Max Verstappen has scored his maiden Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie pole position this morning, ahead of today’s 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis.
The four-time Formula 1 World Drivers’ champion set a 7:51.751 in the dying minutes of the 90-minute qualifying session aboard his Winward Racing-run #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing AMG GT3 EVO.
This moved the Dutchman ahead of Scherer Sport PHX’s Christopher Haase, who had held the top spot with a 7:53.725 in the #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, and would go on to hold onto second.
In a distinct contrast to one week ago, when adverse weather conditions led to the cancellation of NLS1, this morning’s qualifying session took place under bright sunshine. The fastest times all came during the final 30 minutes, when the circuit wasn’t affected by any yellow flags
Third went to the #98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Raffaele Marciello, ahead of the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo of Mattia Drudi, and Maxime Martin in Winward’s Ravenol-backed #80 Mercedes-AMG.
KCMG’s #47 Mercedes-AMG completed the top six on the Hong Kong-based team’s return to SP9, thanks to a 7:55.821 from David Pittard. Having initially been entered into SP9 Pro-Am, KCMG and the #54 Dinamic GT Porsche 911 GT3 R have both been promoted to SP9 Pro ahead of today’s race.
The Ford Mustang GT3 Evo is off to a strong start on the Nordschleife, as Frank Stippler earned SP9 Pro-Am pole aboard the #65 HRT Ford Racing, with a 7:57.415 placing the German ninth overall.
Meanwhile, the BMW M3 Touring 24H also proved to be competitive. Jens Klingmann qualified 14th overall in the #81 machine, claiming SP-X pole with a 7:58.943, under five seconds behind Marciello’s M4 GT3 EVO.
Today’s four-hour race starts at 12:00 CET.
Images courtesy of Frozenspeed
