Schubert Motorsport secured a dramatic victory in Round 8 of the 2026 ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), defeating Falken Motorsports by just 0.308s after four hours of racing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Jens Klingmann, Jordan Pepper and Ugo de Wilde completed 27 laps aboard the No. 77 BMW M4 GT3 EVO and survived relentless pressure from Tim Heinemann and Morris Schuring in the No. 44 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. The victory came one round after Schubert finished second behind Winward Racing during the six-hour NLS7 contest.
Meanwhile, Dominik Fugel, Marcel Fugel and Benjamin Leuchter completed a historic overall podium for Max Kruse Racing. As the official NLS report highlighted, their No. 75 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II became the first GT3 car running on E20 fuel to finish on an overall NLS podium.
Gamota Racing takes closely contested NLS8 pole
The competition remained extremely close before the race even began, with only ten seconds separating the fastest 12 cars during Qualifying.
Antal Zsigo, Moritz Kranz and David Jahn secured pole position for Gamota Racing after recording a 7:53.343 in the No. 23 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. The NLS weekend report confirmed the BMW at the head of the field for the four-hour 65th ADAC Reinoldus Endurance Race.
However, Dunlop Motorsport encountered an early setback. A collision during Qualifying affected the No. 17 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Nico Menzel and Flynt Schuring, and the crew dropped from eighth to 11th on the starting grid.
The penalty created an additional challenge for the Porsche pairing, although they subsequently produced one of the strongest recovery drives of the race.
Pepper takes NLS8 lead at the start
Gamota Racing’s pole advantage disappeared almost immediately once the race began.
Pepper attacked at the AMG Arena and moved the Schubert Motorsport BMW into the lead ahead of the pole-sitting No. 23 Gamota Racing entry. The two BMWs remained closely matched during the opening phase as traffic began to influence proceedings around the Nordschleife.
Their battle included another aggressive move at Schwedenkreuz as Schubert attempted to maintain control. However, varying pit strategies soon began to reshape the overall order and brought several additional contenders into the fight, as detailed in the official NLS8 race account.
Behind the leaders, trouble immediately affected two SP9 competitors. The No. 64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3 of Vincent Kolb and Frank Stippler made contact with the No. 5 BLACK FALCON Team EAE Porsche at the AMG Arena.
The Porsche spun but continued, while the Ford’s race ended prematurely. BLACK FALCON subsequently recovered from the incident and remained in contention for SP9 Am honours.
Falken moves to the front through pit strategy
The first sequence of pit stops shifted momentum towards Falken Motorsports.
Heinemann and Schuring moved the No. 44 Porsche into the overall lead after the opening round of stops and remained major contenders throughout the remainder of the race.
Different stint lengths repeatedly altered the order. Schubert remained firmly involved, while Max Kruse Racing extended its own pit windows and temporarily moved the No. 75 Audi into first during multiple phases of the contest.
Unlike Winward Racing’s commanding NLS7 victory, the eighth round remained finely balanced between the leading contenders throughout the four hours.
Falken also demonstrated its outright pace. The official NLS8 classification recorded a 7:55.730 fastest race lap for the No. 44 Porsche, narrowly quicker than Schubert’s 7:55.804.
Max Kruse Racing makes E20 history
While Schubert and Falken fought for outright victory, Max Kruse Racing produced a landmark result with the No. 75 Audi.
The team used extended first and third stints to place Leuchter and the Fugel brothers at the head of the field during parts of the race. Their strategy kept the Audi among the overall leaders rather than simply challenging for AT1 honours.
Although Schubert and Falken eventually moved clear, Max Kruse Racing remained comfortably positioned for third. The NLS race report confirmed the result as the first overall podium for a GT3 car competing on E20 fuel.
The trio completed 27 laps and finished 1m02.486s behind the winners. Their result also delivered an emphatic AT1 class victory, while the sister No. 11 Audi finished further down the order.
Final stop sets up Schubert-Falken showdown
The fight for victory reached its decisive stage after the final pit sequence.
Schubert reclaimed first place on lap 24, leaving only a few laps for Falken to respond. However, Heinemann and Schuring refused to allow the BMW to escape and remained directly behind throughout the final phase.
The Porsche stayed within striking distance as both cars negotiated slower traffic around the Nordschleife. Klingmann appeared to have created enough breathing room on the Döttinger Höhe during the final lap, but traffic once again reduced his advantage and allowed Falken to close before the chequered flag.
The official race result recorded Schubert’s winning time as 4h04m36.995s, with Falken crossing the line only 0.308s later.
The victory also reversed Schubert’s fortunes following another exceptionally close finish earlier in the season, while Klingmann described the battle as the type of racing competitors and spectators want to see.
Winward takes fourth after NLS7 victory
Winward Racing could not repeat its dominant performance from the previous round but still secured fourth overall with the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Fabian Schiller and Jay Mo Härtling completed all 27 laps for Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL and finished 1m11.509s behind Schubert. According to the NLS8 results, the Mercedes crossed the line just over nine seconds behind Max Kruse Racing.
The No. 80 entered NLS8 following Luca Stolz and Ralf Aron’s commanding NLS7 victory for Winward Racing, where the Mercedes finished almost 40 seconds ahead of Schubert.
