When the “golden October” shows its best side and the Eifel forests surrounding the Nürburgring Nordschleife are bathed in brilliant sunshine, the stage is perfectly set for the grand finale of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). Although damp sections of the track made for tricky conditions during qualifying, the circuit dried out noticeably as the day progressed. The four-hour finale ultimately took place in entirely dry conditions, offering the many fans at the track a thrilling battle for the championship title. By securing their seventh class victory of the season in the tenth and final round, Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich, and Sven Markert—driving the #650 BMW M240i Racing Cup car for Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels—crowned themselves the new NLS champions for the 2026 season.
In the final overall standings, the trio secured 109 points—an eight-point lead over Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg (#953 Smyrlis Racing, 101 points), who finished second in the CUP3 class. This achievement marks a historic milestone for the squad led by team principal Matthias Unger, as it represents the eighth overall championship title in the history of the racing series for Adrenalin Motorsport. At the finish line, the newly crowned champion trio appeared visibly relieved. “An absolutely perfect race, and once again a fantastic job by the guys—the car handled like a dream out on the track,” said Fübrich, full of praise. Markert was clearly overcome with emotion at the finish: “I’m just incredibly relieved. I was so tense that I feel like I’ve bitten all my fingernails off. Even though we were able to control the race from the front, the nerves before the start were immense.” An overjoyed Bugane summed up the result: “Anything is possible—today, an absolute dream has come true for us!”
The final outcomes in the series’ special classifications were also determined: Piet-Jan Ooms and Ionuc Catalin Timis, driving a Toyota Supra for SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#524), were crowned winners of the Production Car Trophy. The prestigious NLS Speed Trophy was secured by Schubert Motorsport (#77 BMW M4 GT3 EVO) with a total of 183.00 points. The title in the Gentleman Trophy went to Alexandru Vasilescu (#177 AV Racing by BLACK FALCON), who finished with 86 points.
First and second place for Gamota in qualifying
The first surprise of the day came during the qualifying session, where Gamota Racing fielded two GT3 cars for the first time—and promptly secured an impressive one-two start. Antal Zsigo, Moritz Kranz, and David Jahn (#23 BMW M4 GT3 EVO) claimed pole position with a time of 9:03.855 minutes, ahead of their teammates Zsigo, Csaba Walter, and Dennis Fetzer (#36). At the start, pole-sitter Jahn defended his lead, but a spectacular battle immediately broke out behind him: Adam Christodoulou (#26 PROsport Mercedes-AMG GT3) surged from fourth on the grid, sweeping around the outside at turn two to move into second place, where he engaged in wheel-to-wheel duels with the Falken Porsche (#44) driven by Sven Müller. The GT3 field showcased an impressive diversity of marques, with six different manufacturers occupying the top eight positions in the early stages. Later, contact with another car set the PROsport AMG back, necessitating repairs in the pit lane using duct tape.
Porsche 1-2 Finish at NLS10
At the season finale, Dunlop Motorsport celebrated an overall victory: Nico Menzel and Sven Müller (in the #17 Porsche 911 GT3 R) crossed the finish line first after 24 laps, with a 27-second lead. Tim Heinemann and Sven Müller (in the #44 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) secured second place, completing a 1-2 finish for the team, while Jordan Pepper and Tim Tramnitz (in the #77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO) rounded out the podium following a spirited charge through the field. Sven Müller, who competed in two cars—taking only a five-lap break between switching from the Falken Porsche to the Dunlop Porsche—was named “Driver of the Race” by the NLS organization, race control, and the commentators.
“First and second place for our team is an absolutely perfect result; the car was incredibly fun to drive today,” summarized Sven Müller. For Nico Menzel, the triumph also marked a special personal milestone: “With this, my fifth NLS overall win, I’ve now drawn level with my father—it’s just brilliant that we won!” Tim Heinemann, who finished second, was also highly positive: “The whole team did a top-notch job preparing the cars—a huge thank you to them.” Tim Tramnitz, who fought his way up from 16th on the starting grid alongside Jordan Pepper, added proudly: “The opening laps in traffic were quite tricky, but given where we started, third place was the absolute best we could achieve.”
At the finish line, the Gamota team was rewarded for its strong performance with two class podiums: the pole-sitters (car #23) finished the race in sixth place overall (second in the SP9 PRO-AM class), while their sister car (#36) crossed the line in 13th place overall, also securing second in the SP9 AM class. Patrick Assenheimer, Tobias Müller, and Dylan Pereira (#48, LOSCH Motorsport by BLACK FALCON, Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO) claimed the class victory in the SP9 PRO-AM category—as well as third place in the 2026 drivers’ standings—while Alexey Veremenko and ‘SELV’ (#8, JUTA Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II) took the win in the SP9 AM class.
“Simply breathtaking!”: Formula racing talent Mathilda Paatz shines in her Nordschleife debut
Mathilda Paatz wrote a special family story at the NLS finale. At 18 years old, the youngest participant in the field made her endurance racing debut alongside her father, Michael, in a VW Scirocco R entered by *mathilda racing*. She was absolutely thrilled: “It’s completely different from formula racing. My first long stint was simply breathtaking.” The long-term goal for the Aston Martin junior driver and her father is to compete in the 24-hour race in the ‘Green Hell.’ Within the team, they now operate as equals—as she revealed with a wink: “He’s doing a great job, especially considering he hadn’t driven himself for a long time, having poured all his energy into supporting me. The fact that he’s now making my dream of racing together come true is super cool. Naturally, I hope to be even faster than him soon—but for a first race, it was just fine.” The father-daughter duo ultimately finished the race in sixth place in their class.
A strong field and well-deserved champions: A season review from NLS boss Mike Jäger
For those in charge of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), the season finale marks the end of a year that was successful both in terms of sporting performance and organization. The trend is clearly on the rise: while an average of 112 vehicles took part in qualifying last year, this season saw an impressive 123 cars per round. “We look back on an entirely successful season featuring some truly great motorsport,” says NLS Managing Director Mike Jäger. “We have seen absolutely worthy champions, both in the overall standings and across the various other categories. The series is clearly on an upward trajectory. After some more challenging periods, we are now standing on a very solid foundation once again. We can be proud of this positive development, our new champions, and the hard work of the entire team.”
Winter break featuring sim racing and a historic anniversary year in 2027
Before the engines roar to life once more in the “Green Hell,” the Digitale Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (DNLS) will help bridge the winter break. The official sim-racing counterpart to the NLS kicks off its new season on December 19, bringing thrilling Nordschleife action directly to fans’ screens. When real-world racing returns on March 20, 2027, for the season opener, the stage will be set for a major motorsport celebration: the long-standing racing series will mark its 50th anniversary—coinciding with the historic 100th anniversary of the Nürburgring itself. Note: Due to ongoing appeal proceedings, the results for NLS9 and NLS10—and consequently the current standings—are provisional. However, the top positions in the overall classification will not be affected by the outcome of these proceedings.
