The excitement in the Nürburgring endurance scene is rising by the day: the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers on May 24 and 25 mark the final test opportunity before the season highlight—the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring at the end of June. Additionally, the weekend’s two races will count as rounds of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS): perfect conditions for thrilling battles on the 25-kilometer combination of Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife. A total of 109 teams are set to take on the challenge during this race-packed weekend, which promises a full schedule for fans. After three completed NLS races—all won by Porsche—GT cars from Zuffenhausen head into the weekend as favorites. But they’ll face tough competition in the well-filled GT3 class with around 20 entrants. And in many other classes, the fight for valuable NLS points is expected to be just as intense.
That GT3 Porsches work brilliantly on the Nordschleife has been proven once again this year by teams like Falken Motorsports and Manthey EMA with their NLS wins. Heading into the Qualifiers, the 911s are considered favorites not just for their current form: last year, both race wins and the pole position for Race 2 also went to Falken Motorsports' 911s. The team’s turquoise-blue cars will be driven by both experienced NLS pilots and newcomers: Julien Andlauer (FRA) and Alessio Picariello (BEL) in #33, and Dorian Boccolacci (FRA), Dennis Marschall (AUT), and Nico Menzel (Kelberg) in #44. Their fiercest rival is expected to be the #911 Porsche from Manthey EMA. Since the NLS3-winning duo Güven/Preining will be fulfilling DTM commitments during the Qualifiers weekend, the team is relying on two seasoned veterans: Kevin Estre (AUT) and Patrick Pilet (FRA) will take the wheel of the fan-favorite “Grello.”
"Endurance Icons" Return for the Qualifiers
In addition to Black Falcon, Dinamic GT, and Hankook, the reigning 24h winners from 2024 are also fielding a Porsche 911: Scherer Sport PHX will compete with a car bearing the traditional #16. At the wheel for the Qualifiers: Patric Niederhauser (SUI) and Laurens Vanthoor (BEL). Scherer PHX is also entering the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II with #1. Christopher Haase, Luca Ludwig, and Markus Winkelhock (all GER)—a team of true Nordschleife experts—will pilot the vehicle, which belongs to one of the older GT3 models but remains a formidable force. Juta Racing has already proven this twice during the NLS season by taking pole position in both of the first two races with their Pro-Am R8, driven by Frank Stippler (GER), who knows the car better than anyone. For the Qualifiers, he shares the #8 again with Alexey Veremenko, Elia Erhart, and “Selv” (all GER). Another example of Audi’s reliability this season is équipe Vitesse: in their R8 #50, Michael Heimrich (GER), Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula (SUI), Arno Klasen (GER), and Eric Ullström (SWE) are competing. That car recently surpassed 100,000 kilometers in NLS competition—and it’s far from outdated when it comes to performance and race capability.
Strong Challengers Waiting in the Wings
Elsewhere on the grid, plenty of excitement is brewing at the front. GetSpeed already brought one of their Mercedes-AMG GT3s into striking distance of the winners at NLS3. Their #14 and #17 GT3s are definite contenders for the 24h Qualifiers. Strong entries are also expected from the Aston Martin AMR GT3 Evo teams of Walkenhorst Motorsport and PROsport Racing. Adding Italian flair are Abt with the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 (#27) and Realize Kondo Racing with Rinaldi, who field a Ferrari 296 GT3 (#45). Not to be overlooked: the typical “class battles” seen in the NLS’s 18 other categories. A total of 20 Cup Porsches—ten each in Cup2 and Cup3—promise tight racing, and the BMW M240i class, with nine entrants, looks equally exciting. Among the production cars, it’s the VT2 class that impresses with 18 cars: eight front-wheel and ten rear-wheel-drive entries. The fight for positions and points will be just as thrilling here—especially since NLS points are awarded across all classes. In both races, points will be distributed, and the rules state that well-filled classes receive higher point payouts than those with fewer entries.
A Packed Event Schedule
It’s not just the two main races that promise motorsport entertainment at the 24h Qualifiers. After the first qualifying session on Saturday morning (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.), the RCN will take to the track at 1:00 p.m. for a three-and-a-half-hour performance test—perfect warm-up action before Race 1, which begins at 5:30 p.m. and runs four hours into the evening. Sunday also delivers a packed program: following the second 75-minute qualifying session (from 8:15 a.m.), the Top Qualifying begins at 10:30 a.m., where the front grid positions are decided. Like Saturday’s twilight race, the Qualifiers offer the perfect simulation opportunity for the big 24h race in June. Race 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. and again runs for four hours. Additional motorsport fun will be provided both days by eKart slaloms in the paddock and automobile slalom competitions in the Mercedes-AMG Arena. The full weekend schedule is available here.