UPDATE: The Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG has been disqualified for using too many sets of tyres. Read more HERE >>>
Winward Racing made a successful return to the Nürburgring Nordschleife this afternoon, as its #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing AMG GT3 EVO won NLS2, the 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis.
Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon looked strong throughout the four-hour race, with the #3 Mercedes-AMG never falling outside of the top two, as it claimed victory by a comfortable 59.524 seconds over ROWE Racing’s #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
It is Mercedes-AMG’s first NLS win since the 2024 finale, on Winward Racing’s return to the ‘Ring after six seasons away.
“For me, this whole weekend has been about getting to grips with the car around the Nordschleife,” Verstappen said. “It’s been super enjoyable, the team also prepared the car really well, so we could do some decent testing and make me feel really comfortable.”
The Dutchman also confirmed that he is looking at adding further NLS races to his schedule, after the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prixs means that his Formula 1 commitments no longer clash with the remaining pre-Nürburgring 24 Hours rounds.
“We’re looking into it,” he said. “It just depends if it’s all feasible, but I’m always happy to race here.”
Pole-sitter Verstappen ceded the lead to Christopher Haase’s #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II at the end of the opening lap, with the Audi veteran getting a better run down the Döttinger Höhe. The pair then pulled away from the rest of the field throughout the first stint, with Verstappen staying close to Haase and reclaiming the lead into Tiergarten at the end of lap seven.
Both cars made their first pit stop at the end of this lap, with the #16 Audi beating the #3 Mercedes-AMG out of the pits, but Juncadella made short work of Nico Hantke to retake the top spot, and the Spaniard gradually pulled clear during the second stint before handing over to Gounon with just under two hours to go.
A strong undercut meant that, when Gounon emerged from the pits, Dan Harper had closed to immediately behind the Mercedes-AMG aboard the #99 ROWE Racing BMW. The M4 GT3 Evo, however, would require a longer final pit stop due to its shorter opening stints, meaning that the advantage remained with Gounon, even when Harper briefly made his way past along the Döttinger Höhe.
Gounon reclaimed the lead almost instantly, as the pair battled through traffic in the Mercedes Arena on the following lap, and from there on out, the #3 AMG GT3 EVO held station on its way to victory.
As the final round of pit stops played out, Verstappen emerged 45 seconds clear of a tight six-car, five-manufacturer battle for second, which was now led by Hantke after ROWE’s longer stop.
Harper’s co-driver Jordan Pepper was the first to dispose of the young German, with Falken Motorsports’ Tim Heinemann following through in the #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) on the following lap.
Heinemann, in the car he shared with Sven Müller, then set off in pursuit of Pepper, cutting the gap from four seconds to six-tenths of a second by the start of the final lap. The German never got close enough to attempt an overtake, though, and had to settle for third behind the #99 BMW.
Fourth went to the SP9 Pro-Am winning #48 48 LOSCH Motorsport By Black Falcon Porsche of Tobias Müller, Patrick Assenheimer and Dylan Pereira, which led Pro-Am throughout after the class pole-sitting #65 HRT Ford Racing Mustang GT3 Evo failed to make the start. The Luxembourg-backed effort finished over four minutes clear of the next SP9 Pro-Am runner, the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, which was 15th overall.
The #45 Realize Kondo Racing with Rinaldi Ferrari 296 GT3 finished fifth, ahead of the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin and #16 Audi.
The top 10 was completed by the #7 Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, #17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche and #130 Red Bull Team Abt Lamborghini, with the #47 KCMG Mercedes-AMG 11th after falling out of the podium battle during the final pit stop cycle.
The BMW M3 Touring 24H finished 13th on its race debut, firmly in the middle of the GT3 pack and only one position behind the factory-supported #77 Schubert Motorsport M4 GT3 Evo, following a consistent run from Jens Klingmann and Ugo de Wilde to claim SP-X victory.
SP9 Am honours, in 17th overall, went to the #5 Black Falcon Team EAE Porsche of Gabriele Piana, Mike Stursberg and Mustafa Mehmet Kaya, whilst the top non-GT3 entry was the #902 Team Liqui Moly by Black Falcon CUP2 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) in 19th overall.
The race was completed with no major incidents, although several SP9 runners ran into mechanical woes. These included the #98 ROWE Racing BMW, which finished one lap down after a brief trip into the garage, and the Winward-run #80 Ravenol Mercedes-AMG, which missed the start and made multiple unscheduled stops before retiring after 18 laps.
The next round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie will be held on 11th April 2026.
Images courtesy of Frozenspeed
