Nürburgring 24 Hours: Max Verstappen debuts in the dark as hail hits the Nordschleife
Max Verstappen finished third on the opening day of running at the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Max Verstappen finally got his chance to drive the Nordschleife in the dark, logging time behind the wheel in tricky conditions in Nürburgring 24 Hours Qualifying 2.
Max Verstappen completes valuable Nürburgring 24 Hours night laps in heavy rain
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With Qualifying 2 merely a continuation of the first qualifying session held earlier in the day, the vastly different driving conditions meant there were no changes at the top in terms of overall pace.
While the afternoon session took place in brisk but largely dry conditions under a weak sun, the nighttime session was hit by heavy rain and hailstones, with fog also affecting visibility for large periods of the session.
This meant that Verstappen’s car, the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 operated by Winward Racing, finished qualifying in third place overall, with the car’s best time set by the Dutch driver himself with a 8:18.539 from the afternoon.
The fastest time was set by Maro Engel in the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol car, with second place going to the #1 Rowe Racing entry in the BMW M4 GT3, with the fastest time set by Raffaele Marciello.
With Verstappen having already secured his qualifying for the race by setting more than the minimum two timed laps requirement in the afternoon, the night session was all about his gaining experience in the dark, and he took over after Lucas Auer handled the early running as he racked up his timed laps requirement.
While Verstappen can point to plenty of experience at the Nordschleife by way of his entries in several NLS races in recent months, his one and only attempt at taking part in a night race was ended prematurely due to the tragedy that befell last month’s NL5 in which Juha Miettinen passed away following a crash.
Verstappen’s caution in the wet and dark conditions was evident, with the treachery of the conditions proven by visible aquaplaning and wayward moments for drivers up and down the field.
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While Qualifying 2 may have proven a relatively quiet and subdued session due to the rainy conditions, it also served as useful preparation for conditions that could hit again during the race itself on Saturday night.
The session will continue with Qualifying 3 on Saturday, while the top-class cars, including the leading SP9 category in which Verstappen is racing, will move on into competing in the Top Qualifying sessions.
In Top Qualifying 1, all vehicles entered in the SP9, SP-X, SP-PRO, and AT1 classes will compete, with the 20 fastest cars from this session moving on into Top Qualifying 2.
The top seven drivers from Top Qualifying 2 will then progress on into Top Qualifying 3, joined by the five automatically qualifying drivers that earned places by way of their results in the NLS rounds preceding the 24 Hours weekend.
A total of 12 drivers will thus take part in Top Qualifying 3, determining the top positions for the start of the 24-hour race on Saturday afternoon at 3pm local time.
Click here for the results from Qualifying: Nürburgring 24 Hours Results: Qualifying 2
- 80 Maro Engel 8:14.957 17 Mercedes-AMG GT3
- 2 1 Raffaele Marciello 8:18.069 03.112 16 BMW M4 GT3 EVO
- 3 3 Max Verstappen 8:18.539 03.582 16 Mercedes-AMG GT3
- 4 99 Daniel Harper 8:18.602 03.645 17 BMW M4 GT3 EVO
- 5 911 Ayhancan Güven 8:21.717 06.760 21 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26
- 6 130 Nicholas Yelloly 8:21.998 07.041 13 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
- 7 77 Robin Frijns 8:26.625 11.668 8 BMW M4 GT3 EVO
- 8 64 Arjun Maini 8:26.751 11.794 12 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO (2026)
- 9 16 Alexander Sims 8:27.080 12.123 13 Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II
- 10 17 Nico Menzel 8:27.176 12.219 15 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26
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