Aston Martin comfortably claims pole in NLS 6

Credit: Luna Maas

Christian Krognes set the fastest time in the 90 minute qualifying session for NLS 6 this morning. The No.35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin will start the race from pole position at 12:00 local time (11:00 BST) today.

Five weeks after the Nürburgring 24h, race cars returned to the Nordschleife this morning for the sixth round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). The 110 car cohort was fairly well behaved, avoiding any major incident, however the session was still plagued by yellow flags and code 60s, which prevented competitive running, until the track was fully green a few minutes from the end.

The first car to run into trouble was the No.477 asBest Racing VW Sirocco, which stopped as Brünnchen. The problems weren't yet over for asBest, as their No.966 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS also stopped, at Kesselchen, later in the session.

The No.495 MSC Dhünn e.V VW Golf was the focus of the most serious issue. Likely caused by contact with a barrier, its bonnet lifted and the windscreen was smashed. The car managed to return to the pits safely for repairs before the race.

When the track went green at the end of the session, the No.35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin of Krognes immediately found the pace, initially grasping pole by less than a tenth. Krognes improved on its second lap to build a 2.8 second margin to the No.47 behind it.

Krognes said: "Its really hot today, much hotter than we've had in the previous races of the series. The car is mega and the package is great." The heat will get worse through the day as the sun continues to rise, potentially leading to reliability issues in the race as cars have to cope with temperatures not yet experienced this year.

Krognes went on to confirm that his teammate, Dennis Fetzer will not be racing, as he has felt under the weather.

The No.47 KCMG Mercedes finished the session in second. Naoya Gamou deserves the credit for setting the lap time, but the attention today will be on his teammate, Kamui Kobayashi, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend.

Kobayashi said he is racing this weekend because: "When I need to drive in a GT3, I want to be ready. That's why when I have the opportunity, I come here to drive round and enjoy the Nordschleife. I always enjoy being here and driving here." The Le Mans winner was asked wether he thought a podium was possible today, but he put down their chances: "No, we are just coming to get the mileage."

Despite what Kobayashi says, there are only five SP9 Pro cars competing, so the car does have a high chance of collecting silverware today, especially after Gamou's efforts to put the car second on the grid.

The No.44 Falken Motorsports Porsche qualified third, one place in front of the Pro-Am pole sitter, the No.26 PROsport Mercedes. The No.26 was qualified by Jake Hill, who has been settling himself inside the GT3 world since winning his maiden BTCC title in 2024.

The top five was rounded out by the No.23 Gamota Racing BMW, who will be wishing the code 60s stayed out, as they were leading before the track went fully green. The No.48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche qualified sixth, and the other two Pro entries, the No.77 Schubert motorsport BMW and the No.17 Dunlop Porsche finished seventh and eighth respectively.

The race will start at 12:00 CEST (11:00 BST) this afternoon.