After Verstappen, Valentino Rossi now wants to conquer the Nurburgring 24 Hours
Two of racing's biggest names, drawn to the same stretch of tarmac
There is something about the Nurburgring Nordschleife that pulls in the greats. Fresh from Max Verstappen making headlines with his love of the Green Hell, another all-time legend is setting his sights on it: nine-time motorcycle world champion Valentino Rossi, who wants to race the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring in 2027.
A bike icon turned GT racer
Rossi may be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, but at 47 he has built a serious second career on four wheels. He moved into GT3 racing in 2022 and now competes for BMW M Team WRT in the GT World Challenge, holding an FIA Silver rating as he goes up against Gold and Platinum-rated professionals. The Nurburgring 24 Hours, he says, is firmly on his bucket list.
First, the permit
You cannot simply enter the Nordschleife's biggest race. Every driver needs a permit, the DPN, earned by proving themselves in the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie endurance rounds. Under the simplified 2026 rules, Rossi needs to complete one race and eight full laps at an NLS event or the 24-hour qualifiers, without any driving violations. He wants to tick that box before the end of 2026, clearing the way for a 2027 race debut, and BMW is keen to run him in its new M2 Racing, a 308 hp entry-level machine, to build up his laps.
The tricky part: the calendar
The biggest obstacle is not talent but timing. Rossi's existing GT commitments clash awkwardly with the NLS rounds he needs. The August NLS race conflicts with a GT World Challenge Sprint Cup date at Magny-Cours, a September double-header clashes with the Suzuka 1000km, and the October NLS finale runs into the Intercontinental GT season closer in Indianapolis. Threading his permit qualification through that packed schedule will take some careful planning.
In his own words
Rossi has left no doubt about how much he wants this. "The 24 Hours of the Nurburgring is absolutely on my bucket list. I hope we can make it happen with BMW," he said. Coming from a rider who has already conquered just about everything on two wheels, that is a telling sign of the pull the Green Hell still has on the world's best.
AutoNext Take
We love this. There is something wonderful about seeing legends from completely different disciplines chasing the same dream, and the Nurburgring 24 Hours has an almost magnetic hold on the greats. Verstappen has shown how seriously top drivers take the Nordschleife, and now Rossi, a genuine motorsport icon, wants his shot at the same brutal, beautiful challenge. That two names of this stature are drawn to it says everything about the mystique of the place.
Whether he can untangle the calendar in time is another matter, and 2027 is far from guaranteed. But we would love to see it happen. A nine-time world champion tackling 20-plus kilometres of the world's most demanding circuit, for 24 straight hours, is exactly the kind of story that makes motorsport special. Forza Vale, and good luck with that permit.
