Max Verstappen wins NLS 9 on GT3 debut with teammate Chris Lulham

Credit: Luna Maas

108 cars headed into the penultimate round of of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), where four-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen scored his first ever race win on his GT3 (SP9) debut in the No.31 Emil Frey Ferrari alongside teammate Chris Lulham.

It was a rather poor start for the No.54 Dinamic GT which never made it off the grid for the formation lap. Its drivers, Bastian Buus and Joel Sturm, were due to start fifth. 

The track was still recovering from the misty morning of a qualifying session as the flag fell to start the race.

Having qualified third, Verstappen made a strong start as he went straight to the lead before turn one. Meanwhile, the No.917 Porsche Cup car almost collected the lead cars as it locked up and went straight on at the first corner.

Despite starting on the front row, the No.8 Audi had a terrible start. Alongside a group of Porsche Cup cars, the Audi went three wide into the tight chicane at the end of the GP track. Somehow, all cars managed to come out unscathed.

As Verstappen remained in the lead, the No.34 pole sitting Aston Martin was right on his tail, with Frank Stippler's Ford Mustang (which started 14th) getting involved in third too. It did not take Stippler long to steal second place from the Aston Martin.

The No.31 Ferrari had created a second and a half lead after the first eight minute lap, with the Ford and Aston split by only half a second across the line.

The alternative fuels GT3 entry (in the AT 1 class) was in fourth overall, a good start for the No.22 Audi which is making use of biofuels for the race. A promising sign for the future of motorsport in the environmental sense.

Max Verstappen went into a steady rhythm as he finished his second lap, increasing the lead to just under five seconds. Meanwhile, the No.8 Audi was dragged into the garage as it faced a mechanical issue. A battle ensued for sixth all the way down to 12th, involving six Porsche Cups and the SP9 Lamborghini.

The No.904 Mülhner Motorsport Porsche spun at Turn 1 battling for position, which then left the No.904 stranded on the grass. The collision was his own fault for trying a very ambitious move.

Leaders meanwhile set purple sectors as Verstappen set the fastest lap of the race, a 7:56, the first sub-8 minute time. Stippler followed behind with a 7:59.

BMW showcased a prime example of NLS racing. One of the lower classed BMWs made a small mistake on the Nordschleife, getting onto the grass briefly. Because of the small mistake the driver lost three positions. Every single moment counts on this unforgiving track.

Verstappen meanwhile stayed out for another lap, increasing the lead gap up to 20 seconds.

The No.9 Ford headed to the pits. Not the second placed car, but the sister Mustang. The HRT are getting to work refuelling and changing the tyres.

With seven minutes left in the first hour, most of the cars in the field are in or have been in the pits, the leaders will certainly be in this lap or the next.

Verstappen went into the pits, for fuel and tyres. Everyone else followed suit. 

The No.54 Dinamic GT Porsche that hadn't made the start, they're circulating now and are on their fifth lap. Although, they are three laps down and are very unlikely to challenge for any position in class.

The timing screen is finally updating after the pit stops, and as expected Verstappen still leads, by 25 seconds now. The No.927 Porsche Cup car crossed the timing line in third, but they are in the pits now so will fall down. So estimated third place is the No.22 Bio-fuels Audi.

Verstappen was still flying with a lead gap of nearly 30 seconds, the pit stop has not changed much. The gap from the No.6 Ford back to the third placed Audi was about 20 seconds.

There was a change for third place, as the No.22 was behind the No.6, but it ended up behind the No.9. The Ford driven by Fabio Scherer made its way up to third, making it a Ford 2-3 behind the No.31.

Stippler began to slow down, might have been caught out by traffic or a slow zone, but either way he was 15 seconds slower than Verstappen on the last lap. The gap was over 40 seconds at that time.

The race has truly settled at this point, as the drivers get through their stints and work towards the finish. Drivers will just want to get through this mid portion of the race, and then likely go tooth and nail in the final hour.

The No.347 Porsche Cup car has gone past the No.909 for position. They aren't in the same class though, the No.347 is an older model than the Cup 2 specification, so they are the sole SP-Pro entry. Still though, a pass for 12th overall.

