Dunlop Motorsport secured its first Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie victory after Sven Müller held off Jens Klingmann by only 0.319 seconds in a dramatic conclusion to 2026 NLS6. Müller and Nico Menzel guided the No.17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R to victory in the inaugural ADAC Eifel Trophy. The result also delivered Porsche’s first NLS win of the 2026 season after the manufacturer claimed eight victories during the previous campaign.
Klingmann and Robin Frijns finished second in the No.77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Meanwhile, Patrick Assenheimer, Tobias Müller and Dylan Pereira completed the overall podium and won the SP9 Pro-Am class for the No.48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche.
Krognes places Walkenhorst Aston Martin on NLS6 pole
Christian Krognes entered the four-hour race from pole position after producing the fastest lap during a heavily interrupted 90-minute Qualifying session. The Norwegian recorded a 7:54.452 in the No.35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, giving himself and Mateo Villagomez the leading grid position. Krognes retained first place at the start and led the field into the opening corner.
However, the cars behind immediately began fighting for position. Adam Christodoulou moved the No.26 PROsport Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 past Klaus Bachler’s No.44 Falken Motorsports Porsche before taking second from Kamui Kobayashi in the No.47 KCMG Mercedes-AMG.
Further back, Frijns adopted an aggressive approach from the opening metres. He placed the Schubert BMW close to the pit wall before battling side by side with the Dunlop Porsche through the Grand Prix section.
Early battles bring the leading group together
Krognes and Christodoulou initially created a small advantage on the run towards the Döttinger Höhe. Behind them, Bachler passed Kobayashi for third as the battle among the leading GT3 cars intensified.
The No.23 Gamota Racing BMW then became caught between two Porsches in a three-wide fight. The Dunlop Porsche passed both cars on the left, while the No.48 Black Falcon Porsche ran onto the grass near Antoniusbuche but avoided a major accident. A lap later, the Dunlop crew attempted to pass KCMG. However, Frijns placed two wheels on the grass and swept past both cars, continuing Schubert Motorsport’s rapid progress through the order.
Meanwhile, Bachler closed onto the two leaders. A yellow flag in the Fuchsröhre then compressed the field and brought the leading five cars into close competition.
Penalties and incidents derail early contenders
The Gamota BMW’s race began to unravel on lap four of the 2026 NLS6 race. Frijns first overtook the No.23 before the BMW struck the No.471 Cupra León a few corners later. The incident earned Gamota Racing a drive-through penalty. Gravel thrown onto the circuit also caught out the No.6 Audi, which spun and narrowly avoided the stranded Cupra. The Audi spun at the same corner again two laps later.
Gamota Racing later received an additional stop-go penalty after breaching its prescribed minimum pit time by 18 seconds. The second sanction ended any realistic hope of recovering to the leading positions.
KCMG also lost touch with the front after Kobayashi struck the barrier during his stint. The incident cost the No.47 Mercedes-AMG approximately five minutes and removed another early contender from the overall victory battle.
Early pit stop pushes Dunlop and Schubert to the front
Strategy transformed the race at the end of lap six. While most of the leading cars continued for another lap, the Dunlop Porsche and Schubert BMW entered the pits together. NLS refuelling regulations gave both cars shorter minimum pit times because they stopped earlier. Consequently, they jumped ahead of their rivals and began the second stint at the front of the field.
The Schubert BMW emerged ahead of the Dunlop Porsche and briefly opened a gap. However, Sven Müller gradually closed onto Frijns and passed him shortly before both cars made their second of three scheduled stops.
The driver changes then placed Nico Menzel in the Dunlop Porsche and Jens Klingmann in the Schubert BMW. Menzel immediately established a strong rhythm and extended the lead beyond 20 seconds at one stage.
Behind them, Tim Heinemann pushed hard in the Falken Porsche. The No.44 sat around 45 seconds behind but attempted to reduce the deficit before the leading pair completed the longer stops required to offset their earlier strategic advantage.
Falken retirement removes a podium contender
Falken Motorsports remained in contention for a podium until the final quarter of the 2026 NLS6 race. However, a left-rear puncture forced Heinemann to stop the Porsche near Adenauer Forst on lap 21.
The retirement removed the team from a race in which Bachler and Heinemann had repeatedly demonstrated front-running pace. It also released Dunlop and Schubert from the threat of a third car entering their fight during the final pit sequence.
The Dunlop Porsche and Schubert BMW completed their final stops on the same lap. The No.17 retained first place, while Klingmann began the final stint with a significant gap to close.
Meanwhile, the Falken retirement promoted the No.48 Black Falcon Porsche into the final overall podium position and the lead of the SP9 Pro-Am category.
Klingmann launches late attack on Müller in 2026 NLS6
Müller returned to the Dunlop Porsche for the decisive stint and appeared to hold a manageable advantage. However, Klingmann steadily reduced the gap during the closing laps.
Traffic complicated the final stages as both drivers navigated slower cars around the Nordschleife. A late Code 60 period further reduced Müller’s advantage and gave Klingmann an opportunity to challenge.
