Scherer Sport PHX will concentrate solely on racing its Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II at the Nürburgring this season, after also running a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) last year.
The long-time Audi squad added the Porsche to its ‘Ring roster ahead of the 2025 campaign, as it plotted its long-term GT3 future. The Porsche programme proved to be an immediate success, with Laurens Vanthoor and Patric Niederhauser winning a pair of Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie races, but a qualifying accident for Vanthoor meant that the car missed the 24H Nürburgring.
For 2026, however, the team has elected to focus its effort around its trusted R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, as it targets a record-breaking eighth victory at the ADAC 24H Nürburgring.
“In a period of upheaval for the entire automotive industry and retailers, we are deliberately concentrating on a single GT3 race car,” said founder Christian Scherer. “I am happy that many of our long-standing partners have remained loyal to us this year. With the Audi R8 LMS, we have a proven and fast race car.”
As part of its preparation for May’s 24-hour event, the team has confirmed its driver line-up for the ADAC 24H Qualifiers. 2020 N24 winner Alexander Sims, and 2021 DTM Trophy champion Ben Green, will join two-time winner Christopher Haase in the #16 Audi.
Sims previously raced for Scherer Sport PHX in 2023, in his most recent start at the ‘Ring, whilst Green is set to make his debut with the team. The Briton is also new to the R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, although he is well-versed in switching between GT3 cars having previously raced Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette and Ferrari machinery.
Scherer Sport PHX made its 2026 debut earlier this month at NLS2, when Haase led for the majority of the opening stint in a now-viral battle against Max Verstappen, before going on to finish sixth alongside Nico Hantke.
“We want to show that the Audi R8 LMS is still competitive in the 24-hour race,” commented team principal Ron Moser.
“In our outing in the second round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, we managed to do that quite well. The duel for the lead between Christopher Haase and Max Verstappen in the early stages was spectacular and thrilled the audience. This may continue like this. In the upcoming qualifiers, we are now concentrating on fine-tuning the Audi R8 LMS and working with our drivers. We want to come to the 24-hour race perfectly sorted out.”
The 2026 ADAC Qualifiers will be held on the weekend of 18th to 19th April 2026, with the 2026 24 Hours of Nürburgring following on 14th to 17th May 2026.
Image courtesy of Scherer Sport PHX
