2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours: Early Race Developments
The opening hour of the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours saw the #45 Kondo Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 take the lead after a strategic pit cycle. Initially, Thomas Preining in the pole-sitting #911 Manthey Porsche established a commanding 14-second lead but fell to eighth place following the first round of pit stops, which occurred between laps five and seven.
Kondo Racing’s David Perel, who had dropped to third behind Margo Engel’s #14 GetSpeed Mercedes at the start, regained the lead post-pit stop, currently holding a nine-second edge over Adam Christodoulou in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes. The #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin, now driven by Mattia Drudi, has moved up to third, with the #1 Scherer Sport PHX Audi in fourth and the #14 GetSpeed Mercedes in fifth.
Notably, the #44 Falken Porsche 911 GT3 R 992 is in eighth place, while the ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo, benefiting from a pre-race Balance of Performance weight reduction, sits sixth with Augusto Farfus at the wheel.
The race’s opening hour remained largely incident-free, although the Ollis Garage Racing Dacia Logan suffered issues on the grid and has not returned to competition. Additionally, Anders Buchardt’s #35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin made contact with the barriers at Pflanzgarten but managed to return to the pits for repairs.
As the race continues, strategy and tire management will be critical in maintaining positions through the remainder of this grueling endurance event.