Verstappen stretched away from the grid, even Frank Stippler found it difficult to catch up. Yellows have been a huge help for the champion, but he built his lead on pure pace 

The No.321 Audi paused on track, seemingly experiencing some mechanical issue, although it was creeping slightly. A course vehicle was on site and towed the SP3T car back to the pits.

Three minutes away from 2 hours to go, so that means more pit stops are underway. This was where the driver changes are in close inspection, as the race was already halfway done.

The No.9 Ford headed to the pits from third, and Scherer passed on the wheel to teammate Dennis Fetzer.

Credit: Luna Maas

Race has approached the halfway mark as Verstappen led from the No.6 Ford, with the No.9 in a net third, but they have made their second pit stop. The pole sitting No.34 Aston Martin was behind in fourth, and the alternative fuels Audi was in fifth.

In the Porsche Cup 2 field, the No.900 Black Falcon car leads the one make Porsche class, from seventh overall

Driver change for the No.31 Ferrari as Chris Lulham ventured into the car for his first stint, meaning he will likely finish out the race with Verstappen having done the entire first half.

Vincent Kolb took over the No.6 from Stippler, and remerged in second place again.

Out of the pits, the lead gap was 70 seconds. It's the No.31's race to lose at this point for certain.

Plenty of gaps were built up and down the field, the race had really settled down.

Just a few corners before the Döttinger straight, there were two separate two car incidents towards the end of the lap, causing a relatively long slow zone in that section of the track. Though it is unclear which cars were involved.

As drivers strived for top position, that didnt come without some going over the limits. Penalties being handed out on the track. The third-placed Cup 2 car, the No.901 has been handed a penalty lap. They were driving around the outside of turn 2, which costs roughly five seconds. That is for a pit stop infringement.

The No.906 had a 5-second stop-go penalty for a similar violation, while No.50 had to be investigated for speeding in the pits.

Chris Lulham in the No.31 Ferrari then lapped the only other Ferrari in the grid. Klaus Abbelen was 11th overall in the SP9 AM entry.  Respectable place for the 63 year-old. who was taking on the four-hour event solo.

About halfway around the iconic Karussel hairpin, the No.189 BMW M4 GT4 hit the wall and was stuck on the outside. That led to another Code 60 going into and through the corner.

The No.921 Cup 2 car went into the pits for service. With more than an hour to go, their single tank of fuel should be sufficient to run.

Lulham in the No.31 Ferrari remained strong in the front, as the final hour approached. Though that did not last long, as Lulham lost 30 seconds to Kolb in the last lap, with the gap decreased at 40 seconds.

Debris spotted all over the track on the Döttinger straight, the source of it was undetermined.

The third-placed No.9 has passed the sister car for second, before it pitted. Meanwhile, the No.49 Golf pitted too but with leaked fluid from the car.

No.31 Ferrari also went into the pits, but only for tyres and refuelling. Lulham will be the one to go all out for the final stint.

The No.9 Ford of Jann Mardenborough raced to the second row, narrowing the gap to over 20 seconds. The No.6 was in third, 51 seconds behind the leader, while the No.22 Audi of Kolb had mere seconds behind him.

Lulham sped through the three sectors on this lap, which led to extending the gap once again. Another sign of how unpredictable the final hour would be.

Benjamin Leuchter in the No.22 Audi gained pace advantage, which led to a mere three seconds gap with the third-placed the No.6 Ford. But the overtaking the Mustang will be challenging with its straight line speed.

The final ten minutes were tense as expected. The No.31 Ferrari of Verstappen and Lulham had an approximate 30 second gap to the No.9 behind. The No.6 and No.22 were also battling each other on track for the top spots.

The Audi and the Ford were millimetres away from each other as they battled through traffic. It went to a momentary pause due to slow zone before continuing the battle.

Chris Lulham brilliantly crossed the chequered flag for the No.31 Ferrari, the first win for teammate Max Verstappen. The No.9 followed behind in second as the Audi attempted to overtake for third but was unable to do so as a recovery vehicle was in the way. 

Hence, the Audi had to settle for fourth, while Kolb had the upper hand in third. 

The No.909 ended up holding on by just four tenths of a second approaching the finish line. The Cup 2 class win was instead handed over to the No.921 from sixth overall.