The fourth and fifth hours of the race brought no let-up in the drama, with several top teams also hitting trouble. The “Grello” Porsche #911 retired after sliding off on an oil spill. Shortly afterwards, the HRT Ford Mustang #64 saw its race end at the same spot. The Scherer PHX Audi R8 #16 was involved in a collision with the KCMG Mercedes #47, putting both cars out of the race. The Kondo Ferrari #45, which had led at times, also ended up in the guardrail. In the lead after five hours: the #3 Verstappen Mercedes-AMG ahead of his teammates in the #80 RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Mattia Drudi in the #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin Vantage. The slowly setting twilight and an approaching rain front promise that things will remain exciting …
#1 Farfus / Marciello / Pepper / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
19:42 – Augusto Farfus has taken over from Kelvin van der Linde for the defending champions.
#3 Verstappen / Auer / Gounon / Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
18:34 – Max Verstappen hands over to Jules Gounon.
18:53 – Max Verstappen: “The double stint was not easy because at times I got stuck in traffic. Then the rain front came in and made conditions slippery, and that’s where the good car made the difference. I tried to stay out of trouble, but at the same time you have to push and drive at the limit. You need to find a good compromise. At the start of the stint I briefly went off track because of a lapse in concentration – in moments like that you have to pull yourself together, refocus and carry on. Now I’m preparing for the night. Let’s see what the weather does – a rain front is moving in. The next few hours will be very challenging.”
19:36 – Following the pit stop for #67 Olsen / Mies / Vervisch / Stippler (Ford Mustang GT3 EVO (2026)), Jules Gounon moves back into the lead.
#4 Goroyan / Kivtka / Berthon / Fontana (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
19:43 – The CarCollection Porsche overtook under yellow and receives a 32-second time penalty.
#7 Stalidzane / Paul / Engelhart / Lefterov (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
19:53 – Patricija Stalidzane: “My stint was absolutely terrifying – really, really intense. Right in front of me the Ford crashed when it was already that wet. So for the first two laps I was super careful because it was drizzling everywhere and I was out on slicks. Of course I wanted to bring the car home in one piece. But I fought my way through it. It was a mental battle because it was my first time driving on slicks in the rain.”
#17 Andlauer / Boccolacci / Menzel / Picariello (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
19:56 – Dorian Boccolacci: “Well, that was my first and at the same time last stint of the race. It really wasn’t easy because there was a huge amount of rain coming down. In those conditions it’s really hard to judge how much grip you’ll have in the next turn. So I was pretty cautious. I saw how many cars had crashed and what else was going on out there. Sure, it’s only the beginning of the race, but in tricky moments like that you have to be careful while still pushing, because the others aren’t waiting for you. I think I managed it quite well. Toward the end I think we also found a bit more pace. Let’s see how things develop during the night with the colder temperatures. When you’re out there, you never really know exactly what your pace is; you just go by the cars around you.”
#19 van Roon / Coronel / Kohlhaas / Huisman (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)
19:07 – Christian Kohlhaas: “There’s a lot going on out there. I got into the car just as the rain started a little. But we decided to stay on slicks, which from today’s perspective was definitely the right call. Still, it wasn’t easy – there were a lot of accidents. At the beginning I first had to get used to the car and to the rain on slicks. Then there were the many Code 60 phases, figuring out where to brake, where the right flags are, what mistakes to avoid. It was an exciting stint but thank God everything went well.”
#32 Nakayama / Gülden / Sandtler (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
19:40 – A 45-second penalty is handed out for exceeding the maximum speed under Code 60.
#34 Krognes / Drudi / Thiim / Fernadez Laser (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO)
19:32 – Christian Krognes: “Out there, you somehow just find your own rhythm. Of course I knew we were right up there with the top guys, but this race swings back and forth so much. In my first stint we were missing an aerodynamic part at the front, which cost us a lot of pace. But the team did a great job: for the second stint they put it back on and we immediately had more speed again. The rain showers – that’s just the classic story in this race. Out there, you simply have to survive somehow and try to make the best of it.”
#37 Dumarey / Wahl / Lönnroth / Konnerth (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3)
18:03 – Back out on track.
#44 Bachler / Heinemann / Müller / Schuring (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
18:46 – Klaus Bachler makes contact with #66 Born / Hoffmeister / Marchewicz / Hörr (KTM X-Bow GTX) on the left-hand side at the Nordschleife entry.
