The weekend of the 54th ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring kicked off on Thursday afternoon amid typical Eifel weather. After rainy conditions at the start of Qualifying 1 and numerous spins, there were some fast lap times on a dry track midway through the session, before heavy rain and even hail set in toward the end. The first benchmark time of the weekend was set by the #80 RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG with a lap of 8:14.957 minutes. The defending champions in the #1 Rowe BMW followed in second place, 3.112 seconds adrift. Third fastest was the #3 Verstappen Mercedes-AMG ahead of the #99 Rowe BMW.
#3 Verstappen / Auer / Gounon / Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
13:18 Uhr Max Verstappen will be the first driver of the team to head out in Qualifying 1.
14:17 Uhr Max Verstappen moves ahead of Engel at the top of the timing screens with a lap time of 8:18.539 minutes.
14:29 Uhr Max Verstappen hands the car over to Daniel Juncadella.
#7 Stalidzane / Paul / Engelhart / Lefterov (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
13:32 Uhr is in the pits and smoking – fluid is leaking
14:09 Uhr is able to continue the race after his technical issue at the start and spins out right at the Ravenol S
14:48 Uhr Maximilian Paul: “We didn’t do much at the start—basically just warmed up the brakes and did a few laps. Now we’re trying to get a feel for the car so we’re well prepared for the rest of the weekend. The mood is good, and we’re obviously excited. When you line up on the grid here, you want to win. And that’s the mindset we’re all approaching this with. Sure, it’s going to be extremely tough—there are a ton of strong cars and a lot of good drivers on the grid. But we’re just going to focus on ourselves for now and see what happens.”
#11 Heyer / Fittje / Härtling / Ellis (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
14:24 Uhr Philip Ellis: “It’s great to be back after unfortunately missing out last year. Things were a bit chaotic. It calmed down a bit, but it’s still pretty wild out there. The track is mostly dry. There’s a bit of oil from the Ford at the Schwedenkreuz right now, but apart from that everything was really fine. The car felt good as well.”
#16 Haase / Sims / Green (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)
14:21 Uhr Christopher Haase: “You really don’t want to start the 24h Nürburgring like this – in these conditions. We headed out when there were still a few wet patches. That makes it incredibly difficult. We’re in a temperature range where the tires take longer to warm up. We were just feeling our way through it at first. I could see that there’s no point in pushing too hard right now. We still need to work out a few things on the car.”
#24 Heinrich / Vanthoor / Feller (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
13:23 Uhr has turned off the road between Metzgesfeld and Kallenhard.
#26 Christodoulou / Lulham / Grenier / Böckmann (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
13:57 Uhr Adam Christodoulou: “The track is probably about five percent wet right now, just in a few tricky spots like the Fuchsröhre (Vauxhall), the Adenauer Forst, Metzgesfeld, and a few other sections. The rest is completely dry. So I’m letting you in on all my secrets here! It’s great to be back, and I’m really looking forward to the top qualifying session and the race in a few days.”
#34 Krognes / Drudi /Thiim / Fernadez Laser (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO)
14:51 Uhr Felipe Fernandez Laser: “These are always the first few laps, just to get into the groove a bit. There’s already quite a lot going on out there. I think everyone would agree. The weather is playing along now as well. We’ll see how it goes from here. I’ll mainly be supporting the #34 car at night so the guys can get more sleep.”
#36 Reeh / Lachenmayer / Walkenhorst / Scherer (BMW E89 Z4 (EVO 2013))
14:12 Uhr Henry Walkenhorst: “The weather was great, but we had three Code 60 periods. That really shouldn’t happen in the first round. Everyone was a bit too eager, and there were still a few wet spots. Our guys were paying attention and passed on the information about the wet spots.”
#67 Olsen / Mies / Vervisch / Stippler (Ford Mustang GT3 EVO (2026))
14:03 Uhr has stopped with a technical defect in the Aremberg area: there is now a fluid/oil spill on the track in this section.
