GetSpeed Team PCX Racing delivered a brilliant Qualifying performance to secure pole position for the first-ever 2026 Michelin 12H Nürburgring. The Michelin 24H SERIES European Series championship leaders controlled the fight at the Nürburgring GP Circuit, as Benjamin Paque produced the decisive lap in Q3.
Jordan Boisson, Mikaël Grenier and Paque combined superbly in the No.28 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. As a result, GetSpeed Team PCX Racing claimed both GT3 and GT3 PRO-AM pole on home ground for the penultimate round of the 2026 season.
The decisive moment came in Q3, when Paque recovered from a trip through the gravel at the Schumacher S. After resetting behind the wheel, he responded with a searing 1m52.729s to seal pole.
Saintéloc Junior Team completes the front row
Saintéloc Junior Team will line up alongside GetSpeed Team PCX Racing on the front row for the opening six hours of the Michelin 12H Nürburgring. Stephane Tribaudini, Elia Erhart and Pierre Kaffer shared qualifying duties in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II.
The gap to the pole-sitting Mercedes was half a second, although Saintéloc remained a strong contender throughout the three GT3 qualifying sessions.
Proton Competition qualified third with its Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO. Constantin Dressler, Manuel Lauck and Joel Sturm combined to place the car ahead of the impressive championship debutants Up2Race.
Fabio Grosse, Oleksiy Kikireshko and Tim Heinemann qualified fourth for Up2Race, only 0.2 seconds slower than Proton Competition on aggregate times.
GT3 Qualifying delivers late laps and GetSpeed control at 2026 Michelin 12H Nürburgring
Session one for the GT3 runners remained closely matched throughout the 15 minutes. In the final seconds, Tribaudini placed the Saintéloc Junior Team Audi on provisional pole with a 1m54.364s, after the team chose to enter the session fairly late.
Boisson ended the session little more than a tenth behind in the GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes. Meanwhile, GetSpeed’s Team JR286-badged Mercedes sat third, with Steve Jans only six hundredths further back.
Dressler placed the Proton Competition Porsche fourth in Q1, narrowly shading Dominic Ang in the Viper Niza Racing Mercedes by just 0.002s.
In Q2, Grosse initially moved Up2Race onto provisional pole with a strong 1m54.115s in the No.88 Porsche. However, Grenier quickly took control in the No.28 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes.
Grenier reeled off a series of excellent laps before ending the session with a 1m52.778s. That effort gave GetSpeed Team PCX Racing a healthy half-second cushion on aggregate times heading into the final session.
Erhart kept Saintéloc Junior Team second on average times after producing a 1m53.922s, while Lauck placed Proton Competition third. Yannick Redant then pushed Up2Race back to fifth on aggregate times after setting a 1m54.114s in the Ajith RedAnt Racing Mercedes.
A strong Q3
Heading into Q3, it looked like GetSpeed Team PCX Racing’s pole to lose. Paque rose to the challenge, despite a mid-session trip through the gravel after the car got loose at the Schumacher S.
The Belgian responded with a 1m52.729s, shading Grenier’s Q2 effort and confirming GT3 pole. Kaffer’s 1m53.413s ensured Saintéloc Junior Team secured a front-row start, while Sturm’s 1m53.310s put Proton Competition at the head of the Porsche battle.
Heinemann still impressed for Up2Race, lapping slightly quicker than Sturm in Q3 with a 1m53.197s, although the team remained fourth on aggregate.
GetSpeed also secured GT3 AM pole with the Team JR286-badged Mercedes-AMG. Jans, Tanner Harvey and Patrick Liddy shared qualifying duties in the No.286 car.
Mühlner Motorsport edges HRT Performance in 992 fight
Mühlner Motorsport claimed 992 pole after an impossibly close battle with HRT Performance. The category points leaders shaded the 992-AM class runners by just 0.014 seconds on average times.
Fabian Danz made the early running for Red Camel-Jordans.nl in Q1, but Joshua Bednarski moved the No.921 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992 I) to the top halfway through the session.
Bednarski delivered a 1m58.074s to set the pace and underline Mühlner Motorsport’s intentions. Igor Sorokin then moved the No.928 HRT Performance car into second with a strong 1m58.879s, pushing Danz back to third by half a tenth.
James Kellett immediately struck back for HRT Performance in Q2. His opening effort of 1m56.470s moved the HRT Porsche onto provisional pole, before he improved by another couple of tenths on his next lap.
However, Mühlner Motorsport stayed firmly in contention. Conrad Tox Leveau ended Q2 with a 1m57.582s, keeping the No.921 car inside the top two on aggregate times.
Martin Rump then climbed into the No.921 Porsche for Q3 and delivered a series of laps in the very low 1m57s bracket. That was enough to seal pole for Mühlner Motorsport by the smallest of margins.
Steven Gambrell improved consistently throughout Q3 for HRT Performance and eventually posted a 1m57.647s. The lap secured 992-AM pole but left the team just short of outright 992 pole.
Red Camel-Jordans.nl secured third on the overall 992 grid through Rik Breukers, while Sebastien Lajoux kept the No.888 Seblajoux Racing car fourth. Philip Hamprecht also impressed late on, setting a 1m56.424s in Q3 to grab fourth on the grid for RPM Racing.
Not Only Motorsport, Hofor Racing and KEO Racing secure class poles
Not Only Motorsport secured TCE-TCX pole with the Ligier JS2 R shared by Filippo Tornaghi, Gino Rocchio and Nathan Huet.
In the early stages, Cesar Fonseca topped the TCE-TCX times for asBest Racing in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS (982) with a 2m14.267s. However, Tornaghi steadily built up speed in Q1 before producing the fastest time of 2m11.821s.
Through Q2 and Q3, the Ligier dominated the class battle. Not Only Motorsport ultimately wrapped up pole position by more than three seconds.
asBest Racing will start second in TCE-TCX with the Porsche shared by Fonseca, Silas Passos and Alexandre Dante.
Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport claimed GT4 pole with its BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82). Martin Kroll, Michael Bonk, Claudia Hürtgen and Elia Weiss combined for an aggregate time of 2m05.148s.
Meanwhile, KEO Racing impressed on its Michelin 24H SERIES debut. Adrian Kunzle and Kevin Madsen put the team’s Ligier JS2 RS on GTX pole after a strong first appearance in the series.
Anticipation builds for the first Michelin 12H Nürburgring
With Qualifying complete, attention now turns to the first-ever Michelin 12H Nürburgring. The opening six hours will begin at 12:00 local time on Saturday, 4 July.
Following an overnight break, the concluding six hours will start at 12:00 local time on Sunday, 5 July.
GetSpeed Team PCX Racing starts from the best possible position after a superb home qualifying performance. However, Saintéloc Junior Team, Proton Competition, Up2Race and the Team JR286 entry all have strong platforms from which to challenge.
The race should also deliver close battles in 992, 992-AM, GTX, GT4 and TCE-TCX. After a dramatic Qualifying session featuring tight margins, standout laps and Paque’s gravel-to-pole recovery, the Michelin 12H Nürburgring is set for a fiercely contested penultimate round of the 2026 Michelin 24H SERIES European Series.
