The third round of the Digital Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (DNLS) delivered a tactical masterclass at the highest level on the virtual Nordschleife. BS+COMPETITION celebrated their second victory of the season with the BMW M4 GT3. While the first early title decision of the season was made in the Porsche Esports Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PEETN), the battle for the overall championship as well as the SP9, SP10, and BMW M2 Racing Cup class standings remains open before the grand season finale on February 28, 2026.
Qualifying was initially dominated by the HRT Esports by Coanda Ford Mustang GT3 (#8), in which Mitchell deJong secured the team’s first pole position of the season. In the first half of the race, the Mustangs of HRT (#8) and SZESE E-Sport (#26), driven by Norbert Kiss and Balázs Pálla respectively, were able to fully exploit their performance advantage. The turning point came in the second stints: The BS+COMPETITION BMW M4 GT3 (#1) with Philippe Denes and Felix Quirmbach, as well as the Falken Simracing BMW M4 GT3 (#44) with Sindre Setsaas and Lewis Woods, benefited from their lower fuel consumption. Through consistent fuel management and a seven-lap strategy, they moved into the lead. “Strategy played a crucial role today,” explained Quirmbach. “To complete the necessary seven-lap stints, we had to save a significant amount of fuel, which ultimately allowed us to overtake the Mustangs. The fact that it was enough for the win in the end is, of course, the perfect present for my 21st birthday.” In the end, car number 1 secured its second victory of the season ahead of car number 44 and thus took over the championship lead. Malte Johansson piloted the HRT Mustang to third place.
PEETN: Premature coronation for EMM Esports
The Cup 2 (PEETN) class saw an early title decision. Raphael Rennhofer and Luca Alpert (#905, EMM Esports) initially lost ground in the opening phase but fought their way back impressively. “The new car produces significantly more downforce, which makes driving in the ‘dirty air’ when following extremely difficult,” Alpert summarized. “We invested a lot of work to adapt the setup accordingly. Securing the championship title already is a fantastic achievement for the entire team.” With their third victory in three races, the duo secured the championship title in the Porsche Esports Endurance Trophy Nürburgring. Second place in the race went to Julien Soenen and Elliot Vayron of Coanda Esports, ahead of Adrian Gericke and Gün Tasdelen of Frozenspeed by GnG.
SP10: SimRC confidently heads towards the finale
In the SP10 class, Adam Isaksson and John Ehlen (#176, SimRC) dominated the proceedings, securing a commanding second victory of the season with a clear 28-second lead and extending their advantage in the standings. “Adam gave me a great setup and was able to hand the car over to me with a lead of around 25 seconds,” noted John Ehlen of SimRC (#176) after the race. “He drove a perfect stint, and I was able to finish the race relaxed. The M4 is currently by far the fastest GT4 on the track.” Behind the victorious BMW, Tim Jarschel and Caspar Ummelen in the Falken BMW (#170) finished second, followed by car number 166 (Kaj Schubert/Anton Zschemisch, LionGP-fenster.com). The co-favorites from Williams Sim Racing (#190) with Eetu Eskelinen and Siro Zambra fell back after a starting collision and only managed to salvage fourth place at the finish.
BMW M2 Racing Cup: BS+COMPETITION Shows Fighting Spirit to Third Victory
Ruben Bonga and Elias Raikaa (#284, BS+COMPETITION) experienced a turbulent start when they were involved in a collision on the first lap and spun out, dropping to the back of the field. However, with an impressive recovery drive, the duo fought their way back to the front and secured their third consecutive class victory. “It wasn’t a perfect race; I even hit the wall at the airfield and I don’t know how the car survived. Having driven a lot of GT3 and GT4 cars recently, switching to this car is a step back to pure, simple driving. The car is much more sensitive to bumps and curbs, but we battled through. The goal remains the overall championship win.” Behind the BS+COMPETITION duo, Ben Reimer and Leon Klose (SCHERER ESPORT M2 CSR #269) took second place, while Maximilian Damm and Ben Gallert (smillaesports Green #293) completed the podium.
The grand season finale, the Bilstein 3-hour race, will take place this coming Saturday, February 28, 2026, and will conclude the seventh season of the Digital Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie.
