Brilliant winners in gloomy weather conditions: Nick Wüstenhagen and Ranko Mijatovic are the champions of the 2025 ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie season. At the end of a grueling season, second place in the finale at the tenth race of the season in the BMW M4 GT4 fielded by FK Performance Motorsport after nine consecutive victories was enough for the duo to clinch the title. For the Bremen-based team, which has competed in the NLS for 13 years, this is the first title in the popular endurance series. The final stage win of the season went to Falken Motorsports. Dorian Boccolacci crossed the finish line after 4:01:30.077 hours, 22.281 seconds ahead of Nico Menzel in the heaviest car. The Kelberg native drove both of the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 Rs and thus finished first and second, the latter alongside Joel Sturm. The Haupt Racing Team confirmed the upward trend with the third podium finish in a row for the Ford Mustang GT3.
“I hoped I would be able to defend my title. But you can’t plan something like that,” said Mijatovic. “I wanted to return to FK Performance Motorsport, and with Nick it was a great driver combination.” Mijatovic is the first driver after record champion Johannes Scheid to successfully defend his title after changing cars. Scheid drove an Autobianchi A112 in 1980 and a Fiat 127 Sport in 1981, while Mijatovic moved up from the BMW M240i Racing to the BMW M4 GT4. Wüstenhagen was also delighted with championship number one: “We worked towards the title. But in the end, it was a lot of work. This is the first time for me, and what we’ve achieved is slowly becoming reality. My goal is, of course, to build on this success next year. But that also has to fit in with my daily work routine. We’ll see where the journey takes us.” Tobias Wahl was also part of today’s championship-winning team at the start of the season. However, after a bicycle accident, the 39-year-old local hero from Remagen was condemned to the sidelines from NLS7 onwards. Reinhold Renger contested the remainder of the season in his place. “We’ve been competing in the NLS since 2013 as FK Performance, and we’re very proud to now have the champions here. This certainly wasn’t the 13th year we were meant to be, because it’s one of our greatest successes,” grinned team principal Martin Kaemena.
“Congratulations to Martin and his team,” said Matthias Unger, who has produced the champions for the past seven years with his team, Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels. “They’re the ones being hunted next season, and we’ll do everything we can to reclaim the title.” Adrenalin Motorsport, however, didn’t go away empty-handed this year either. Philipp Leisen, Philipp Stahlschmidt, and Daniel Zils won the NLS Production Car Trophy by a wide margin. The trio took six class victories in the VT2-RWD with the BMW 330i.
Mühlner Motorsport wins the PETN
Tim Scheerbarth and Arne Hoffmeister secured the runner-up spot in the Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. With their seventh win of the season, the trio, along with David Jahn, also won the overall Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring title. The title in the Cup 3 class of the PETN went to Joshua Bednarski and Lorenz Stegmann, driving the W&S Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS.
Things got really exciting again at the end of the NLS Junior Trophy. Noah Nagelsdiek from Alsdorf near Aachen was able to celebrate at the end – even though he ultimately failed to secure a qualifying result. The 25-year-old retired shortly before the end of the race in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup from LOSCH Motorsport by BLACK FALCON. A stroke of luck: His closest rival in the title fight, Harley Haughton (20) in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport, suffered the same fate in the first half of the race. Thus, Nagelsdiek ultimately held on to the lead by just one point.
The fastest gentleman of the season was Heiko Eichenberg. Haughton’s 51-year-old teammate prevailed against, among others, the two veterans Joachim and Jürgen Nett, who competed in the Audi S3 of Dupré Motorsport Engineering in the VT2-F+4WD and won the class winner trophy.
One step ahead of her father
The 2026 NLS Ladies Trophy goes to Janina Schall. The 20-year-old, who drove for the ‘Girls Only – Ready to Rock the Green Hell’ team in only her second season in the NLS, is already one step ahead of her famous father, Ralf Schall. Although the veteran achieved five overall and 106 class victories – most of them in the iconic Mercedes-Benz 190E – a title eluded him in his long endurance career. “This is a point where I can give my father a little dig,” Schall grinned. “And I hope this won’t be my last title. The Girls Only team was and is the perfect entry point for me into the NLS. I’ve learned a lot – not just about driving, but also about everything else.”
The Goodyear Award for the most successful vehicle this year, which used tires from NLS partner Goodyear, goes to the BMW M240i Racing from PTerting Sports by Up2Race, driven by Jannick Reinhard, John Van Der Sande, and ‘Alboretto’ in the finale. The first champion of the BMW 325i Challenge by Goodyear, newly introduced this year, is Moran Gott (Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels). The Israeli took nine wins, six of them as a solo driver. Second and third places go to Eugen Becker (JS Competition), Juha Miettinen, Dan Berghult, and Oliver Frisse (Keeevin Sports and Racing).
Falken Motorsports concludes season with dream result
The two Falken Porsches were the benchmark this year. The team not only celebrated its fifth victory, but the 911s also finished first and second four times.
The #3 car secured victory in the NLS Speed Trophy ahead of the #4. For his performance in simultaneously finishing first and second in the challenging and at times damp conditions of the Green Hell, Menzel was named ‘Driver of the Race’ by race control, the Drivers’ Association of the ILN (Interest Group for Long Distance Nürburgring), and the track announcers. “Nico delivered an exceptional performance today,” said Alex Böhm, board member of the ILN. “He drove both spectacularly and thoughtfully in the conditions. That impressed us all.” Menzel, who celebrated his third NLS victory, was thrilled by the honor: “It means a lot to me to receive this award, especially considering the committee that awards it. To be nominated by the experts is fantastic.”
Mike Jäger draws a positive conclusion
“The NLS has had a very good season. There were many highlights on and off the racetrack that participants and fans will remember for a long time,” says VLN Managing Director Mike Jäger. “Max Verstappen in the NLS was obviously a big deal, but the premiere of the NLS Youth Kart Championship and our paddock parties with the participants and marshals were also my personal highlights. We achieved new records in terms of spectators both on site and in the live streams. This motivates my team and me to give it our all over the winter. We have a number of ideas that we want to implement next year – after all, we’re celebrating our 50th season in the Green Hell.”
The ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series kicks off its anniversary year – its 50th season at the Green Hell – on March 14, 2026. This will be followed by seven more dates with nine races. Following their successful integration last year and this year, the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers will again be part of the championship in 2026.
The virtual event will resume on October 24, 2025. The third race of the Digital Nürburgring Endurance Series Community Cup will last three hours and promises thrilling racing, which can be watched live at vln.de.
