Max Verstappen remains unbeaten in the Nürburgring Endurance Series. At the second round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series NLS, the first race of the season due to the cancellation of Race 1, the Dutchman came out on top in his first outing in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 together with Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon.
Despite significantly stronger competition than on their debut, the trio controlled the race for long stretches and ultimately won with a lead of almost 60 seconds over the ROWE BMW #99 of Jordan Pepper and Dan Harper. Third place went to the Falken Porsche #44 with Tim Heinemann and Sven Müller.
Intense battle in the early stages
Having started from pole position, Verstappen had to relinquish the lead on the very first lap. At Döttinger Höhe, Christopher Haase passed him in the #16 Scherer Audi and initially took the lead.
The two then engaged in an intense duel and quickly pulled away from the rest of the field. Haase remained in front for much of the first stint before Verstappen recaptured the lead with a decisive maneuver in the Tiergarten area shortly before the first pit stop.
After the driver change, the Audi was no longer able to keep up with the pace of the front runners, which was also due to the team’s lack of GT3 experience.
BMW puts Verstappen team under pressure for a while
In the middle of the race, a close battle developed between the leading Mercedes and the ROWE-BMW. Dan Harper in particular was able to make up a lot of time in this phase and put Jules Gounon under pressure.
However, an incident decided the rest of the race: An attempt to take the lead resulted in contact with a lapped Porsche Cayman. Race control then imposed a penalty lap on the BMW, which cost valuable seconds and significantly reduced the chances of victory.
Sovereign final phase
After the final pit stop, Verstappen took the wheel again and went into the final phase of the race with a comfortable lead. With a gap of over 40 seconds, he controlled the action right to the finish and left nothing to chance.
Falken Porsche fights its way onto the podium
The Falken Porsche #44 showed a strong fightback, with Tim Heinemann and Sven Müller steadily working their way forward after qualifying outside the top 10.
In the final phase, Heinemann initially prevailed against the Black Falcon Porsche #48 and then set his sights on the second-placed BMW. In the end, however, Jordan Pepper was able to defend second place.
Behind the podium, the Black Falcon Porsche, the Kondo Ferrari #45 and the Walkenhorst Aston Martin completed the Top 6, with the Scherer Audi, which had led for a long time, finishing seventh.
Other anomalies in the field
- Lamborghini failed to make much of an impact, finishing eighth and tenth
- The KCMG-Mercedes dropped back during the race after a strong start
- The BMW M3 Touring project made a solid debut
Jens Klingmann and Ugo de Wilde brought the car home in 13th place, albeit well behind the leaders.
Conclusion
The second race also shows that Max Verstappen is quickly finding his feet on the Nordschleife. Despite stronger competition and intense duels, the Dutchman once again came out on top – thanks to a consistent performance, flawless strategy and strong teamwork.