One Final Lap At The Nürburgring In 2025
With 2025 coming to an end, I’m marking my fourth full year of being a regular Nürburgring visitor. Ever since my first visit in 2019, I was hooked on the g-force and driving thrills. And when I got my own car in 2021, I immediately bought a set of semi-slicks and started going to the Ring on the regular late that year.
With the Nürburgring entering hibernation in winter, I couldn’t help but to plan one final trip to the Ring to end the season on the last opening day. Peculiarly, the Nürburgring is open until November 30th, well into the cold months with occasional snows in the Eifel region of Germany - so going on the final day would be a gamble with the weather.
Despite that, business runs as usual here at the Green Hell. With rain early in the morning and single digit temperatures, the final Touristenfahrten day starts with a slippery Nordschleife for anybody who’s brave enough to take the challenge. Thankfully, the circuit does slowly dry out as people make their way around the wet track.
But while the track is where the action is at, the track entrance/ Devil’s Diner parking lot is where the culture lives and the passion is most visible - from the friendly chatter about cars, strangers connecting with each other over shared passion, and cars coming in and out of the track every second. You’ll see everything - from the usual Porsche 911 GT3 RS to a group of modified Mazda MX-5s on a mission to form a Miata train on track. Unlike in summer, where the Nürburgring is full to the brim and everybody is driving like they’re on a sub-7 record run, this time of year sees more locals and long-dedicated visitors celebrating one last lap for the year. It’s a chiller affair, but doesn’t lack the vibrant atmosphere.
The main event of the day, however, starts at 15:30, as the T13 pit fills up and causes a traffic jam inside the Ring, waiting for the parade lap that’s going to take place after the track officially closes. After checking out the vibe, I decided to finish my last lap ahead of the parade so I could stand at the exit to capture the finale of the 2025 season.
As the final rental Golf VIII R drove in, the weather cleared out for the sun to shine for the season’s final lap. After a brief period of serenity at the entrance, a sea of headlights appears from the Audi gantry, slowly getting closer. And the first car to arrive back and leave the track was a yellow NA Mazda MX-5.
With blinkers and honking filling the atmosphere, we celebrated the final moment at the Nürburgring. The clouds took over again right as soon as the final car - a Mk2 Ford Focus ST - left the track. The timing couldn’t have been more impeccable - it’s rather poetic to have a brief sunshine for the Nürburgring’s final hoorah, only to disappear completely right after, symbolizing the end of another adrenaline-filled year. As the parking lot turned dark, so ended another great season of track driving at the Nürburgring.
I stayed at the parking lot for a little while afterwards, taking in the unforgettable Nürburgiring atmosphere one last time before saying goodbye to some friends and leaving the area. The magic of the Nürburgring is simply the fact that all of this is regular - the open gates of the Nürburgring creates a vibrant culture that celebrates driving thrills all year long. Along the way, we celebrate the milestones on the world's most exciting 20.8 km stretch of asphalt. Of course, we will resume all of it in March 2026, picking up right where we left off.