#69 Glock / Scheider / Dörr / Kirchhöfer (McLaren 720S-GT3)
14:56 Uhr Timo Glock: “It was tough in terms of traffic. There are a lot of cars out there that aren’t signaling as early as they should. You have to approach it with a lot of caution and just let the car run, avoid damaging anything, not take any risks, and just try to get through Thursday without any problems. We had very little preparation; in the qualifying race, we made sure everything was working. Of course, we’re not where the other top teams are, but we’re trying to improve steadily over the weekend. And we have Marvin in the car, who knows the McLaren very, very well. With Ben, Timo, and me, I think we’ll do quite well.”
15:06 Uhr Timo Scheider. “We always expect the unexpected. So this isn’t really that unusual. Our weather radar actually predicted that the rain would return towards the end of the session. At least I was able to do two laps in dry conditions on slicks. I still need to get to know the car – I’m the rookie in it, after all. Those were two good laps that were fun. I’m can feel the car, and that’s the most important thing for me. Right now, Marvin’s out there – poor guy. But at least they’ve put him on intermediates.”
#71 Blank / Kaffer / Großmann / Jöns (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)
14:45 Uhr Björn Grossmann: “I’m looking forward to the whole weekend and everything that comes with it! This is definitely my personal highlight. I’m hoping for better weather than we’ve had the last few days. That would be great – maybe no snow and no fog at night. We’d be really happy about that. I’m going to take it a little easier. We still have a little time left. So we’ve got a bit of a buffer there. Of course, it’s been pretty chaotic out there. Lots of people have already wrecked their cars. Lots and lots of yellow flags and Code 60 periods with oil on the track.”
#80 Engel / Stolz / Schiller / Martin (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
13:18 Uhr Maro Engel was the first to take the wheel of the Ravenol-Mercedes.
14:16 Uhr Maro Engel takes first place with a lap time of 8:26.769 minutes.
14:54 Uhr Is in first place with a lap time of 8:14.957 minutes
15:16 Uhr set the fastest lap time (8:14.957 min) ahead of the #1 Farfus / Marciello / Pepper / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) and the #3 Verstappen / Auer / Gounon / Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
#95 Kiefer / Kiefer / Kiefer / Rettenbacher (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
14:40 Uhr Luca Rettenbacher: “The 24h Nürburgring is always something special – you have to admit that. I’m going to take it a bit easy in this first qualifying session. There’s no need to go all out right now, because there’s still a long time until the race, and it wouldn’t make sense to risk a technical issue at this stage. I think we can really look forward to a great atmosphere this weekend. There are more spectators than ever before. I always hope it stays dry. We just can’t really count on the weather up here in the Eifel. It’s even possible that it might snow on Saturday night.”
#99 Harper / Hesse / Van der Linde / Vanthoor (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
15:12 Uhr Max Hesse: “I’m pretty satisfied. I went out right at the start of the session. It was still a bit damp then, and I was on slicks. But the guys who drove later in dry conditions were happy with the car. We’ll definitely have to work on two or three things now to get the car into an even better range. Otherwise, everything is going well. The team is super prepared and relatively calm and relaxed. Everything here exudes a certain calmness and self-confidence. A certain sense of confidence, I’d say.”
#152 Oepen / Koger / Launhardt (BMW 325CI*)
15:20 Uhr Christian Koger: “First it rained in the Hatzenbach area, then there was some sunshine in between. It was still sunny at Dönninger Höhe, and then suddenly there was hail. I’m glad to be back in the pits safe and sound. We weren’t on rain tires, and we experienced all four seasons in a single lap. Luckily, the team warned me about the hail. Watch out – the Grand Prix track is really unpleasant. I couldn’t believe it because I had sunshine. But of course, I trusted my teammates and was prepared for it.”
#300 Kriese / Geilfus / Neumann / Becker (Dacia Logan)
14:09 Uhr Brake lock-up for the Dacia Logan in the Xiaomi turn.
