Ralf Aron completed a remarkable return to competition by winning the six-hour 2026 NLS7 alongside Luca Stolz in the No.80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The pair converted pole position into a commanding victory for Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol, completing 41 laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife and beating the No.77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO by 39.480 seconds. The result marked Aron’s first race since a heavy Bathurst 12 Hour accident in February left him with two fractured vertebrae and forced him to spend five months away from competition.
Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde and GT3 debutant Tim Tramnitz secured second for Schubert, while Patrick Assenheimer, Tobias Müller and Dylan Pereira completed the overall podium and claimed SP9 Pro-Am victory in the No.48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO.
Stolz controls the opening stint from pole
Stolz retained the lead at the start despite immediate pressure from Frank Stippler in the No.64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3. Behind them, Adam Christodoulou moved the debuting No.20 Era Motorsport Mercedes-AMG ahead of Moritz Kranz’s No.23 Gamota Racing BMW.
Tramnitz produced one of the strongest opening laps in the Schubert BMW, gaining three positions and climbing to fifth. Nico Menzel also advanced two places in the No.4 Goroyan RT by Car Collection Porsche, leaving the two cars fifth and sixth as the field completed its first tour.
However, several competitors encountered trouble during the opening phase. Selv spun the No.8 Juta Racing Audi at the AMG Arena on lap two before another spin at the Hohenrain chicane left the car stranded on the following tour. Meanwhile, a fire-extinguishing system issue forced the No.23 Gamota BMW into the pits on lap three and cost the team a lap.
The No.35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin also abandoned its planned stint after Christian Krognes encountered a suspension problem. Although the team later returned to the track, the lengthy repair removed it from contention.
Ford problem triggers contact with Era Mercedes
Stolz completed his first scheduled stop at the end of lap six, which temporarily handed the lead to Stippler. However, a technical problem immediately slowed the HRT Mustang and placed it directly in the path of the pursuing Era Motorsport Mercedes.
Christodoulou could not avoid the suddenly slower Ford, and the two cars made contact. The Mercedes moved into the lead but lost bodywork in the incident, while the Mustang also sustained significant damage. Both drivers continued to the end of lap seven before entering the pits, although the collision severely compromised their races.
Once the leading crews completed their first stops, Aron returned the No.80 Mercedes to the front. Menzel followed in the No.4 Porsche, while Dan Harper held third in the No.1 FK Performance Motorsport BMW.
Further back, Tramnitz continued his charge by passing Assenheimer for fourth. The Black Falcon Porsche then came under pressure from the No.25 Dörr Motorsport McLaren, which eventually moved ahead.
FK Performance strategy moves Lefterov into lead
FK Performance used an alternative pit strategy to change the order during the second round of stops. The No.1 BMW had completed an opening stint two laps shorter than several rivals, and that approach placed Pavel Lefterov ahead of Aron as the race approached its halfway point.
Lefterov emerged with an advantage of approximately eight seconds, but Aron quickly reduced the gap with superior pace. The Estonian caught the Bulgarian and reclaimed first place at the end of lap 18 before immediately beginning to pull clear.
By lap 20, Aron had rebuilt an eight-second lead. Meanwhile, Klingmann moved the Schubert BMW into third and created breathing room over the No.4 Goroyan Porsche and No.48 Black Falcon Porsche, which continued to contest the final podium position.
The No.1 BMW stopped again shortly after the halfway mark, with Leyton Fourie replacing Lefterov. The rest of the leading group followed during the next few laps as teams prepared for the decisive second half of the six-hour contest.
Winward maintains control through final stops
Stolz returned to the No.80 Mercedes and emerged approximately five seconds ahead of Klingmann. The Schubert driver remained within range, but Winward consistently responded whenever the BMW reduced the margin.
The leading Mercedes steadily strengthened its position as the race progressed. Stolz managed traffic, Code 60 zones and the final pit sequence without losing control, eventually bringing the car home almost 40 seconds clear. Winward completed the six-hour race in 6h06m54.895s and recorded a fastest lap of 7m55.363s.
The victory gave Aron the strongest possible conclusion to his recovery and returned the Nürburgring 24 Hours-winning Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol operation to the top step of the Nordschleife podium.
Schubert earns second with Tramnitz on GT3 debut
Schubert Motorsport secured another strong NLS result as Klingmann, De Wilde and Tramnitz completed 41 laps in second place.
Tramnitz immediately impressed during his first GT3 race on the Nordschleife, making rapid progress through the field during the opening stint. Klingmann then consolidated the team’s position during the later stages and kept the BMW clear of the battling Porsches behind.
Although Schubert occasionally reduced the gap to Winward, Stolz and Aron retained enough pace to respond. The No.77 crew eventually finished 22.054 seconds ahead of the third-placed Black Falcon Porsche.
Black Falcon takes podium and Pro-Am victory
Assenheimer, Müller and Pereira secured third overall and SP9 Pro-Am honours for Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon after a race-long fight with the No.4 Goroyan Porsche.