#47 Fukuzumi / Gamou / Krohn / Pittard (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
18:38 – In the incident involving #47 and #16, there was a misunderstanding in the marshals’ signalling. While the Code 60 phase had already been correctly lifted in the Pflanzgarten section, the next marshal post was still showing the Code 60 flag. As that overall situation could not reasonably have been anticipated, none of the drivers involved were penalised. The stewards instructed race control to clarify the cause of the misleading signalling and rectify it immediately.
#62 Adelson / Asch / Ludwig / Winkelhock (HWA EVO.R)
19:22 – Roland Asch: “What’s going on out there is unbelievable. I’ve driven many 24h races, but this level of traffic and a field with 40 GT3 cars – it’s incredible. They go flat out right from the start. We used to approach it a bit more calmly in the past. I’ve just come to the campsite by bicycle, and I could barely get through. Of course I’m delighted that my son is competing with the HWA Evo R. That’s amazing. I helped develop that car back then – the DTM car.”
#64 Maini / Scherer / Schumacher / Stippler (Ford Mustang GT3 EVO (2026))
18:14 – On Döttinger Höhe, Arjun Maini passes #80 Engel / Stolz / Schiller / Martin (Mercedes-AMG GT3) to move into fourth after both Dennis Olsen in the sister car #67 and #1 Farfus / Marciello / Pepper / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) ahead of him peel into the pits.
18:53 – The Ford then crashes heavily in the Brünnchen section; Arjun Maini has exited the car.
19:39 – Arjun Maini after his accident: “There was oil on the track and I hit it. To be honest, I had absolutely no chance to avoid it. It’s just such a huge shame because the car was so damn fast and felt really good – especially through the turns. This time our strength was in the fast turns and not, as is usually the case, in top speed on the straights. So those were very positive upgrades from Ford Racing HRT. It’s just desperately unfortunate that it had to end so early and in this way, when we had no control over the situation at all. I feel sorry for the guys who put in all the hard work, but that’s part of racing – and that’s the Nordschleife.”
#65 Haupt / Kolb / Schumacher / Caresani (Ford Mustang GT3 EVO (2026))
18:06 – Vincent Kolb takes over at the wheel.
19:17 – Vincent Kolb: “The start was quite okay, when everything was still nice and dry. But over the last three laps it was really just about surviving for me. My problem was that I couldn’t get the tyres back up to temperature because it started raining again every three or four kilometres. Then at the end there was this extremely long Code 60 phase. The temperature drops through the floor, and of course you don’t want to weave around to get heat back into the tyres. But otherwise, it’s a lot of fun. It’s great to see the track so full. Under Code 60 you get a small moment to look to the left and right, and it’s really fantastic that so many fans are here.”
#67 Olsen / Mies / Vervisch / Stippler (Ford Mustang GT3 EVO (2026))
18:55 – Dennis Olsen passes Jules Gounon in the #3 Verstappen / Auer / Gounon / Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG GT3) at the Hohenrain chicane to take the lead.
19:36 – Race leader Dennis Olsen pits.
#69 Glock / Scheider / Dörr / Kirchhöfer (McLaren 720S-GT3)
19:36 – Marvin Kirchhöfer: “It was a pretty chaotic start, as everyone could see. Some favourites are already out of the race. Right now, the main thing is simply trying to survive these conditions somehow. The car feels good so far. I think we have good pace. But it’s still far too early to say anything. I think the night will be very, very difficult – especially in these conditions. So the goal is simply to have a clean race and then we’ll see where we end up tomorrow.”
#77 Wittmann / Eng / Weerts / Frijns (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
19:58 – Philipp Eng: “It was pretty exciting with the intermittent rain. Unfortunately, we were really unlucky twice with Code 60. But the race is still long. I hope that balances out again over the distance. I have to say, the slower cars are cooperating really well. Very good sportsmanship out there, so it’s a lot of fun.”
#81 Klingmann / de Wilde / de Phillippi / Verhagen (BMW M3 Touring 24h)
19:57 – The BMW Touring receives a 45-second time penalty for disrespecting a double-yellow phase.
#99 Harper / Hesse / Van der Linde / Vanthoor (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
18:10 – Sheldon van der Linde: “It was very chaotic. I didn’t expect there to be so many accidents in the first two hours. Especially with mixed conditions. At the beginning it really wasn’t easy for me just to keep the car on the track. We somehow got through it, but there’s an incredible amount going on right now.”
19:58 – Dries Vanthoor receives a 45-second time penalty for speeding under double yellow.
#164 Brodmerkel / Still / Vöhringer / Schöll (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS)
18:34 – Constantin Schöll: “The track is great. There are still two or three places where Code 60 is in effect, but overall it’s quite good to drive. Thankfully it’s still dry. Our car feels perfect. The only thing is that we seem to be a little short on engine power. We still need to find out why. But apart from that, things are going quite well so far. I have the feeling quite a lot of people are going off. Thankfully not near me so far.”
