from amateurs in small road legal cars with rollcages and harnesses to professional factory teams racing ex-DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....
cars, or Porsche 996
Porsche 996
The Porsche 996 is the internal designation for the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005. It has since been replaced by the Type 997...
GT3 RSR as in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
and similar races. The VLN series is closely associated with the 24 Hours Nürburgring
24 Hours Nürburgring
The 24 Hours Nürburgring is a touring car and GT endurance racing event on the Nürburgring Nordschleife . With a lap length of over , it allows the participation of more than 200 cars, and over 700 drivers.-Overview:...
, as it has similar rules (mostly), and mainly the same participants. In the calendar, several weeks around the 24h date in May/June are taken off to allows teams to prepare for the 24h, and to fix their cars afterwards. The 24h is not part of the championship anymore, though.
History
The VLN was founded in 1977 by several motorsportMotorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
clubs, which are members of ADAC
ADAC
The ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with more than 17 million members in June 2010. It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911...
or Deutscher Motorsportverband (DMV), in order to join forces. Previously, each club had run its own touring car racing
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
event on the Nürburgring, lasting for 3.5 to 6 hours, with about 150 cars and 400 drivers taking part. The rules were unified and the races were made part of a series.
The winners of the series were awarded a Cup (German Pokal), sponsored by Valvoline and later Veedol lubrication products. Due to this, both organisation and races were simply informally called "Veedol-Cup" for many years. Since the change of sponsorship and the official recognition by Deutscher Motor Sport Bund
Deutscher Motor Sport Bund
DMSB or Deutscher Motor Sport Bund e. V. is Germany's motor racing governing body, formerly known as ONS . It is carried by the clubs ADAC, AvD and DMV, and represents Germany at FIA and FIM....
(DMSB) as the German endurance championship (German Meisterschaft) in 2001, the former Veedol Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring was the BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring. The name of the VLN organisation stays the same, though, which is reflected by their website addresses and title.
Apart from the 24 Hours, the Rundstrecken Challenge Nürburgring (RCN/CHC) and GLP
Gleichmäßigkeitsprüfung
A Gleichmäßigkeitsprüfung is a motorsport event where precise timing is winning, not outright speed.Mainly Classic cars events like the modern Mille Miglia are held as GLPs....
are related smaller events dedicated to non-professionals.
Races
Each VLN race is held as a "one day event" on Saturdays only, in order to limit costs. The mandatory drivers briefing is at 7:45, practice is from 8:30 to 10:00. following a warmup lap behind safety cars, the first of three groups starts the race at 12:00, followed by the other two a few minutes later, in time before the fastest cars complete their first lap in just over 8 minutes. After parc ferméParc fermé
Parc fermé, literally meaning "closed park" in French, is a term used to describe a secure area at a Grand Prix circuit wherein the cars are driven back to the pits post-race. According to the FIA Formula One regulations, the area must be sufficiently large and secure so as to prevent unauthorised...
is opened and the winners are honoured, the teams can travel home on race day. At some events, the schedule also accommodates additional sprint races of visiting other series, mainly classic car
Classic car
A classic car is an older car; the exact meaning is variable. The Classic Car Club of America maintains that a car must be between 20 and 40 years old to be a classic, while cars over 45 years fall into the Antique Class.- Classic Car Club of America :...
s and youngtimers.
The "6 hours" are considered the season highlight – in 1998, even Sir Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
took part, at age 72. Here, 2 to 4 drivers per cars are entered, while in all others races, a single driver can drive all alone for 4 hours, or up to 3 can form a team. Another highlight is the last race, the Münsterlandpokal, which is also called "Schinkenrennen" (ham race) as large pieces of ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
from the Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
land area are presented to class winners.
Car classes
A variety of cars compete at the same time during each race. In the 2009 season, there were 30 classes of cars in four divisions.- The Series Cars division is intended to allow relatively low cost racing with near-series cars. It consists of six gasoline classes differentiated by engine displacement V1 to V6 and a diesel class VD.
- The Specials division consists of pure race cars that may compete in other race series. It consists of the classes SP1 to SP8 differentiated by engine displacement with an optional suffix T for turbo charged engines, the SP9 class for FIA GT3 cars, the SP10 class for SRO GT4 cars, the special E1-XP 2009 class and the D1T to D4T classes differentiated by engine displacement for diesel cars.
- The Cup division consists of one-make cup cars in the classes Cup1: Seat Leon, Cup2: Honda Civic R, Cup3: Porsche Carrera Cup.
- The H division consists of cars made in 1996 and before. It consists of the classes H1 to H4 differentiated by engine displacement.
Member organisations
- ADAC-Westfalen e.V.
- Renngemeinschaft DürenDürenDüren is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of Düren district. It is located between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.-Roman era:Celts inhabited Düren's area before the Romans. They called their small settlement Durum . After the Celts other Germanic tribes settled this area...
e.V. DMV - AC Altkreis SchwelmSchwelmSchwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region of Arnsberg within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.It's a town that's noted for the famed basketball player Virgil Matthews.-Geography:...
e.V. im ADAC - MSC AdenauAhrweilerAhrweiler is a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Euskirchen, Rhein-Sieg and the city Bonn in the state North Rhine-Westphalia, and the districts of Neuwied, Mayen-Koblenz and Vulkaneifel.- History :The region was conquered by the Romans under...
e.V. im ADAC - DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
er MC e.V. im ADAC - RheydtRheydtRheydt is a borough of the German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 through 1975 it was an independent city....
er Club für Motorsport e.V. DMV - MSC Ruhr-Blitz BochumBochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
e.V. im ADAC - MSC SinzigAhrweilerAhrweiler is a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Euskirchen, Rhein-Sieg and the city Bonn in the state North Rhine-Westphalia, and the districts of Neuwied, Mayen-Koblenz and Vulkaneifel.- History :The region was conquered by the Romans under...
e.V. im ADAC - AC MonheimMonheim am RheinMonheim am Rhein is a town on the right bank of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Monheim belongs to the district of Mettmann - with the southern suburbs of Düsseldorf to the north, and the Bergisches Land to the south...
e.V. DMV - MSC Münster e.V. DMV