NÜRBURG, Germany – The 54th running of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring will go down in history as an absolute classic modern endurance marathon. In front of an unprecedented, record-breaking weekend crowd of 352,000 spectators, the race delivered 24 hours of non-stop action, brutal weather shifts, and a heavy toll on the world’s best GT3 machinery. When the checkered flag fell after 156 grueling laps, Mercedes-AMG finally broke its ten-year winless drought in the Eifel region.
Taking the ultimate victory was the No. 80 Ravenol-sponsored Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, driven by Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller, and Maxime Martin. Their triumph capped off a dramatic weekend of survival, capping a race that saw early favorites crumble, a Formula 1 superstar face ultimate heartbreak, and an intense sprint to the finish line under late-race rain.
From the Back of the Grid to the Top step
The victory was an astonishing turnaround for the Winward Racing crew. Following a heavy crash by Maro Engel during Friday’s Top Qualifying 2 session, the mechanics worked deep into the night to rebuild the fractured AMG machine. Because they missed the final shootout, the quartet was forced to start the race from a lowly 25th on the grid.
However, the Green Hell rewards relentless consistency. With Engel delivering an aggressive opening double-stint, the No. 80 car sliced through the SP9 field into the top five within the opening hours. As a decisive weather front moved over the Nordschleife bringing typical Eifel rain, Winward’s masterful tire strategy vaulted them squarely into a head-to-head battle for the lead.
Carnage in the SP9 Ranks: Top Contenders Fall Victim to the Nordschleife
While the battle at the front raged to the flag, the Nordschleife lived up to its “Green Hell” moniker by ruthlessly dismantling the hopes of several pre-race favorites early on. Among the highest-profile casualties was the pole-sitting No. 16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II; after fighting for the lead in the opening hours, a devastating high-speed puncture at Flugplatz sent Christopher Haase into the barriers, ending Audi’s hopes of a fairytale farewell victory.
The specialist teams fared no better. The No. 45 Kondo Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, which had looked formidable in Top Qualifying, was forced into a heartbreaking retirement during the midnight hours following a heavy collision with slower SP3T traffic at the Wehrseifen sequence.
Meanwhile, Manthey Racing’s iconic “Grello” No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R saw its bid for a record-extending victory evaporate when Thomas Preining slipped on a patch of fluid left at Metzgesfeld, heavily damaging the rear suspension against the Armco. Add to that the No. 44 Falken Motorsports Porsche, which bowed out with terminal gearbox failure, and the final classification painted a stark picture of just how punishing the 24-hour marathon can be.
Total Heartbreak for Team Verstappen
Following the wave of retirements from Audi, Ferrari, and Porsche, the narrative for most of the race belonged entirely to the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry. Making his highly anticipated 24h Nürburgring debut, Max Verstappen put on an absolute clinic alongside co-drivers Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Lucas Auer.
Verstappen took the wheel during the treacherous nighttime hours and blew the race wide open, unleashing a blistering double-stint that gave the No. 3 car a commanding lead over the rest of the field. By Sunday afternoon, with less than three and a half hours remaining on the clock, the Verstappen-led squad held a comfortable cushion and seemed entirely poised to cruise to victory.
Then, disaster struck. Just as Juncadella took over from Verstappen, the car suffered an electrical glitch that disrupted the ABS, followed immediately by a catastrophic right-rear driveshaft failure. The car was dragged into the garage, its race over, leaving Verstappen’s dream of a debut N24 victory shattered in pit lane.
“It was a big battle with the No. 3 ever since the rain arrived,” noted a sympathetic Maxime Martin after the race. “It’s a real shame for the other car how they had to leave with an issue.”
Chaos to the Line: Lamborghini Clings to Second
With the No. 3 car out, the path cleared for Maro Engel to guide the No. 80 Winward Mercedes home, surviving a nerve-wracking, late-race shower on cut-slick tires to take the win by a comfortable margin.
Behind the winners, an intense four-way battle exploded for the remaining podium spots. The pole-sitting No. 84 Red Bull Team Abt Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Luca Engstler, Mirko Bortolotti, and Patric Niederhauser looked to have compromised their race entirely after being slapped with a brutal 86-second post-race time penalty for speeding in a Code 60 zone.
What followed was an insane, flat-out pursuit on the final lap. Walkenhorst Motorsport’s Mattia Drudi was hunting down the Lamborghini in the No. 34 Aston Martin Vantage, but a last-minute Code 60 slow zone on the Döttinger Höhe straight halted Drudi’s momentum. Ultimately, the Abt Lamborghini miraculously held onto 2nd place by an effective 16 seconds over the Walkenhorst Aston Martin crew.
The Special Star: The “Super Wagon”
While GT3 machinery fought for overall glory, the undeniable fan favorite of the weekend was the No. 81 Schubert Motorsport BMW M3 Touring 24H. The heavily modified performance wagon put on a spectacular show, not only comfortably dominating and winning the SPX class but defying expectations to finish an incredible 5th place overall amid the top-tier GT3 machinery.