The Christmas tree is aglow with lights, biscuits and a hot drink are ready and waiting, and the comfy sofa invites you to linger... Only one thing is missing for complete happiness: thrilling racing in the Green Hell. The time has finally come: the Digital Nürburgring Endurance Series kicks off on December 21 with the RAVENOL 3-hour race. At 11:45 a.m., VLN.de will start the livestream and provide answers to the most important questions: How will DTM champion Mirko Bortolotti fare in his debut in the DNLS in the Dörr Esports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO? How will the Ford Mustang GT3 fare on the Nordschleife during its first kilometers of racing? Can last year's SimRC champions also shine in the GT4 class? And how close will it be in the SP3 with the Renault Clio?

While construction work is currently taking place on the real Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the unique asphalt strip that winds so unmistakably through the gentle hills of the Eifel is presented at its best in the iRacing racing simulation. The BMW M4 GT3, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 R are ready to go in the GT3 class SP9 for overall victory. Well-known teams from the real NLS will be competing again this year: Haupt Racing Team by GnG, Mühlner Motorsport/XSmilla, Dörr Esports and Falken Simracing. They will be competing against strong simracing teams such as BS+COMPETITION and the AMG teams Williams and Apex Racing. In addition, esports teams of well-known racing drivers will also be taking part: M&J Downforce with Marek Böckmann and Jan Philipp Springob, Pole Promotion Esports with René Rast and Nürburgring eSports with Marc Hennerici and Andy Gülden. The line-up is rounded off by other interesting constellations: DTM champion Bortolotti will be taking the wheel for Dörr Esports and Benjamin Leuchter will be starting for Falken in the Porsche 911 GT3. It will be a thrilling fight for the overall victory.

The Cup 2 class has new features. In the Porsche Esports Endurance Trophy Nürburgring, which is organized by Manthey, there will be a pro and an amateur driver classification for the first time this year, in addition to the normal class classification. What is particularly interesting is that one of the winners of the real PETN, Lucas Daugaard from Denmark, is classified as an amateur in the virtual world for AVIA W&S Racing. Other teams from the NLS are SRS Team Sorg Rennsport, pb Performance by GnG, Halder Motorsport, Scherer eSport and Team75 Bernhard by SimRC. After the entries were received, the organizers were faced with a huge problem: there was simply too much interest in this class, so the teams had to qualify in advance for the 2024/25 season. iRacing allows a maximum of 64 participating vehicles in one race. Even though some of the top teams failed to qualify and will not be able to participate, fans can still look forward to exciting races, because the line-up is fast and, above all, close.

The same applies to the GT4 class SP10, by the way. Here, too, the protagonists had to go through a pre-qualification. This was not a problem for Falken Simracing, Dörr Esports and Nürburgring eSports, as well as for the simracing professional teams BS+Competition, Team Heusinkveld and Coanda eSports. Last year's champions have decided to move up to the GT4 class this year. Marvin Strehl and Corentin Guinez will start for SimRC in the Mercedes-AMG GT4.

There will be a major revival in the SP3 this winter season, which will be contested with Renault Clio this year. Long-standing NLS fans will remember the years when the Renault Clio Cup enriched the Nordschleife races. Interesting teams will also be competing in the virtual comeback. For example, Tomas Enge Racing, led by the former Formula 1 and DTM driver from the Czech Republic. Last year's VT2 class runners-up, WolfMotorsportSimracing, are competing again. Also competing are RACE SIM Zone, with RCN driver Nadia Brülisauer and the Eifel Racing by GTÜ kart and sim racing circle, who are also planning to compete in real-life Nordschleife racing in the medium term.

Presenters Olli Martini and Patrick Simon will open the livestream on VLN.de on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. from the virtual studio at the Nürburgring with a pre-show and a summary of the practice sessions. The virtual starting lights will switch to green at 1 p.m. for the three-hour race.