However, the shorter NLS8 contest produced a significantly tighter battle and different driver combinations across several of the leading entries.
Dunlop recovers to fifth
Menzel and Flynt Schuring completed their recovery from the Qualifying incident by bringing the No. 17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche home in fifth.
The pairing had fallen to 11th on the starting grid but steadily recovered throughout the four-hour race. They eventually completed 27 laps in 4h06m05.206s, 1m28.211s behind the winning BMW.
Their result gave Porsche two cars inside the top five, with Falken second and Dunlop fifth in the final classification.
BLACK FALCON wins both SP9 support categories
LOSCH Motorsport by BLACK FALCON continued its strong run in SP9 Pro-Am as Patrick Assenheimer, Tobias Müller and Dylan Pereira secured the class victory.
The No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO finished sixth overall and only 0.529s behind the Dunlop Motorsport Porsche. Walkenhorst Motorsport followed in seventh overall and second in Pro-Am through Christian Krognes, Dennis Fetzer and Mateo Villagomez.
Car Collection Motorsport completed the top three in Pro-Am with Florian Spengler, Nico Hantke and Christer Jöns in eighth overall. The complete NLS8 classification placed the three Pro-Am entries consecutively inside the overall top eight.
Meanwhile, BLACK FALCON Team EAE completed an impressive recovery to win SP9 Am.
Daan Arrow, Mustafa Mehmet Kaya and Mike Stursberg had lost ground during the opening-lap contact with the Haupt Racing Team Mustang. Nevertheless, the No. 5 Porsche recovered to 11th overall and claimed its class victory.
BLACK FALCON and Smyrlis take Porsche class wins
BLACK FALCON also celebrated victory in the competitive Cup 2 category.
Alexander Hardt, Benjamin Hites and Benjamin Koslowski brought the No. 900 BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN Porsche 911 GT3 Cup home 13th overall and first in class. The official result sheet placed the No. 904 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche second in Cup 2 ahead of the No. 902 Team LIQUI MOLY by BLACK FALCON entry.
Smyrlis Racing, meanwhile, claimed another Cup 3 victory through championship contenders Oskar Sandberg and Alexander Fielenbach.
The No. 953 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS completed 25 laps and finished 26th overall, maintaining the crew’s championship challenge.
BMW M2 battle produces second photo finish
Schubert and Falken did not provide the only exceptionally close finish of NLS8.
Ranko Mijatovic and Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport won the BMW M2 Racing class after another photo finish. The No. 888 BMW crossed the line just 0.352s ahead of the No. 877 car driven by Marc David Müller and Henrik Seibel.
The race classification placed the two BMWs 54th and 55th overall respectively after four hours of racing.
Mijatovic’s winning time stood at 4h08m16.806s, while Müller and Seibel finished in 4h08m17.158s.
Adrenalin and Smyrlis keep title fight unchanged
The overall NLS championship battle also remained finely balanced after Round 8.
Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich and Sven Markert continued their unbeaten class run for Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels in the No. 650 BMW M240i Racing Cup entry.
However, closest title rivals Sandberg and Fielenbach responded with their Cup 3 victory for Smyrlis Racing. As the official NLS report explained, both championship contenders therefore collected maximum points and maintained the existing order at the top of the standings.
With the final rounds approaching, neither crew gained a decisive advantage during the opening half of the September double-header.
2026 NLS8 top 10 results
The full NLS8 race result confirmed Schubert Motorsport at the head of a closely contested top 10:
- No. 77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Jens Klingmann / Jordan Pepper / Ugo de Wilde — 27 laps — 4h04m36.995s
- No. 44 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R — Tim Heinemann / Morris Schuring — +0.308s
- No. 75 Max Kruse Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II — Marcel Fugel / Dominik Fugel / Benjamin Leuchter — +1m02.486s — AT1 winner
- No. 80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 — Fabian Schiller / Jay Mo Härtling — +1m11.509s
- No. 17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R — Nico Menzel / Flynt Schuring — +1m28.211s
- No. 48 LOSCH Motorsport by BLACK FALCON Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO — Patrick Assenheimer / Tobias Müller / Dylan Pereira — +1m28.740s — SP9 Pro-Am winner
- No. 35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO — Christian Krognes / Dennis Fetzer / Mateo Villagomez — +2m07.429s
- No. 22 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II — Florian Spengler / Nico Hantke / Christer Jöns — +4m36.597s
- No. 32 Toyo Tires with Ring Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 — Yuichi Nakayama / Andreas Gülden / Tim Sandtler / Giuliano Alesi — +5m10.131s
- No. 123 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO — Martin Rump / Ben Bünnagel / Noah Nagelsdiek — +5m41.052s
The classification recorded 131 starters and 99 classified finishers.
NLS9 follows immediately
Teams have little time to recover before returning to action for the second half of the weekend double-header.
The NLS schedule places the 66th ADAC ACAS Cup on Sunday, with Qualifying beginning at 08:30 before another four-hour race starts at 12:00.
Schubert Motorsport therefore carries momentum directly into NLS9 after defeating Falken by one of the smallest margins of the 2026 season. Meanwhile, Adrenalin Motorsport and Smyrlis Racing remain locked together in their fight for the overall championship as the season moves towards its final rounds.
