Max Verstappen translated his F1 dominance to the Nordschleife, securing the overall win at the 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis alongside AMG factory drivers Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon.
The trio steered their #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a commanding victory on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, signaling a new benchmark for the SP9 Pro field. After a world-class fight in the first stint, the AMG remained untouchable for the rest of the race.
Despite starting from pole, Verstappen found himself an opponent that matched his pace for the full first stint. Christopher Haase in the #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi even managed to leapfrog the Dutchman at the end of the first lap.
That triggered a multi-lap, wheel-to-wheel battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Verstappen eventually reclaimed the lead with a clinical move just before handing the car over to Juncadella.
The lead fluctuated briefly during the first pit cycle. The #16 Audi emerged ahead due to a slightly more efficient service, but Nico Hantke – facing a steep learning curve in only his second ever GT3 appearance on the Nordschleife – didn’t fight a hard-charging Juncadella.
Later in the race, a different threat emerged from the #99 Rowe BMW of Dan Harper and Max Hesse. Due to a shorter opening stint, Harper was able to take advantage of a shorter mandatory pit stop time, temporarily placing him ahead of Jules Gounon.
While the BMW’s time advantage would have mathematically balanced out at the final stop, the two factory drivers traded paint in a genuine battle for track position.
The duel ended prematurely when Harper misjudged a move on a lapped Porsche Cayman. The resulting collision earned the BMW a penalty lap, although given the different strategies, it never was a “real” battle anyway.
Verstappen, whose primary goal was to obtain experience in the pit stops, returned to the cockpit for the final stint.
With the victory basically secured, the Dutchman used the clear air to refine his pace and extended the gap to one minute, eventually crossing the finish line with a 59.524 gap to the #99 BMW.
With this dominant performance, the Winward-AMG crew established itself as the early favourites for the 24-hour race later this spring.
Flawless debut for the BMW M3 Touring 24h
BMW M3 Touring livery
Photo by: BMW
Behind the #99 Rowe BMW the #44 Falken Porsche of Tim Heinemann and Sven Muller won a four-way battle for the final spot on the podium.
Heinemann held off a fast-charging Dylan Pereira, who together with Tobias Muller and Patrick Assenheimer provided the 48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon team a sensational debut in the SP9 class, followed by the #45 Realize by Kondo Racing Ferrari of David Perel, Thierry Vermeulen and Thomas Neubauer, and the #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin with Christian Krognes and Mattia Drudi behind the wheel.
Elsewhere, the #81 BMW M3 Touring 24h, starting in the SP-X class, managed P13 in a flawless race debut, beating 13 GT3 cars in the process.
The next NLS race, the 57th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, is scheduled for April 11th, with another potential appearance by Max Verstappen thanks to the cancellation of the F1 races in the Middle East.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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