A maiden pole was claimed by none other than #3 Max Verstappen, claiming it at the last second with a time of 7:51.751 minutes. This booted Scherer Sport PHX’s Christopher Haase in the #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II into second. Third place went to #98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Raffaele Marciello.

In a distinct contrast from last week, where snow stopped the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie from going ahead, today’s race gave us bright sunshine and excitement.

Hour 1

A paint-scraping start to the race gave us a look at what we were in for today. The #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 defended pole position at the race start but the #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II followed close behind, biding their time. The #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3 moved up from sixth to third, getting a great start to the race for themselves.

The #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II grabbed the opportunity to overtake the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3, driven by Max Verstappen mid-way through the lap. He took the position with ease. The gap between the cars after lap 1 was 1.166 seconds. The first two cars to pit were the #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and #917 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Yellow Flag’s Are Out

A Yellow flag was called into the Galgenhopf area and the #16 Audi and #3 Mercedes narrowly avoided the obstruction on the track. They both got back to full-throttle in no time. The #16 Audi had the better re-start, leading by 3.376 seconds.

Behind them, the #5 Porsche 911 GT3 R grabbed 14th place by overtaking the #81 BMW G81 M3 Touring 24H. All whilst the #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was still sitting in the pits, getting work done on it.

Swapping Paint

A collision between the #45 Ferrari 269 GT3 and #48 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the AMG Arena showed us what a Porsche would look like with some Ferrari red scraped onto it.

Up ahead of the wheel-to-wheel fight, another swap to the lead took place. The #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 leapt ahead of the #16 Audi R8 LMS GT4 EVO II, claiming back the first place position.

Pit Stops Before The Second Hour

The #3 Verstappen / Juncadella / Gounon Mercedes-AMG GT3 took to the pits and Juncadella took over from Verstappen. To go along with the swap-over, nine other cars pitted.

Hour 2

To begin the second hour, the #16 Audo R8 LMS GT4 EVO II took the lead once again whilst the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was in the pits. Their stint up the front did not last long as the #3 Mercedes flew past the #16 Audi on the approach to the airfield. From here, the #16 Audi only continued to drop places.

Car Issues For Everyone

The #170 Toyota Supra GT4 didn’t have the best start to their second hour. Car issues made them stop at the exit of the pitlane. They unfortunately, could not continue the race.

Lap eight ended with the #3 Mercedes, piloted by Juncadella, in the lead by 6.255 seconds over the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3. The #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO took yet another place from the #16 Audi, who was now in fourth.

To add to the car issues, we had the #380 BITTER Corsa towed into the pits. And after a short stint around the Grand Prix circuit, the #98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO is pushed into the pits. They both continued their race, albeit slowly.

Penalties and Crashes

#99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO slips past the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and secures the second place position. And the #921 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup has a stop-and-go penalty.

#33 Audi R8 GT3 EVO II takes themselves for a spin at the ice corner. The #65 Ford Mustang GT3 narrowly avoided the spinning Audi, but it’s rear end hit the barrier. They are forced to retire from the race.

Hour 3

Pit stops began hour three of the race with five cars diving into the pits. Shortly after the pit stop madness, a duel began. The #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO attacked the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the start-finish straight. The battle continued until the exit of the short circuit. Ultimately, the #3 Mercedes, currently piloted by Gounon, re-enters the Nordschleife in the lead.

A penalty lap for the #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO is imposed because of contact with a lapped car in a duel with #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3. After lap 20. The #3 Mercedes leads by 5.571 seconds ahead of the #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. #34 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO follows 15.3 seconds behind.

With only one hour left to go, unfortunately, the #54 Porsche 911 GT3 R had to end the race due to an accident.

Hour 4

The #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO and the #34 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO stopped after lap 21. Second and third place in their retirement. Plenty of final pit stops popped up throughout. Verstappen re-entered the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3, however he seemed to be the only driver to jump back into the pilot seat.

A clean and tidy last hour of the race brought us home to the chequered flag. Max Verstappen leads the way with a 57.335 second time over Jordan Pepper.

Winner & Top 10

The #3 Verstappen.com Mercedes-AMG GT3 claimed a well-deserved win. The three drivers, Verstappen, Juncadella and Gounon had a good fight throughout the race.

The top 10 are as follows:

1. #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Verstappen / Juncadella / Gounon
2. #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO ‘Dan Harper’ / Pepper
3. #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R Heinemann / Müller
4. #48 Porsche 911 GT3 R Assenheimer / Müller / Pereira
5. #45 Ferarri 269 GT3 Perel / Vermeulen / Neubauer
6. #34 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO Krognes / Drudi
7. #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II Hasse / Hantke
8. #7 Lamborghini Hurricane GT3 Engelhart / Paul / Stalidzane
9. #17 Porsche 911 GT3 R Boccolacci / Menzel / Eisberg / Stegmann
10. #130 Lamborghini Hurricane GT3 EVO II Bortolotti / Engstler / Mapelli / Niederhauser

The Verstappen.com team have since been disqualified from the race due to a technical breach. They used seven sets of tyres instead of the allotted six.