Alex Fontana moved the No.4 ahead during one of the middle stints and initially began to create a gap. However, the Black Falcon crew regained the position during the final phase and kept the rival Porsche behind to the chequered flag.
Pereira left the circuit after completing his stint to travel to his next event at Magny-Cours, while Assenheimer and Müller finished the race. The crew completed all 41 laps and crossed the line 1m01.534s behind the winners.
Artur Goroyan, Fontana and Menzel settled for fourth overall and second in SP9 Pro-Am. Nevertheless, the No.4 Porsche finished comfortably ahead of the battle for fifth.
FK Performance snatches fifth on final lap
FK Performance occupied the lead during the middle of the race, but its alternative strategy dropped the No.1 BMW behind the podium contenders during the later pit-stop cycles.
Fourie, Harper, Lefterov and Maxime Oosten continued to push and entered the final lap behind the No.123 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche. The BMW crew completed a late overtake to take fifth, relegating Martin Rump, Ben Bünnagel and Noah Nagelsdiek to sixth by only 2.196 seconds.
The Mühlner crew still completed the SP9 Pro-Am podium, finishing behind the No.48 and No.4 Porsches.
Renazzo wins dramatic SP9 Am contest
The SP9 Am battle remained undecided until the final lap as the No.786 Renazzo Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO II fought the No.5 Black Falcon Team E Porsche.
Sak Nana, Christoph Breuer and Thomas Mutsch kept the Lamborghini ahead to claim seventh overall and class victory. Mustafa Mehmet Kaya, Gabriele Piana and Mike Stursberg followed in eighth with the Black Falcon Porsche.
HRT recovered from its early technical trouble and collision to place the No.64 Ford ninth. Vincent Kolb and Stippler completed all 41 laps, although they finished more than six minutes behind Winward.
The No.992 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 Cup completed the overall top 10 and won the SP-Pro category with Björn Griesemann, Georg Griesemann and Marco Holzer. The official classification confirms the car number as No.992.
Black Falcon and Smyrlis prevail in Porsche classes
Black Falcon Team Zimmermann won the Cup 2 category with Alexander Hardt, Benjamin Hites and Benjamin Koslowski in the No.900 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The crew defeated the No.902 Liqui Moly by Black Falcon entry after an entertaining fight between Koslowski and Ryan Harrison.
The two cars exchanged the lead around Code 60 zones during the final two hours. Koslowski eventually established control and finished ahead of Harrison, Raphael Rennhofer and Leon Wassertheurer, while the No.901 SRS Team Sorg Rennsport Porsche completed the class podium.
Meanwhile, Oskar Sandberg and Alexander Fielenbach claimed their fourth Cup 3 victory of the year for Smyrlis Racing. The No.953 Porsche recovered from a drive-through penalty for a jump start and beat the two W&S Motorsport entries.
Adrenalin crew strengthens championship lead
Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich and Sven Markert continued their perfect class record with another victory for Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels.
The No.650 BMW M240i crew has won its category at every race this season and now leads the overall championship with 79 points. Fielenbach and Sandberg sit second with 64 points, while Anton Abée, Yannik Himmels and Jörg Viebahn occupy third on 56.
The championship does not use dropped scores this season, so every result will count as teams enter the closing rounds.
2026 NLS7 top 10 results
- No.80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 — Luca Stolz / Ralf Aron — 41 laps
- No.77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Jens Klingmann / Ugo de Wilde / Tim Tramnitz — +39.480s
- No.48 Losch Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO — Patrick Assenheimer / Tobias Müller / Dylan Pereira — +1m01.534s — SP9 Pro-Am winner
- No.4 Goroyan RT by Car Collection Porsche 911 GT3 R — Artur Goroyan / Alex Fontana / Nico Menzel — +1m52.534s
- No.1 FK Performance Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Leyton Fourie / Dan Harper / Pavel Lefterov / Maxime Oosten — +3m11.029s
- No.123 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO — Martin Rump / Ben Bünnagel / Noah Nagelsdiek — +3m13.225s
- No.786 Renazzo Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO II — Sak Nana / Christoph Breuer / Thomas Mutsch — +5m10.499s — SP9 Am winner
- No.5 Black Falcon Team E Porsche 911 GT3 R — Mustafa Mehmet Kaya / Gabriele Piana / Mike Stursberg — +6m10.726s
- No.64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3 — Vincent Kolb / Frank Stippler — +6m40.761s
- No.992 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 Cup — Björn Griesemann / Georg Griesemann / Marco Holzer — +7m06.153s — SP-Pro winner
The official classification recorded 132 starters, with 100 cars completing enough distance to earn classification.
NLS heads into summer break
The Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie will now enter a brief summer break before returning with a double-header on 12 and 13 September.
NLS8 and NLS9 will give teams two opportunities to score across the same weekend as the championship approaches its decisive stage
