Mattia Drudi set the pace in Top Qualifying 1 for the 2026 Nürburgring 24h, putting the #34 natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO at the top of the timesheets.
Drudi produced an 8:12.135 around the Nordschleife to lead the session and give Aston Martin a strong start to the event’s decisive qualifying phase. The Italian finished 2.262 seconds clear of Fabio Scherer, who placed the #64 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO second.
Although conditions had improved around the circuit, drivers still faced a demanding track. Damp asphalt remained in the fast Fuchsröhre section, so the field had to balance aggression with precision across the Nordschleife.
Top Qualifying 1 featured 49 cars from the SP9, SP11, AT1, SP-Pro and SP-X categories. The 30-minute format allowed multiple flying laps, which meant teams and drivers had to manage tyre preparation, traffic and track evolution throughout the session.
Pre-qualified cars change the pressure
Before Top Qualifying 1 began, five crews had already secured direct progression to Top Qualifying 3 through Pre-Qualifying. Therefore, those entries could approach the session with less pressure than the rest of the field.
The group included the #1 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello, Jordan Pepper and Kelvin van der Linde. The #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II of Christopher Haase, Alexander Sims and Ben Green also held a direct place.
In addition, the #45 REALIZE KONDO RACING with Rinaldi Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo26 of David Perel, Dennis Marschall, Thierry Vermeulen and Thomas Neubauer had already reached Top Qualifying 3. The #47 KCMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Nirei Fukuzumi, Naoya Gamou, Jesse Krohn and David Pittard and the #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Luca Engstler, Mirko Bortolotti and Patric Niederhauser completed the pre-qualified list.
Those cars could still take part in Top Qualifying 1. However, their guaranteed places affected the battle behind them, as other contenders fought for the remaining progression spots.
Early incidents interrupt fast laps at the 2026 24h Nürburgring Top Qualifying 1
The session quickly delivered drama. Michele Di Martino crashed the #33 KKrämer Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II at the Veedol chicane, which brought out yellow flags and disrupted early qualifying attempts.
Soon after, van der Linde suffered a scare in the #1 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO at Brünnchen. He slid onto the grass and stopped facing the wrong direction, but he recovered the car and rejoined the circuit.
Despite those early interruptions, the pace increased rapidly. As tyres came into their working window and drivers gained confidence, the order began to change almost every lap.
Scherer sets the early benchmark
Scherer moved to the top after approximately 12 minutes with an 8:14.397 in the #64 Ford Mustang. Julien Andlauer followed closely in the #17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Drudi placed the #34 Aston Martin third during the early runs.
However, the times continued to fall. Kevin Estre briefly moved ahead in the #911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R before rivals responded.
Nicky Catsburg then put the #130 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 into contention. Pavel Lefterov also improved in the #7 Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini, while Luca Stolz pushed the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG GT3 towards the front.
Meanwhile, Sheldon van der Linde faced a tense session in the #99 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO. He initially sat outside the top 20 before improving and moving back into the progression places.
The cut-off battle intensifies
As the clock ran down, the fight around the transfer positions became increasingly unstable. Vermeulen improved in the already-qualified #45 Ferrari, which tightened the effective cut-off and placed extra pressure on those still chasing progression.
Christopher Lulham then advanced in the #26 PROsport Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Bastian Buus also found time in the #54 Dinamic GT Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Christer Jöns moved the #71 JUTA Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II into contention.
With less than two minutes remaining, Estre climbed back up the order in the #911 Manthey Porsche. Lucas Auer also delivered a strong lap in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and moved into the top five.
Alexander Sims then placed the already-qualified #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi fourth overall. As a result, the effective progression picture shifted again in the final moments.
Drudi delivers the decisive lap
Drudi eventually settled the fight for top spot with his 8:12.135. The lap gave the #34 Aston Martin the fastest time of Top Qualifying 1 and underlined the pace of natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport.
Scherer finished second in the #64 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, while Catsburg secured third in the #130 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
Sims placed fourth in the #16 Audi, although that car had already secured direct progression to Top Qualifying 3. Auer completed the top five in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Ford and Porsche remain in contention
Colin Caresani took sixth in the #65 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, giving Ford a second car inside the top six. Stolz followed in seventh for Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL.
Estre finished eighth in the #911 Manthey Porsche, ahead of Christopher Mies in the #67 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO. Lefterov completed the top 10 in the #7 Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
Further back, Jens Klingmann impressed in the #81 BMW M Motorsport BMW M3 Touring 24h. He placed 11th overall and led the SP-X category. Philipp Eng followed in 12th in the #77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO, while Felipe Fernandez Laser took 13th in the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO.