14:36 Uhr Alexander Becker: “It was exciting – my first time in the car, and also my first time without ABS. I think you could really see that in the first or second lap on the Grand Prix track. After that, I got a little more used to the car and posted some pretty good sector times. I think I could have gone even faster on the last lap. We’ll have to see what’s possible in Q3 tomorrow.”
#520 Miyazono / Kawabata / Matsuyama / Horino (Toyota Supra*)
13:29 Uhr stopped in the Mercedes-AMG-Arena
#569 Van‘t veer / Baller / de Bruijn / Gaukler (BMW 328i*)
15:14 Uhr stopped on the right-hand side at marshal post 13 (short connection).
#577 Obermann / Leissing / Rosam / Trompeter (Cupra Leon Competición TCR)
14:42 Uhr Max Rosam: “I was the first one to get in the car. We’ve just completed a rollout. It was also my first time driving the TCR on the Nordschleife. I’ve already driven a few laps on the Grand Prix track, but the Nordschleife is definitely a bit different. But the car feels very, very good. We still have some minor issues with the brakes, but I think we’ll definitely get those fixed in time for Q2. And other than that, the car actually drove very, very well and was a real joy to drive.”
#653 Farquini / Pitch / Soyez / Bugane (BMW M240i Racing Cup*)
14:04 Uhr Spin in Hatzenbach.
#800 Dormagen / Oepen / Ardelt / Müller (VW GOLF 7 GTI TCR DSG)
13:53 Uhr Tim Müller: “We were with a competitor from Cup 3. Apparently, the guy wasn’t sure how he wanted to drive. I definitely wanted to turn onto the GP course. I didn’t know what he was up to, and then he hit the front corner of my car. The team is looking into it now so we can get back on the track as soon as possible.”
#830 Basseng / Lauck / Bastian / Azcona (Hyundai Motor Company ELANTRA N TCR)
14:01 Uhr Mikel Ascona: “The goal was to thoroughly check the car. The track was completely dry, with just a few damp spots on the Nordschleife. That’s why we ran cut slicks on the rear axle for the first lap. We didn’t want to take any risks. I then came into the pits to switch to full slicks. We still need to make a few changes to the car to improve it.”
#900 Hardt / Hites Michelson / Koslowski / Meijer (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
13:38 Uhr is on fire at the entrance to the Xiaomi turn. And car #146, driven by Schreiner / Schall / Halder / Wohlwend (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992.1)), collides with the stationary vehicle.
#909 Sander / Krämer / Leo Messenger / Comazzi (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
13:20 Uhr stopped in the Falken-Bogen area
#911 Estre / Güven / Preining / Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
15:13 Uhr Thomas Preining: “I was on the Grand Prix track when it started raining, so it wasn’t far to get back. Overall, we had a good first session. We saw a bit of everything in terms of conditions, including a lot of crashes. It was important to keep a cool head. Overall, the car feels good. We’re racing to win – that’s the goal. We’ll see where we really stand.”
#941 Rziczny / van der Snel / van der Snel / Erlbacher (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
15:09 Uhr Jacob Erlbacher: “It was a blast to do my first laps of the year on the Nordschleife. I’m racing in the Cayman GT4 with my best friend. We already won our class last year, and we want to build on that success in Cup 3 with the Cayman. It started raining on the last lap. It was exciting because there was a lot of grit and a bit of oil on the track. I’m just seeing on TV that it’s hailing.”
#977 Zimmermann / Arn / Frommenwiler / Ruhrmann (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
14:53 Uhr Marcel Zimmermann. “It was actually a good stint. Pretty much dry, a little damp in certain spots, but otherwise very good. Traffic was good too – everything was really top-notch.”
#982 Krombach / Kunz / Duffner / Weber (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
13:41 Uhr at Post 62 (Hatzenbach entrance) due to a technical issue
#992 Griesemann / Griesemann / Adorf / Holzer (Porsche 911 GT3 CUP MR)
14:09 Uhr Björn Griesemann spins out in the Falkenbogen section. The Porsche spins at high speed into the gravel trap.