#187 Link / Wüstenhagen / Fourie / Wiskirchen (BMW M4 GT4 (G82))
19:17 – The FK Performance BMW receives an 86-second time penalty for disrespecting double yellow.
#277 Müller / Seibel / Geisler / Harris (BMW 318ti (E36)*)
18:30 – The compact BMW was repaired trackside at Pflanzgarten and is able to continue.
19:00 – Marc Müller: “Things have been mixed for us. We’ve had a few problems with the car all weekend – actually all week – and we did only little running in qualifying. On top of that, we also had a small contact in warm-up. But the guys did a great job getting the car ready in time for the race. We didn’t take part in the formation lap. But I left the pits, went down through the Sabine Schmitz turn, and I was already back up with the first cars. It was huge fun to drive the first hour. Since then, mistakes have been creeping back in a bit. Henrik then got into the car and had a puncture after just a few laps. Just now the throttle cable snapped on him. The guys are working on fixing that right now. I think in a few minutes we’ll be going again.”
#420 Schöni / Sprungmann / Cramer / Kiefer (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
19:59 – Stopped at marshal post 194 (Döttinger Höhe).
#455 Baumann / Trinius / Held / Schambony (Porsche Cayman CM12*)
19:18 – A 30-second time penalty is handed out for speeding in the pit lane.
#501 Merkt / Kobus / Vortkamp / Huber (BMW 330i*)
18:29 – The Adrenalin BMW from the VT2 rear-wheel-drive class crashes at the exit of Fuchsröhre.
#669 Petrolo / Kurz / Babacan (BMW M240i Racing Cup*)
18:23 – The minimum pit-stop time was not met, resulting in a 32-second time penalty.
#670 Paviot / Belgy / Bräutigam / Garbe (BMW M240i Racing Cup*)
19:57 – A 45-second penalty is handed out for exceeding the maximum speed under Code 60.
#786 Nana / Breuer / Dieter Schmidtmann / Mutsch (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
19:10 – Crash at marshal post 118 (Breidscheid).
19:23 – The Lamborghini is in the pits without a rear wing.
19:27 – Thomas Mutsch: “I can’t say exactly what happened. Somewhere around the Breidscheid area my team-mate lost the car and apparently went backwards along the guardrail, tearing off the rear wing. It looks as if we’ll be able to repair it. I’d say in 30 to 45 minutes we’ll be back on tour.”
#800 Dormagen / Oepen / Ardelt / Müller (VW GOLF 7 GTI TCR DSG)
18:25 – Stopped at the exit of the Ravenol-S with a technical issue. The car continues with damage to the front-left tyre.
#888 Partl / Schrey / Wiskirchen / Wolter (BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82))
19:18 – A 45-second penalty is handed out for exceeding the maximum speed under Code 60.
#900 Hardt / Hites Michelson / Koslowski / Meijer (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))
18:47 – A 45-second penalty is handed out for exceeding the maximum speed under Code 60.
#911 Estre / Güven / Preining / Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
18:50 – On the exit of Brünnchen, Estre loses the rear of the Grello and hits the guardrail backwards. He initially carries on but then parks the Porsche. At that stage he was running second.
19:00 – The Grello is towed away after the crash and is leaking oil.
19:20 – Nicolaus Raeder: “Unfortunately, that’s it for us now. Kevin slid off on an oil trail; there was nothing he could do about it. That’s the bitter side of this race. He still tried to continue, but then the engine also gave up because a belt had come off. That’s no longer repairable. Motorsport can be very character-building at times. When you’re successful, you can be sure the next setback isn’t far away. But that’s also what defines it in the end – you just keep going. I’m really sorry for our fans. The Grello carries a promise: that we run at the front. And with that promise, unfortunately, there is also a risk attached. We fought and we were in it. And even if it would have become a grind, we certainly would have put on a good show.”
#967 Rich / Sekkat / Mann / Hislop (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
18:24 – The minimum pit-stop time was not met, resulting in a 32-second time penalty.
#999 Polzler / Rink / Riemer / Beckwermert (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))
19:10 – Two separate penalties are handed out. First, the driver ignores a Code 60 phase and receives a 45-second penalty. The car then also ignores a standard double-yellow phase, adding a further 77 seconds.
19:46 – Over the course of the weekend, Maxwell Polzler accumulated too many penalties and penalty points in the DMSB register and was therefore disqualified from the race with immediate effect; his Nordschleife permit was also revoked.