Christopher Haase, Ben Green, and Alexander Sims won the second race of the 2026 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers on Sunday in the #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 for Team Scherer-Phx. After four hours, the trio crossed the finish line with a lead of 28.024 seconds over the Abt Lamborghini #84 (Engstler/Bortolotti/Niederhauser).
Third place went to the Manthey Porsche #911 “Grello” (Preining/Campbell), which had to fend off late-race attacks from the Winward Mercedes #80 (Engel/Schiller/Stolz). A 32-second time penalty for falling below the minimum pit stop time cost the AMG team a chance at a better result.
The race was unlucky for the second Winward Mercedes #3 of Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer. Formula 1 driver Verstappen was the standout performer in the opening phase, executing several decisive overtakes and engaging in a thrilling duel with Audi driver Haase – just as he had at the Nurburgring Endurance Series season opener (NLS 2).
However, after 10 laps, Verstappen had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a damaged front splitter. The repair took around 25 minutes, effectively ending the team’s competitive hopes. Auer later returned to the track to complete test laps in preparation for the 24-hour race (14–17 May).
With Verstappen’s car out of contention, the Scherer-Phx Audi led for most of the race. At one point, the Abt Lamborghini reduced the gap to just under 10 seconds, but in the final hour, Green pulled away again and secured the win.
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Without the time penalty, the #80 Winward Mercedes might also have had a shot at victory. In the end, Fabian Schiller was left battling only for third place in the closing laps. His duel with Thomas Preining in the “Grello” Porsche was intense and entertaining.
Preining successfully defended against an overtaking attempt by Schiller on the Dottinger Hohe straight. Further close battles followed, with slight contact between the cars. After a tough but fair fight, Preining ultimately held onto third place.
The race ended early for the pole-sitting Kondo Ferrari #45 (Perel/Marschall/Vermeulen). On lap five, Marschall collided with a slower car while lapping traffic in the Brunnchen section and retired.
The Falken Porsche #44 (Heinemann/S. Muller/Schuring) and the Dunlop Porsche #17 (Picariello/Boccolacci) were unable to start the race after their accidents in top qualifying. The naturally aspirated BMW Z4 #36 (Reeh/Schall/Walkenhorst/Scherer) also did not take the start. After a weekend full of bad luck and incidents, the fan-favourite car could not be repaired in time following a collision in top qualifying.
Before the race, a minute of silence was held for Juha Miettinen. The Finnish driver had died on Saturday after a multi-car collision in the Klostertal section of the track.
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