Thomas Preining, driving the fan favorite “Grello,” dominated the early stages of the 53rd edition of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring from pole position. After an exciting opening lap, the former DTM champion from Austria confidently maintained first place, which his teammate Kevin Estre from France had secured in Friday's top qualifying session. He had already pulled away slightly by the time he entered the Nordschleife for the first time and then continuously increased his lead by around three seconds per lap. Even after being held up slightly by a car he was lapping during a Code 60 phase, he quickly pulled away again until he handed the “Grello” over to Estre just before the end of the first hour of the race after seven laps. “A huge thank you to the team for letting me start the race. Normally, that's Kevin's job. It was a great feeling. We adapted the car step by step to the hot conditions, which we're not really used to here.”

Augusto Farfus moves up from 17th on the grid to ninth
Behind Preining, Maro Engel in the #14 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG improved from third to second place by overtaking the #45 Rinaldi Ferrari with David Perel from South Africa at the wheel before the first corner. The biggest leap forward in the early stages was made by Brazilian Augusto Farfus. In the #98 Rowe BMW, he had already moved up from 17th on the grid to tenth by the time he entered the Nordschleife for the first time, and he gained another place as the race progressed before making an early first pit stop after the fifth lap, like several other cars. Other teams headed for the pits for their first tire change and refueling after the sixth lap.

Huge crowds of fans at the Nürburgring
In glorious summer weather, the spectator areas on the Nordschleife and the grandstands around the Grand Prix circuit were filled to capacity and the fans were in high spirits. The starting grid, where Kevin Estre received the Glickenhaus Trophy for pole position, was well attended. Those who did not make their way to the Eifel region can follow the action on the track at home on free-to-air TV partner NITRO, as well as on the official livestreams on YouTube and on the official event website.