A moment of glory in the Eifel: Mercedes-AMG has won the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring for the first time in ten years. Maro Engel, who was already part of the team during the last victory in 2016, celebrated his second overall win in the “Green Hell” in the RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG #80 and cheered with his fellow drivers Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller, and Maxime Martin after crossing the finish line. Until just under three and a half hours before the end of the race, Formula 1 superstar Max Verstappen had been on course for victory in his very first appearance at the 24h Nürburgring, until a driveshaft failure brought his “own” Verstappen Mercedes-AMG #3 to a halt. 352,000 spectators—more than ever before—followed the race over the four days and created a unique spectacle even off the track.
“We started from 25th place, which isn’t exactly ideal. But the 24 Hours of Nürburgring isn’t always about your starting position. Thanks to Maro’s strong stints, we were able to work our way right up to the front. When I got into the car, it started to rain. That was the decisive rain shower of the race—and we made the absolutely right tire decision. “With our sister car out of the race, the battle for the win was off the table,” said Fabian Schiller. For Stolz, Schiller, and Martin—who, within the family, matched the success of his father Jean-Michel Martin from 1992—it was their first victory at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. After Engel’s accident in Top Qualifying 3 on Friday, the quartet had started the race from 25th position.
The other two podium spots were secured after a thrilling four-way battle by the #84 Abt-Lamborghini, which started from pole position with Luca Engstler, Mirko Bortolotti, and Patric Niederhauser. Due to an 86-second time penalty imposed after crossing the finish line for speeding in a Code 60 zone, they had to fight until the very last meter to keep the Walkenhorst Aston Martin #34 with Christian Krognes, Mattia Drudi, Nicki Thiim, and Felipe Fernandez Laser behind them. For both brands, it was their first podium finish at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. The Rowe BMW #99 with Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Sheldon van der Linde, and Dries Vanthoor, and the Schubert BMW M3 Touring #81 with Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Long Double Lead for Mercedes-AMG
After a turbulent opening phase, the two Mercedes-AMG cars #3 and #80 had already pulled away at the front early Saturday evening after timing their pit stops perfectly ahead of one of the heavier rain showers. After that, they comfortably managed the race as a “one-two” with a cushion of several minutes, only getting in each other’s way a few times. At one point, there was even contact between Verstappen and Engel at top speed on the Döttinger Höhe. After that, the two cars, driving at exactly the same pace, maintained a slightly greater “safety margin” until Dani Juncadella had to pull the Verstappen Mercedes-AMG into the pits for an extended repair. It wasn’t until the final stages that Juncadella returned to the track in the repaired Verstappen car and enjoyed the ovation from the fans, whom Verstappen had previously electrified.
In addition to the RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG #80, there were other notable comebacks. Mirko Bortolotti, in the Abt Lamborghini #84, had initially fallen back behind his teammate Marco Mapelli in the Abt Lamborghini #130—who had started too early—and was lightly touched by the Mercedes-AMG #3 in the second corner; he then headed straight back to the pits before the first turn onto the Nordschleife. After changing a damaged rear tire, he chased the field from 49th place in the first starting group.
In the #99 Rowe BMW, Dan Harper spun out on the Grand Prix circuit on the first lap and was knocked out of the top 30. In the end, the car was the team’s only option after the defending champions in the Rowe-BMW #1—with Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello, Jordan Pepper, and Kelvin van der Linde—who had initially been in podium contention, were forced to retire that evening following a fuel supply issue.
With constantly changing weather and track conditions, there were numerous accidents in the early hours of Saturday. Among those affected were Kevin Estre in the Manthey Porsche #911—beloved by fans as “Grello”—the Kondo Ferrari #45 with Thierry Vermeulen, which had been leading at one point, and Arjun Maini in the HRT Ford #64.
Following the spectacular 54th edition of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring, all fans can already mark their calendars for next year. The race will take place from May 27 to 30, 2027.