IGTC: Winward ends Mercedes-AMG’s 10-year 24h Nürburgring victory drought

Mercedes-AMG returned to the top step at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring for the first time in ten years with a dramatic victory in Round 2 of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz brought the RAVENOL-backed Mercedes-AMG #80 home first after starting only 25th – and after a late twist that changed the entire story of the race.

For much of the 24h, the sister Winward-run Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG #3 looked like the car to beat. Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, Dani Juncadella and Max Verstappen had controlled the race, with Verstappen producing one of the headline performances of the weekend. The four-time Formula 1 World Champion lived up to the hype around his 24h Nürburgring debut, fighting at the sharp end, taking the lead during the night and giving the record crowd of 352,000 fans exactly the kind of Nordschleife drama they had come to see.

The decisive moment came with just over three hours remaining. Juncadella was forced into an unscheduled stop with a driveshaft issue and the car only reappeared for the final lap. That handed the lead to Engel, Martin, Schiller and Stolz – and they made no mistake from there. Engel was behind the wheel at the finish, just as he had been ten years earlier when Mercedes-AMG last won this race.

Behind them, the fight for the remaining podium places went right to the end. Team ABT’s Lamborghini #84 recovered from a difficult opening lap and an 84-second post-race penalty to finish second, with Luca Engstler, Mirko Bortolotti and Patric Niederhauser just ahead of Walkenhorst Motorsport’s Aston Martin #34 driven by Nicki Thiim, Christian Krognes and Mattia Drudi.

BMW secured important IGTC points with ROWE Racing’s #99 in fourth overall. Dan Harper, Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Max Hesse finished just 17 seconds shy of the podium after Harper had been spun to the back of the field on lap one. Lionspeed GP’s Porsche completed the IGTC top three in sixth overall, behind the SP-X class-winning BMW M3 Touring #81.

Engel and Martin’s second IGTC win in two races strengthened their lead in the drivers’ standings, while Mercedes-AMG also extended its advantage in the manufacturers’ championship. In the Independent Cup, Li Kerong and High Class Racing (Porsche #86) celebrated a second straight victory, finishing 16th overall on their Nordschleife debut.

Next stop for the IGTC: the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – another 24-hour classic, and another chance for the GT3 heavyweights to settle scores.

IGTC Drivers Standings after 24h Nürburgring

IGTC Manufacturer Standings after 24h Nürburgring

IGTC Independent Cup after 24h Nürburgring