How to ride the Nürburgring on your motorcycle | Is it dangerous?

UPDATE 21 Feb 2025: Motorcycles are NOT banned from the Nürburgring, but they are severely restricted. Read on for more information...

The Nürburgring Nordschleife: a weird and wonderful, anachronistic, dead-end in the evolution of racetracks. Nobody else has ever built anything quite like it in the 97 years it’s been open, and (probably) nobody ever will again.

For that reason alone, it’s worth a visit. But is it worth riding your motorcycle around the famous Nürburgring, and its legendary 20.8km/12.9 miles Nordschleife (the Northern Loop)?

As a resident of nearly 20 years, instructor and ‘expert’, even I find that question a very hard one to answer. The truth is that the more you know, the more likely you won’t want to ride it, but with over 25,000 laps under my belt, I haven’t stopped yet.

The Nürburgring is the best, most challenging, racetrack in the world. It’s an unhealthy addiction, but one that hasn’t quite been banned yet...

When is the Nürburgring open to the public?

The easiest way to enter the circuit is the almost-daily ‘touristenfahrten’, or 'Tourist Rides' sessions, which locals call TF (teh-eff). However, from 2025, these are no longer open to motorcycles on the 21 kilometre Nordschleife.

In TF, the Nordschleife becomes open to public car drivers – subject to public road rules – and they pay per lap. Typically it’s open Monday to Friday from 17:00 or 17:30, to around 19:15 (when the gates actually shut).

I say typically, but the truth is that it’s quite irregular at best, and short-notice changes to that schedule for bad weather (floods, fog, hail) can happen at almost any time. Hey, it’s the Eifel, and in Germany it’s a region that’s renowned for unpredictable bad weather.

In the past, any ‘dirty’ crash or oil spill during a public session would close entry to motorcycles for at least one hour. And if there was another crash or spill in that one hour? You guessed it, it stayed closed to bikes. That was a common situation, meaning it was relatively common for us bikers to not be able to enter for days at a time.

In fact, on busy Sundays, it was often possible to only make one or two laps, even if you arrived early and left late. And unless you were already pretty quick and knowledgeable, those laps would be a hot mess anyway. Many busier weekends, you wouldn't be able to ride a single lap.

The official Nürburgring opening times are on Nuerburgring.de page here. Don’t believe anything that’s from any other website. Lots of nefarious businesses publish their own calendars of the ’Ring’s opening times in an effort to win search traffic – or sell products of their own – but then fail to update it.

When can motorcycles use the Nürburgring?

From 2025, motorcycles will ONLY be able to ride the 21km Nordschleife under the supervision of trained guides during training sessions and courses, and there are only FOUR full-day sessions planned to be offered in 2025. According to the Nürburgring website, the Motorrad Action Team (July 30-31) and ADAC Doc-Scholl Driver Training (August 13-14) are each organizing full-day training formats for two-wheelers. Breaking them into two different groups is said to make the offer suitable for beginners as well as for very experienced Nordschleife connoisseurs.

If you're interested in riding the Nürburgring Nordschleife, we'd suggest you contact the two training providers as soon as possible:

• The Motorrad Action Team: https://www.fszn.de/en/motorrad-action-team

• ADAC Doc-Scholl Driver Training: https://www.doc-scholl.de/index.html

The GP track is another option at the ’Ring

'Tourist Trips' are STILL AVAILABLE on the Nürburgring's Grand Prix circuit, with riders allowed on what are described as 'exclusive stints during opening hours'. According to the Nürburgring website, these can be 'flexibly arranged according to the daily volume of two-wheelers' on the 5.1km track. Currently, the Grand Prix circuit is planned to be open a total of 38 times in 2025, with motorcycle training and track days also taking place. Under the guidance of Speer Racing and Ducati 4U, there will be nine dates from May to September that are aimed exclusively at motorcyclists. 

Yes, you can ride for free, but you won’t get a fast lap in!

Is there any other way to ride the Nürburgring?

There is another way to ride the Nürburgring, and you can do it for free for free, but at a snail's pace…

This year over 45,000 riders made the pilgrimage to the "Motorrad Anlassen", literally the 'letting on of the motorcycles'. A couple of priests make some prayers, and you ride a very slow convoy lap. But it is free, and it's quite the sight! It did take me over three hours to make that one lap though...

