{"id":1455,"date":"2026-05-15T22:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/?p=1455"},"modified":"2026-05-15T22:00:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:00:57","slug":"lambo-mania-in-the-eifel-team-abt-locks-out-front-row-in-thrilling-top-qualifying-3-shootout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/lambo-mania-in-the-eifel-team-abt-locks-out-front-row-in-thrilling-top-qualifying-3-shootout\/","title":{"rendered":"Lambo-Mania in the Eifel: Team Abt Locks Out Front Row in Thrilling Top Qualifying 3 Shootout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

N\u00dcRBURG, Germany<\/strong> \u2013 The drama of the revamped, multi-stage knockout format culminated in a sensational front-row lockout for Lamborghini. Under pressure in the final individual time-trial shootout (TQ3), Luca Engstler<\/strong> delivered a flawless performance to secure pole position for the 54th edition of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h N\u00fcrburgring.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engstler, piloting the No. 84 Red Bull Team Abt Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2<\/strong>, laid down a blistering 8:11.123<\/strong> around the 25.378-kilometer circuit.<\/sup> He edged out teammate Marco Mapelli in the sister No. 130 Abt Lamborghini<\/strong> by just 0.345 seconds, perfectly executing the team\u2019s strategy after Mapelli had set the initial pace on the opening flying laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The key was to leave your brain in the garage and just give it everything,” a thrilled Engstler said after stepping out of the car. “I tried to squeeze out every last drop, and it worked.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavyweights Collide in Rows 2 and 3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fight behind the Bulls from Kempten was hyper-competitive. Christopher Haase<\/strong> was the final driver to cross the timing line in the No. 16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II<\/strong>, snatching 3rd place with an 8:11.984.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will share the second row with his fierce Nordschleife rival, Max Verstappen<\/strong>. While Verstappen turned heads by setting a provisional top time earlier in the morning during Top Qualifying 2, it was teammate Dani Juncadella<\/strong> who took the reins for the final TQ3 shootout.<\/sup> Juncadella clocked a highly respectable 8:12.005, giving the star-studded No.<\/sup> 3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3<\/strong> an ideal P4 starting spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Neubauer recovered from an early off-track excursion through the grass at Hatzenbach to secure 5th place for the No.<\/sup> 45 Kondo Racing Ferrari 296 GT3<\/strong>, ahead of Maximilian Paul, who rounded out a dominant day for the Italian manufacturer by placing the No. 7 Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini<\/strong> in 6th.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heartbreak and Shocks in the Knockout Stages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The road to TQ3 was ruthless, highlighted by a massive shock for one of Thursday’s fastest teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Top Qualifying 2, DTM star Maro Engel suffered an uncharacteristic crash in the No. 80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG<\/strong>\u2014the very car that topped Q1.<\/sup> Engel lost traction on tires that hadn’t reached optimal temperature, impacting the barriers at Hatzenbach and eliminating the entry before they could even contest the top-12 shootout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defending race winners ROWE Racing also endured a quiet final session; their top entry, the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3<\/strong>, could manage no better than 9th on the grid.<\/sup> Meanwhile, Manthey Racing’s famous “Grello” No. 911 Porsche<\/strong>, driven by Thomas Preining in TQ3, dropped down to 8th after an off-track moment cost the team critical seconds.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESULTS<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

N\u00dcRBURG, Germany \u2013 The drama of the revamped, multi-stage knockout format culminated in a sensational front-row lockout for Lamborghini. Under pressure in the final individual time-trial shootout (TQ3), Luca Engstler delivered a flawless performance to secure pole position for the 54th edition of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h N\u00fcrburgring. Engstler, piloting the No. 84 Red Bull […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-endurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1458,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455\/revisions\/1458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}