The Nürburgring 24 Hour is one of the craziest races in the world, with several different classes of cars that have widely varying speeds all competing on the most treacherous race track in the world. It may be the only race in the world where you can see a factory-backed BMW M4 GT3 EVO running in the same race as an E36 3 Series. BMW had 38 total cars in the 161-car field in this year’s race, and though they were not able to defend their 2025 win, there were two BMWs in the top five, including the fan-favorite M3 Touring.
The BMWs competing in the top SP 9 (GT3) class at the ‘Ring 24 hour were all M4 GT3 EVOs from factory-backed teams. Defending winners ROWE Racing had two cars entered, Schubert Motorsport had one, all with works drivers in the lineup. Then there was the M3 Touring, which was entered under the BMW M Motorsport banner but also run by Schubert. It’s really a GT3 car but was entered in the SP-X class since there was no homologation done for an M4 GT3 EVO with a wagon/touring body.
Pre-race festivities at the ‘Ring are like no other.
In the several qualifying sessions for the race, the BMWs were quick in the first three but ended up having their fastest car (the #1 ROWE Racing entry) only ninth fastest in the top qualifying session. There were seven different manufacturers in the top 12, with Lamborghini in the top two spots to start the race. The Eifel region in Germany is known for drastic weather changes and rain is normal, but there was even hail that came down during the practice days this year.
The ‘Ring 24 hour always has a lot of attrition, but the 2026 race seemed to have more than normal, exacerbated by changing weather conditions. By the end of this year’s race, only 18 of 41 total GT3 entries finished. One of the BMWs that didn’t finish was the #1 ROWE Racing BMW of Kelvin van der Linde, Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello and Jordan Pepper, which was competitive in the race but had to retire around the ninth hour with a fuel tank issue. Dan Harper was also hit and spun on the first lap in the #99 ROWE Racing entry but was able to recover and continue.
The #99 ROWE RACING M4 GT3 EVO fought back from a first lap spin to finish fourth.
As the race progressed, the battle for the lead came down to the pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars entered by Winward Racing, including the #3 car that had four-time Formula 1 champ Max Verstappen behind the wheel. The two cars were going at it with no team orders in play, and Verstappen and Maro Engel (driving the sister #80 car) even had contact well into the race, with Engel having to go onto the grass to avoid a wreck. The #3 car also fell victim to the attrition at the ‘Ring, with driveshaft issues taking it out of the running with less than three hours to go, giving the lead and the win to the #80 Mecedes-AMG GT3.
Through the race, the #81 M3 Touring driven by Jens Klingmann, Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen proved to be a real sensation. Running in the SP-X class, the #81 was running in the top five overall for much of the race and ran as high as third at one point. The #99 ROWE Racing entry of Dan Harper, Max Hesses, Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor also battled back from the first lap spin to run as high as third toward the end of the race, despite both cars (the #81 and #99) having to serve 45-second penalties for yellow flag infringements.
The M3 Touring was a fan favorite and may race again this year.
After the checkered flag flew, the #81 M3 Touring finished in fifth overall and first in the SP-X class (which only had five cars entered). “We knew the car would be strong, but this result really shows how special this BMW M3 Touring 24H project was,” said Neil Verhagen. “Bringing the car into the top five overall and winning the class is something very special. It’s actually my best result here at the Nürburgring. In the end, it hurts a bit because we saw that the potential was there to maybe even fight for the overall podium but we didn’t have the necessary luck. Still, I’m very grateful to be part of the program and very happy to have driven the BMW M3 Touring 24H. I think it will definitely go down in history as one of, if not the coolest car ever to race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.”
Neil Verhagen exits the M3 Touring after a stint.
The #99 ROWE Racing M4 GT3 EVO had a strong comeback to finish one spot ahead of the #81 in fourth overall. “That’s obviously not the result we were hoping for,” said Dries Vanthoor. “For us, it started off a bit difficult; we were spun around in the first lap. Then we fought our way back into the top five, which was very strong. The team did an incredible job. They worked very hard all week, so a big thank you to them. It’s sad not to have given the crew a podium, but that’s how it is. We’ll be back next year.” The #77 Schubert Motorsport M4 GT3 EVO of Robin Frijns, Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng and Charles Weerts also finished in the top ten, in ninth.
The #77 Schubert Motorsport M4 GT3 EVO finished ninth.
On social media, BMW M Motorsport alluded to the M3 Touring racing again this year, but they didn’t say where or when. BMWs also won in eight classes, including the highly competitive SP 10 class for GT4-spec cars, which had 13 entries. Victory in that class went to the #145 E. Riller & Schnauck powered by Cerny Motorsport M4 GT4 EVO driven by Peter Cate, Joshua Bednarski, Tom Schütze and Jeroen Bleekemolen.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy SRO, Gruppe C Photography]