The Schubert driver closed rapidly across the final two laps, while Müller attempted to protect the lead through dense traffic. Only 0.319 seconds separated the pair when they crossed the finish line after 27 laps.
Müller admitted that he had not expected such a narrow conclusion.
“I don’t think it could have been any closer. We certainly didn’t expect it to be this tight at the end.”
Menzel also experienced the tension from the garage as the late Code 60 changed the complexion of the final lap.
“My fingernails were completely frayed! My heart sank a bit when a Code 60 came out on the last lap.”
Despite the late pressure, Müller kept the Porsche ahead and secured his seventh overall NLS victory. Menzel celebrated his fifth, while Dunlop claimed its maiden win in the championship during its first season of competition.
Schubert settles for second after near photo finish
Klingmann and Frijns narrowly missed Schubert Motorsport’s second victory of the season. Nevertheless, their performance demonstrated the BMW’s pace from the opening lap through to the final metres.
Frijns produced several decisive overtakes during the early stages before the team’s pit strategy moved the car into the lead fight. Klingmann then delivered the late charge that created one of the closest finishes of the season.
Although the gap denied Schubert the victory, Klingmann remained positive about the result.
“It was definitely fun. There was a lot going on on the track, and everything was pretty messy out there. But yes, in the end, we finished P2. I think we can still be satisfied.”
The second-place finish kept Schubert among the leading teams as the championship entered the second half of the season.
Black Falcon completes 2026 NLS6 podium and takes Pro-Am victory
Assenheimer, Tobias Müller and Pereira completed a faultless race in the No.48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche.
The crew avoided the incidents that removed several early contenders and capitalised when Falken retired. Their consistency delivered third overall and victory in the SP9 Pro-Am category.
Pereira highlighted the physical demands created by the sweltering summer conditions.
“It was a hot race, but we fought our way through. In the end, we finished P3 overall and P1 in the Pro-Am class. We’re happy!”
The No.26 PROsport Mercedes-AMG finished fourth after Christodoulou’s aggressive opening stint placed the car among the early leaders. Jake Hill and Kyle Tilley completed the line-up.
Walkenhorst Motorsport took fifth after losing ground during the first pit-stop phase. The No.35 Aston Martin also surrendered fourth on the final lap when the PROsport Mercedes moved ahead.
Late incidents change several class battles in 2026 NLS6
Drama continued beyond the overall podium. In Cup 3, the No.959 SRS Team Sorg Rennsport Porsche led until it struck the barrier with approximately 25 minutes remaining.
The incident handed the class lead to the No.962 W&S Motorsport by Losch Porsche, which went on to win by several minutes.
The No.904 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup secured victory in Cup 2 with Nico Bastian and Martin Rump. Meanwhile, Raphael Rennhofer impressed in the No.902 Liqui Moly by Black Falcon Porsche, finishing second in class alongside Ryan Harrison and Leon Wassertheurer.
The ILN, race control and track commentators jointly selected Rennhofer as the Driver of the Race.
“Yes, that’s super cool! I was very satisfied with my own performance and felt that it was my best race so far on the Nordschleife. The fact that the officials noticed that too makes me proud.”
The SP9 Am battle also changed on the penultimate lap. The class-leading No.5 ran deep in the Grand Prix section and struck the barrier, allowing the No.786 Renazzo Motorsport Lamborghini to inherit victory.
BMW M240i Cup delivers another close finish
The BMW M240i Racing Cup produced its own late contest. Sven Markert, Edoardo Bugane, Tim Lukas Müller and Yannick Fübrich won the class in the No.651 Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels BMW.
Only 1.028 seconds separated the winners from Aiden Mulready, Joshua Hislop and James Breakell in the No.667 after more than four hours of racing.
The result also changed the championship picture. Bugane, Fübrich and Markert collected maximum points and moved into the sole lead with 60 points.
Their closest rivals suffered a costly setback when Oskar Sandberg crashed the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS at Schwalbenschwanz, forcing the car into retirement.
2026 NLS6 top five results
- No.17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R — Nico Menzel / Sven Müller — 27 laps
- No.77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Jens Klingmann / Robin Frijns — +0.319 seconds
- No.48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO — Patrick Assenheimer / Tobias Müller / Dylan Pereira — SP9 Pro-Am winner
- No.26 PROsport Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 — Adam Christodoulou / Jake Hill / Kyle Tilley
- No.35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO — Christian Krognes / Mateo Villagomez
Six-hour NLS highlight awaits
The NLS season continues with the KW 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen, which represents one of the campaign’s major endurance tests.
The six-hour contest increases the standard race duration by 50 per cent and offers additional championship points. Teams must therefore balance outright pace with reliability, traffic management and a more complex strategic approach.
Dunlop Motorsport will enter the event with new momentum after securing a historic first victory. However, Schubert’s final-lap charge demonstrated that little separates the leading crews as the NLS season moves into its decisive phase.
