Another Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie Porsche win

NLSN24

May 24

Laurens Vanthoor and Patric Niederhauser win Race 1 of Nürburgring Qualifiers with #16 Scherer Sport PHX Porsche 911 GT3 R ahead of Kevin Estre - Patric Pilet with #911 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 Rand Maxime Martin - Luca Stolz - Fabian Schiller in Get Speed Merecedes-AMG #14 in extremely challenging conditions.

Qualifiers race 1 start — 📷 Luc Warnotte at ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers Race 1 2025. Race 1 of the **ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers** start

Race 1 of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers started under rain with Kevin Estre with #911 « Grello » Porsche 911 GT3 R leading the pack. At the end of the first lap, Estre was still leading a quatuor of GT3s with Frank Stippler in #8 Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II leading the two Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R #33 and #44.

About the driving conditions

After his stint, Nico Menzel (#44 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)) said: "It was a very difficult start. The conditions weren't ideal. Little grip, lots of rain, and a lot of aquaplaning. On top of that, visibility was poor. I'm glad the car is in one piece. At one point, I went straight. It was a mixture of oversteer and aquaplaning. That happened to several other people."

Adam Christodoulou (#17 Mercedes-AMG GT3) said: "When I got out of the car, I hit my leg on the door. Now I'm limping a bit. The car felt good. Unfortunately, we had to start from the back of the grid. On the first lap, you couldn't see anything. I was just following the white lines and the barriers. Everyone was struggling with aquaplaning. The further I got forward, the more I could see. That was a huge motivation."

The very experienced Frank Stippler (#8 Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II) after his stint: "It's always fun to race against these guys on the Nordschleife, some of whom come from international GT racing. But it was also extremely challenging for me. We had expected the weather to dry out a bit. That wasn't the case, and we had chosen much too low a tire pressure. As the rain got heavier, I repeatedly suffered aquaplaning, very fast and rough digital grip losses. That was difficult to control. On the other hand, there were surprisingly few incidents. It's a challenge to even make it to the finish line. You could only tell where the others were by the small flashing rain lights of the guys in front. In the spray, it's like flying blind, and you're more trying to feel your way forward than actually driving forward. I hope the guys can bring it to the finish, because these conditions make it very difficult to race here."

Daniel Juncadella (#27 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2): "That was the worst experience of my career. The conditions were undriveable. Welcome to the Nordschleife. We made a mistake with the tire pressure and had to shorten the stint. I really struggled to keep the car on the track."

📷 Luc Warnotte at ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers Race 1 2025. From left to right: #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), #8 Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II, #27 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Eliminations of some favorites

After 20’ racing, Julien Andlauer (#33 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)) flew off in the lead in the Hohenrain chicane area and landed in the tire wall causing significant damage to the #33 Porsche.

At the end of his first lap Mikael Grenier and his #17 Mercedes-AMG was pushed into the box and work was done on the vehicle. Adam Christodoulou said: “There was a problem with the ABS. That's why we stopped a lap early to fix it. Mikael had the same problem. The problem is, when the ABS fails, it affects the traction control. I don't know exactly what's going on. We have to get back out there today so the guys can gain more experience in the rain."

📷 Luc Warnotte at ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers Race 1 2025. Scherer Sport PHX #1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II ahead of the pack (left); Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 #17 (right)

Vanthoor leads at mid-race

Laurens Vanthoor in #16 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) leads the field after two hours. Maxime Martin (#14 Mercedes-AMG GT3) was in second place, ahead of Kevin Estre in the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).

After 2 hours 13’ racing Laurens Vanthoor came into the pits and handed over to Patric Niederhauser after a double stint. Maxime Martin (#14 Mercedes-AMG) takes the lead.

Laurens Vanthoor reported on his stint: "Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here. Instead of just spending a weekend relaxing on the sofa. There are no more difficult conditions in motorsport than the ones we're currently experiencing. You couldn't see at the start, then it was okay for a while, then I started aquaplaning. It was completely crazy. I was peeing myself three or four times per lap, but otherwise everything was fine."

Kevin Estre (#911 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)) took the lead from Martin until he pitted (Pilet taking over) enabling Niederhauser to take the lead with #16 Porsche 911 GT3 R with over 2 minutes gap.

Kevin Estre after his double stint: "Everyone was experimenting with the tire pressure at the start – and it backfired on us. In the first, very short, stint, we simply had the wrong pressure. I had no chance. But it's definitely better to figure it out now than during the 24 Hours – that's why we're here. The second stint went better; I was able to overtake the GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG and close the gap a bit. Nevertheless, it was very wet, and we were aquaplaning. You couldn't even go flat out on the straights because you can't see anything when you're driving in a pack and you can't get the power onto the track. It's called the 'Green Hell' for a reason. I'm glad I kept the car on the track – certainly the most difficult two and a half hours I've ever spent on the Nordschleife. But we're in the race, and Patrick is fighting for the podium. Second place would also be fine."

Maxime Martin (#14 Mercedes-AMG GT3): "It's very slippery – a lot of water on the track. It's very difficult to keep the tires within the working window. It's definitely not easy. Some cars are really fast. It seems they're handling the tires better. I hope we don't have these conditions at the 24-hour race.”

📷 Luc Warnotte at ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers Race 1 2025. Luca Stolz with #14 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Patric Niederhauser increased his lead lap by lap with Pilet in #911 Porsche setting a new fastest lap time with a time of 9:37.910 min. in #16 Porsche 911 GT3 R. With above 3’ lead, Niederhauser could pit with 22’ minutes to go and still keep 1:47” margin with Pilet in #911.

Patric Niederhauser sets the fastest lap time of the race on the last lap with 9:29.861 minutes.

Race 1 SP9 Ranking (top 6 overall)