Verstappen Secures First Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie Pole Position
Max Verstappen clinched his inaugural pole position in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) during a dramatic qualifying session for the 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis, setting a blistering time of 7:51.751 in the final moments of the 90-minute session. Driving the Winward Racing #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, the four-time Formula 1 World Champion edged out Christopher Haase of Scherer Sport PHX, who recorded a time of 7:53.725 in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.
The qualifying session unfolded under clear skies, a stark difference from the previous week when adverse weather caused NLS1’s cancellation. The fastest laps materialized in the closing half-hour, unaffected by yellow flags.
Raffaele Marciello secured third place in the #98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, followed closely by Mattia Drudi in the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO. Maxime Martin completed the top five in Winward’s #80 Mercedes-AMG.
David Pittard delivered a solid performance for KCMG, placing sixth in the #47 Mercedes-AMG with a time of 7:55.821. This noteworthy return to SP9 follows a promotion from SP9 Pro-Am, where they, along with the #54 Dinamic GT Porsche 911 GT3 R, are now competing in the SP9 Pro category.
In the SP9 Pro-Am class, Frank Stippler secured pole in the #65 HRT Ford Mustang GT3 Evo with a time of 7:57.415, ranking ninth overall. Additionally, Jens Klingmann’s #81 BMW M3 Touring 24H qualified 14th overall, taking SP-X pole with a time of 7:58.943, just under five seconds off Marciello’s best.
The four-hour race is set to start today at 12:00 CET.