Jahreskartens are being refunded

If you've already bought a season ticket, or Jahreskarten, or have credit balance for the 'tourist rides', these can be used on the Grand Prix circuit when available. Alternatively, contact the Nürburgring for information on requesting a refund here: https://nuerburgring.de/info/company/contact

How to get to the Nürburgring from the UK

The absolute quickest way from your front-door to the ’Ring is always going to be the Eurotunnel, closely followed by one of the many Dover ferries, especially if you live anywhere south of Cambridgeshire. From riding off the ferry/train in Calais, you can easily be arriving ’Ring-side within about five hours, including a fuel stop and a sweaty baguette from a Belgian motorway services.

A more relaxed way to travel is the Hull-Rotterdam crossing, or even Harwich-Hook of Holland, though you’ll pay quite a bit more for those as you’ll need an overnight crossing, and you’ll still be faced with a totally uninspiring ride down Dutch motorways at depressingly slow speeds through heavily congested areas. Is it a shorter ride at least? Not really, it's also about 4.5 hours.

I get asked a lot if there are any scenic routes to get here, but none are really worth the detour until you’re almost in Germany. So here they are:

• From France: Head for Liege, whichever way the GPS points you, but I prefer the E42 via Lille, just to avoid the Brussels ring road. When you pass Liege you have the opportunity to head south, past Spa Francorchamps, and run into the Nürburgring’s native Eifel region via the beautiful back roads of the Ardennes. If the weather’s nice, and time isn’t pressing, I get off the E42 at Malmedy, head for the Old Smuggler’s café linked here. Then follow the B421 until you see signs for the ‘Ring. This will add maybe another hour to the journey, but it’s worth it.

• From Holland: As above, it’s all pretty rubbish until the last hour, which you can stretch out into about 2.5 hours of Eifel fun by leaving the autobahn anywhere close to Duren, then putting Nideggen into the GPS. Nideggen is the home of the old public-roads-racetrack that was the forerunner to the Nürburgring (the Eifelrennen). From there, go via Schleiden, and down the B258, and you’ll have a fun ride in. Be careful though, as bikers come from all over the heavily populated Ruhr valley to this Eifel route. It’s busy at weekends, the road next to the Ruhrsee is banned for motorcycles in summer (seriously!) and the whole route is prone to a heavy Polizei presence. 

Riding through France and Germany isn’t without nuance, so it’s worth checking this guide to riding a motorcycle in France and this guide to riding in Germany.

Is the Nürburgring really as dangerous as I’ve heard?

I don’t know what you’ve heard about the ’Ring, but I’d be willing to say it’s even more dangerous than what you think it is!

In the last 30 years the Nordschleife has been transformed from a secret hidey-hole for hardcore petrolheads, into a social media bonanza of epic emotions, driving, racing, and – of course – crashing.

Truthfully, there are far more crashes here than anybody ever expects – or sees – on social media. On a busy Sunday of TF (see below, for what THAT is), there can be literally dozens of crashes, with closures, injuries, fires, and regular paramedic heli-lifts to the not-so-close emergency hospitals. Several helicopters per day is NOT uncommon.

Naturally, riding your motorcycle in the middle of that pandemonium is not without risk, and nobody should treat a cheeky lap of the Nürburgring too lightly.

It's for safety reasons that motorcycles are no longer allowed to use the Nürburgring AT THE SAME TIME AS CARS.

What license do I need to ride on the Nürburgring?

Your regular road license is required to ride the Nürburgring, and you are expected to have at least third-party insurance. Though the fact is that most insurance policy specifically do not cover you even third party for riding the ’Ring. They tell you what you need, then if you don't have it, well... that's your problem.

What motorcycle can I take to the Nürburgring?

Your motorcycle must be fully road-legal and insured at least third-party. Don’t even think about ‘daytime-only’ MOTs, either: you’ll need lights, mirrors, and a road-legal exhaust.

Drive-by noise tests are automatic, and backed up by the workers at the gates who try to catch any loud-looking machines before they annoy the growing base of anti-ring residents(!).

The static test is 95dB(A), and the drive-by is 130dB(A). In practical terms, a stock Ducati V4 will fail the hand-held test most times, though the drive-by is a little harder to trigger as most first-time riders won’t be full throttle at the measurement points.

Can I get a ticket from the police on the Nürburgring?

The Nürburgring is private land, but the police can still come in and prosecute you as it’s private land under the care of the public road system. The rules and regulations of the road all apply to that road when riding it on the TF.

The police DO have a strong presence at the ’Ring, not least to deal with the confrontations that can apply in a collision.

Do I need to wear full leathers on the Nürburgring?

You’d be well advised to wear well-made, well-fitting full leathers on the Nürburgring, but you can ride in textiles and motorcycle jeans, as long as they’re armoured and designed for motorcycle use.

