Nurburgring 24h Qualifiers: BMW on pole, Max Verstappen's Mercedes under investigation

Motorsport photo

The #24 Gamota BMW #23 secured pole position on Saturday during qualifying for the first race of the 2026 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers, surprising many of the favoured teams.

David Jahn set a time of 8m09.488s early in the session, which was temporarily interrupted, and none of the rivals could beat it.

The #3 Winward Mercedes of Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer finished in sixth, but it is still uncertain whether the car will start from that position after race control launched an investigation.

Auer had collided with the #941 Porsche Cayman from Team Adrenalin in the Hohe Acht section during a failed overtaking attempt. The incident will be reviewed by the stewards after qualifying. Possible penalties include a grid drop or a stop-and-go during the race.

The fastest time from the Gamota BMW wasn’t the only surprise in qualifying. In second place was the #11 Schnitzelalm Mercedes, a Pro-Am entry in the GT3 SP9 class, which is not expected to contend for overall victory in the race.

Third place went to the #47 KCMG Mercedes #47, which had taken pole position in the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS) just a week earlier. Fourth place was claimed by another Pro-Am GT3 car, the #48 Black Falcon Porsche #48.

#3 Winward Mercedes

#3 Winward Mercedes

In the following positions came the #80 Winward Mercedes, followed by its sister #3 car. Completing the top 10 were the #84 Abt Lamborghini, the #16 Scherer-Phx Audi #16, the #7 Konrad Lamborghini and the #134 Muhlner Porsche. Manthey Porsche's #911 “Grello” narrowly missed out, finishing 12th.

Sixteen minutes after the start, qualifying was red-flagged for around 50 minutes. The stoppage was caused by an accident involving Anders Buchardt in the #36 Walkenhorst Aston  Martin #39 at Adenauer Forst. In the left-hand corner at the entry to that section, the Norwegian driver hit the kerb too hard on the inside, lost control of the car, and crashed into the barriers.