Final places fall into order at the 2026 24h Nürburgring Top Qualifying 1
Sheldon van der Linde recovered to 14th in the #99 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO after his earlier spell outside the safe zone. Tobias Müller also progressed in the #48 48 LOSCH MOTORSPORT by Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Benjamin Leuchter advanced in the #75 Max Kruse Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II and led the AT1 runners. Lulham, Buus, Ricardo Feller and Vermeulen also finished inside the relevant group.
However, Vermeulen and Sims had already booked Top Qualifying 3 places before the session. Therefore, Jay Mo Härtling in the #11 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Jöns in the #71 JUTA Racing Audi also moved into Top Qualifying 2.
Qualifying battle continues at the Nürburgring
Top Qualifying 1 delivered a tense opening stage in the fight for the leading Nürburgring 24 Hours grid positions. Changing track conditions, yellow flags and late improvements kept the order in motion until the chequered flag.
Drudi led the way with a commanding lap for Aston Martin, while Ford, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG and BMW all kept contenders in the mix. The result now sets up the next stage of qualifying, where the battle for the final shootout will intensify.
Results: Top Qualifying 1 at the 2026 24h Nürburgring (Provisional): Drivers through to Top Qualifying 2
Top 22 after Top Qualifying 1 at the 2026 24h Nürburgring (Provisional)
- #34 Christian Krognes/Mattia Drudi/Nicki Thiim/Felipe Fernandez Laser – Walkenhorst Motorsport – Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
- #64 Arjun Maini/Fabio Scherer/David Schumacher/Frank Stippler – HRT Ford Racing – Ford Mustang GT3 EVO
- #130 Marco Mapelli/Nicky Catsburg/Nicholas Yelloly – Red Bull Team ABT – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
- #16 Christopher Haase/Alexander Sims/Ben Green – Scherer Sport PHX – Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II
- #3 Max Verstappen/Lucas Auer/Jules Gounon/Daniel Juncadella – Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing – Mercedes-AMG GT3
- #65 Hubert Haupt/Vincent Kolb/David Schumacher/Colin Caresani – HRT Ford Racing – Ford Mustang GT3 EVO
- #80 Maro Engel/Luca Stolz/Fabian Schiller/Maxime Martin – Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL – Mercedes-AMG GT3
- #911 Kevin Estre/Ayhancan Güven/Thomas Preining/Matt Campbell – Manthey Racing – Porsche 911 GT3 R
- #67 Dennis Olsen/Christopher Mies/Frederic Vervisch/Frank Stippler – HRT Ford Racing – Ford Mustang GT3 EVO
- #7 Patricija Stalidzane/Maximilian Paul/Christian Engelhart/Pavel Lefterov – Franz Konrad – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
- #81 Jens Klingmann/Ugo de Wilde/Connor de Phillippi/Neil Verhagen – BMW M Motorsport – BMW M3 Touring 24h
- #77 Marco Wittmann/Philipp Eng/Charles Weerts/Robin Frijns – Schubert Motorsport – BMW M4 GT3 EVO
- #35 Felipe Fernandez Laser/Mateo Villagómez/Dennis Fetzer/Stefan Aust – Walkenhorst Motorsport – Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
- #99 Daniel Harper/Max Hesse/Sheldon van der Linde/Dries Vanthoor – ROWE RACING – BMW M4 GT3 EVO
- #48 Daan Arrow/Patrick Assenheimer/Tobias Müller/Dylan Pereira – 48 LOSCH MOTORSPORT by Black Falcon – Porsche 911 GT3 R
- #75 Dominik Fugel/Marcel Fugel/Benjamin Leuchter/Tom Coronel – Max Kruse Racing – Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II
- #26 Adam Christodoulou/Christopher Lulham/Mikaël Grenier/Marek Böckmann – PROsport racing – Mercedes-AMG GT3
- #54 Bastian Buus/Michael Christensen/Joel Sturm/Loek Hartog – Dinamic GT – Porsche 911 GT3 R
- #24 Laurin Heinrich/Laurens Vanthoor/Ricardo Feller – Lionspeed GP – Porsche 911 GT3 R
- #45 David Perel/Dennis Marschall/Thierry Vermeulen/Thomas Neubauer – REALIZE KONDO RACING with Rinaldi – Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo26
- #44 Klaus Bachler/Tim Heinemann/Sven Müller/Morris Schuring – Falken Motorsports – Porsche 911 GT3 R
- #11 Kenneth Heyer/Jannes Fittje/Jay Mo Härtling/Philip Ellis – Schnitzelalm Racing – Mercedes-AMG GT3