Really though, you should wear the best protection you have. Including an airbag.

Am insured if I ride on the Nürburgring?

Always check your own policy documents, but since the mid-2000s most UK insurers have explicitly exempted the Nürburgring Nordschleife from any and all cover. Be warned! In most cases if you damage your bike, you're not covered and if you damage someone else's property, or hurt them, you're NOT COVERED.

What happens if I crash at the Nürburgring?

Depending on how severe it is, you could be looking at losing anything from a few hundred euros to tens of thousands if you crash on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Even if we just assume that you’re happy to wreck your motorcycle with no possible recompense, there’s the small issue of the ‘track damages’. The Nürburgring management bills EVERYBODY who crashes, no matter how small, and the prices are non-negotiable. Barrier bills include parts and labour, but no VAT (as it's damage), and even a single impact will likely entail resetting two posts and replacing anything from four to 12 meters of guardrail. Typical bills are between €1,000 and €4,000. Even a low-side with no damage – and no injury – might attract the attention of a marshal who stops a car and waves a flag. That’s around €150, please. As an example, I dropped coolant in the carpark during a particularly nasty traffic jam, volunteered to help clean it up, and still got a bill for over €150 for the sand and marshal time!

And what if you somehow manage to cause an accident involving other riders or drivers? Current legal precedent means that your UK insurer will be obligated to pay out for whatever claims come in against you (Google the Vnuk case). But after that, they might choose to come after you in UK court, because you broke the contract between them and you.

Think that sounds unreasonable? Every year I have direct contact with incidents involving hundreds of thousands of Euros, where everybody is blaming one driver who dropped fluid, didn’t stop, stopped too quickly, etc… Don’t forget, if you accidentally scuff a €350,000 German-plated supercar, the driver’s gonna expect to have your insurance details immediately. And you're probably not covered.

Let’s talk about medical expenses next:

Should I take out any extra insurance for the Nürburgring?

Nearly 20 years ago, I had an accident on the road just outside the ’Ring, and a helicopter had to take me away for a nice little all-inclusive stay in Koblenz for a few weeks. In those days, I just flashed my European Health Insurance Card, and the big €16,000 bill was footed by the inter-cooperation of the NHS and German systems.

Now, post-Brexit, you are responsible for your health insurance when leaving the UK. When choosing a travel insurance policy, be sure to check that motorcycles – and specifically race circuits – are still covered. I’ve been stung before by limits on the size of the motorcycle too, and a friend of mine had to pay for his own ambulance and hospital visit because his policy excluded bikes over 250cc.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any suggestions for this, as most companies do run a mile when you mention the Nürburgring. In the end, I “just” moved out here.

Can I hire a motorcycle to ride on the Nürburgring?

A few companies over the years have attempted to rent motorcycles for the Nordschleife, but all the ones that I know of ended up crashed, with the customers in hospital.

At the time of writing, no companies offer rentals for the ‘Ring. Local dealers, like Schmitz in Adenau do offer rentals for the glorious local roads, but specifically forbid the machines from entering any racetrack.

Can I hire a car to drive on the Nürburgring?

Firstly, don’t even think about taking the airport rental. Now that the Nürburgring is privately owned (since 2014), German insurance companies have got the right to refuse your first-party cover, which means whatever you rent from a normal Hertz/Sixt shop will NOT be covered at the ’Ring. In fact, most of these regular rental firms will fine you if they find out your rental has been on track. And because all the photos of all the cars are online every single day, it’s not exactly easy to stop them finding out where you’ve been (premium sportscars even have GPS locators fitted).

A whole industry in track-ready rental cars has sprung up to cater for this need, and you can rent cars, with instructors – like myself – from firms like Rent4Ring and similar.

Where can I stay when visiting the Nürburgring?

Bike crime is basically non-existent in this region of Germany, outside of large events. Recently the only big thefts have occurred from the ‘secure’ big-chain, big-name hotels where all the out-of-towners can see what’s parked up, every night.

Anecdotal evidence confirms my opinion that the best thing to do is stay local at B&Bs and guesthouses. Booking.com is a good place to search for these, as is google maps. Local places like the Pension Schwedenkreuz and The Gantry offer indoor bike parking and very reasonable rates.

So, should you ride the Nürburgring?

If you made it this far down, without clicking away, then I firmly believe you’ve got an itch that needs to be scratched. From 2025, riding the Nürburgring has changed significantly, but it is still possible...

If you have any more questions about the Nürburgring, get expert advice at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk.

Full video guide to riding the Nürburgring

This video was produced BEFORE the motorcycle rule changes