The Green Hell showed its demanding side at the seventh round of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie: rain during qualifying, a drying track during the race, a heavy shower in the final third, and a dry track again at the end. Julien Andlauer and Joel Sturm in the Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R coped best with these conditions. After 27 laps on the 24.358-kilometer combination of the short circuit and the Nordschleife, the duo relegated their teammates to second place by 1:26.737 minutes. Tim Heinemann and GT3 debutant Benny Leuchter celebrated second place. Mustafa Mehmet Kaya, Mike Stursberg, and Tobias Müller completed the podium in the BLACK FALCON Team EAE Porsche 911 GT3 R. Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen caused quite a stir. The Dutchman completed his required laps for Level A of the DMSB Permit Nordschleife in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS from Lionspeed GP.
From the very beginning, Andlauer and Sturm were the measure of all things. After setting the fastest time in qualifying, the duo crossed the finish line in the lead after every lap. “It’s always been a dream of mine to race in the Falken-Porsche on the Nordschleife. To take the win right away is fantastic,” said Sturm. “A great start to the weekend.” Leuchter also celebrated his debut in the Falken-Porsche. “You can’t ask for more than to be on the podium in my first-ever GT3 race,” said the veteran driver happily. Heinemann praised both debutants: “A fantastic day. I’m really proud of our two newcomers to the team. They delivered a strong performance.”
Eleven years and 21 days after his last podium finish, Stursberg returned to the podium. Back then, he finished second in a Haribo Porsche alongside Norbert Siedler and Uwe Alzen. “It’s great to finally be back on the podium,” he said. “And our success was a fantastic belated birthday present for Mehmet, who celebrated his birthday a few days ago.” In addition to third place, the Black Falcon trio also celebrated victory in the Am classification of the GT3 class SP9. This gave Müller two reasons to celebrate, as he also took class victory in the Cup 2 class of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN). “I’m completely lost for words. It was simply a fantastic day,” he said. For this exceptional performance, the local hero from Euskirchen was named “Driver of the Race.” The award is sponsored by the ILN (Interessengemeinschaft Langstrecke Nürburgring), and the NLS race management, together with Dirk Adorf (Driver’s Association), and the track announcers, decide on the winners.
Fourth place overall for Christian Krognes, Mateo Villagomez, and Anders Buchardt meant victory in the Pro-Am classification. Car Collection Motorsport finished fifth in its first outing on the Nordschleife this year. Artur Goroyan and Alex Fontana drove the Porsche 911 GT3 in the Armenian colors. Kiki Sak Nana, Christoph Breuer, and “Dieter Schmidtmann” finished seventh in the Renazzo Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo II.
Max Verstappen Completes DMSB Permit Nordschleife
Max Verstappen’s entry into the NLS caused an international stir. It was the first time the Dutchman had driven a race outside of the premier class since joining Formula 1. The reason is easily explained: Verstappen is such a huge Nordschleife fan that he used NLS7 to complete the DMSB Permit Nordschleife in Category A. He succeeded right away. In the restricted Cayman from the PETN, he completed 14 laps, thus achieving the required minimum number. The day before, he had successfully completed his DPN course and was thus eligible to start in NLS7 in the “small car.” “I’m happy that everything went smoothly and I got my permit for the Nordschleife,” said Verstappen. “I really enjoyed it, but that’s always the case here. It was good to race with traffic, both faster and slower cars. There was also a Code 60 period, double yellow flags, and a regular yellow flag. I drove in wet, dry, and mixed conditions. I gained experience of where there is grip and where there isn’t, and I went through a start procedure. It was really good to gain more experience on this racetrack.”
Second-placed Leuchter congratulated Verstappen on his Nordschleife permit. “It’s fantastic to have such an exceptional driver here in the Green Hell,” said Leuchter. “I met Max on the track today and hope we’ll do it again in the future. I think, as a pure racer, he must have loved this race today – the Nordschleife in the rain is simply amazing!”
Mijatovic and Wüstenhagen defend championship lead
After seven races, Ranko Mijatovic and Nick Wüstenhagen now hold the sole lead in the championship. The FK Performance Motorsport duo took their seventh win in seven races. Sven Markert, Kevin Wambach, and Adrian Rziczny, who were tied for first place in the championship before the race, retired for the first time this year. The trio dropped to third in the championship standings. Tim Scheerbarth and Arne Hoffmeister moved up to second. Second place in the PETN Cup 2 was enough for the Mühlner duo.
The next race of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie is scheduled for tomorrow. The 64th ADAC Reinoldus Endurance Race will also be held over a four-hour distance. Qualifying runs from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Afterward, there will be time to experience the cars up close: the pit walk will begin at 10:20 a.m., before the start line begins at 11:10 a.m. The race starts at 12:00 p.m.
