– The Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) awakens from its winter break and starts its 50th season on March 14, 2026, with the first race of the season. When the field of 132 registered vehicles lines up for the 71st ADAC Westfalenfahrt, it quickly becomes clear that the density of top international drivers has rarely been as high as this year. ()
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At the top of this field sits the legendary Porsche 911 GT3 R from Manthey with starting number 911. Here, not only does the reigning DTM champion Ayhancan Güven take the wheel, but he also shares the cockpit with Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre. However, the competition for the “Grello” is as prominent as rarely before.
In the starting number 17 from Dunlop Motorsport is Julien Andlauer, a driver traveling to the Eifel with the momentum of his overall victory at the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona; he shares the cockpit with Nico Menzel. Team Falken Motorsport also wants to have a say in the overall victory. Morris Schuring, the reigning DTM Junior Champion, starts in number 44 together with Klaus Bachler.
Kondo Racing with Rinaldi is sending a real power trio into the race with starting number 45. Thierry Vermeulen (Gold Cup winner of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe) and Dennis Marschall (Bronze Champion of the GTWC) share the Ferrari 296 GT3 with Thomas Neubauer.
BMW and Mercedes-AMG are gearing up
The Bavarian competition is particularly impressive: BMW is sending three absolute top teams with factory support into the Green Hell. Schubert Motorsport attacks with starting number 77 and a high-caliber lineup – here, factory drivers Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng, and Robin Frijns share the cockpit of the BMW M4 GT3 Evo.
Rowe Racing is no less ambitious. Starting number 98 is piloted by Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello, and Jordan Pepper, while #99 is driven by Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Sheldon Van Der Linde.
The Mercedes-AMG faction is also gearing up massively. With starting number 80, Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol is sending a trio into the race that embodies pure GT3 experience: Maxime Martin, Maro Engel, and Luca Stolz want to bring the victory at the season opener back to Affalterbach.
The lineup is complemented by another Mercedes-AMG GT3 with starting number 3 from Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, where three absolute exceptional talents, Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella, and Lucas Auer, are at the wheel. The four-time Formula 1 World Champion and namesake of the team, Max Verstappen, will then join the action at NLS2.
After a successful debut season with one victory, the Haupt Racing Team is once again relying on the beefy Ford Mustang GT3. The Pro lineup is rounded off by Konrad Motorsport and Team Abt (both Lamborghini Huracán GT3), Walkenhorst Motorsport (Aston Martin Vantage GT3), as well as Dinamic GT and Lionspeed GP (Porsche 911 GT3 R).
Fresh air in other SP9 classifications
But it’s not just in the pure Pro category that high tension prevails; the SP9 Pro-Am and Am sub-classifications also promise gripping duels and interesting stories. With ProSport Racing, a familiar face of the Nordschleife returns to the top class and faces the competition with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
In the Am class, they will face Gorojan RT by Car Collection (Porsche 911 GT3 R), Juta Racing (Audi R8 LMS), and Renazzo Motorsport (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2). At the same time, exciting newcomers are bringing fresh air and new competition to Pro-Am: Gamota Racing (BMW M4 GT3 Evo), Toyo Tires with Ring Racing (Mercedes-AMG GT3), and KKRämer Racing (Audi R8 LMS EVO II) are debuting in the prestigious GT3 this season.
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Their opponents include the two Porsche teams Lionspeed GP and 48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon, as well as another Aston Martin from Walkenhorst Motorsport.
Masterful driver pairings
However, the NLS does not only live from the top class: in the fiercely contested Cup classes, it’s not about the overall victory, but there is still much to win. In the BMW M2 Racing class, a constellation arises that makes fans of the championship sit up and take notice: on starting number 888, Ranko Mijatovic and Michael Schrey form an alliance of champions.
Mijatovic, who has been the reigning NLS champion since 2024, teams up here with two-time NLS champion Schrey to bring Team Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport to the very front. Together, they already combine four titles on one car – a mark that is normally hard to beat.
But the bar is set even higher this year, specifically by the team that has dominated the series almost at will in the recent past: Adrenalin Motorsport. The team around team principal Matthias Unger is using a pairing in the VT2-RWD class on starting number 500 that can confidently be described as the “measure of all things”.
With Philipp Leisen (Champion 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023) and Daniel Zils (Champion 2022 and 2023), two of the most successful NLS drivers in recent history share a cockpit here. Together, they bring a proud six championship titles – a statistical demonstration of power that illustrates why Adrenalin Motorsport has been the team to beat for years. The trio is completed by Philipp Stahlschmidt, who for his part has already fought for titles.
Masterful team performances
This year as well, the lineups of some are impressive. SRS Team Sorg Rennsport leads the statistics with an impressive eleven registered vehicles, distributed across the SP10, VT2, CUP2, and CUP3 classes. Close on their heels is the aforementioned Team Adrenalin Motorsport, which also shows an enormous presence with nine vehicles and covers, among others, the heavily populated V6, V5, and BMW M240i categories.
Speaking of class strength: the CUP3 class of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN) for the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS represents the largest starting field of the opener with 21 starters, followed by VT2-RWD with 14 and CUP2 (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) with twelve vehicles.
Tickets for the opening race of the anniversary season, the 71st ADAC Westfalenfahrt, cost 25 euros (children up to 14 years free of charge) and are available at VLN.de/tickets and at the box offices. This provides access to the open grandstands at the Grand Prix circuit, the exclusive spectator areas Brünnchen and Pflanzgarten, as well as the paddock, the pit lane, and the starting grid.
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Qualifying for the best positions on the starting grid takes place between 8:30 and 10:00 AM. In the break between timed practice and the race, fans have enough time to experience the cars up close: with a ticket, the pit walk starts at 10:20 AM in the pit lane, before the starting grid beckons from 11:10 AM. The race start for the four-hour endurance race is at 12:00 PM. The livestream on Motorsport-Total.com begins at 8:15 AM.
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