Gamota Racing locks out the NLS10 front row with both BMWs

Gamota Racing will start the last NLS race of 2026 from the front row with both of its cars. The #23 BMW M4 GT3 EVO took pole position for the 2. NLS Sportwarte-Trophy with a 9:03.855 on Saturday morning, 1.847 seconds faster than the team’s #36. The #44 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was third, 4.720 seconds off the pole time. According to the provisional entry list, Antal Zsigo, Moritz Kranz and David Jahn share the #23, while Zsigo, Csaba Walter and Dennis Fetzer share the #36. Tim Heinemann and Sven Müller drive the Falken Porsche.

RNT-Motorsports is at the Nürburgring for the season finale. Antal Zsigo, team boss and driver in both cars, told us at the track that it was really emotional to have both of his cars in first and second place in qualifying.

A BMW one-two ahead of Falken

The two Gamota BMWs run in different categories. The #23 is the fastest SP9 Pro-Am car, the #36 tops SP9 Am. Falken’s #44, the car that won NLS9 in the wet, is the quickest of the Pro entries. The #26 PROsport Racing Mercedes-AMG and the #75 Max Kruse Racing Audi R8, fastest in AT1, complete the top five.

Source: official VLN live timing, provisional, Saturday 10 October 2026. The top 19 and every class pole are on our NLS10 results page.

Schubert Motorsport, winner of the NLS8 photo finish, starts from 15th with the #77 BMW, 28.164 seconds off pole.

Speed Trophy settled in qualifying

That grid slot no longer matters much for Schubert’s Speed Trophy. The #77 went into the weekend on 158 points, the #48 LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche on 120. The trophy gives 35 points for an overall win and 3, 2 and 1 bonus points to the three fastest cars in qualifying, with no dropped results. The #48 qualified ninth, so the bonus points went to the #23, the #36 and the #44. Even a win would now take the #48 to 155 points, three short of the #77. On our reading of the rules, Schubert has won the Speed Trophy before the race has started, pending the official classification.

Class pole for the championship leaders

The overall title is decided in the classes. Championship leaders Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich and Sven Markert put the #650 Adrenalin Motorsport BMW M240i on pole in their class with a 10:31.115, ahead of the #664 (10:33.516) and the #665 (10:34.937). A class win this afternoon makes them champions.

Their only remaining rivals, Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg, start third in Cup3 with the #953 Smyrlis Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, after a 10:07.905. The #962 W&S Motorsport Cayman (10:05.139) and the #959 SRS Team Sorg Rennsport Cayman (10:05.750) are ahead of them. Smyrlis need a class win and the #650 no better than second to tie on points, and the tie-break would then favour the Cayman crew. All scenarios are in our title preview, and the points system is explained in How NLS Championship Points Work.

A last start for Ingo Oepen

In SP4, the #254 BMW 346C of Ingo Oepen and Henrik Launhardt qualified with a 13:23.458. Oepen, driver and team boss, has announced that this is his last race after 24 years.

Our read

A front-row lockout for a privateer team, at the last race of the year, ahead of Falken, Schubert and the other factory-supported cars, is not something you see every weekend. Qualifying on the Nordschleife is about one clean lap though, and four hours of traffic is a different job. The BMW M240i pole matters more for the title: starting at the front of a crowded class keeps the #650 crew out of the trouble that cost them their lead in September.

What to watch in the race

• The start at 12:00 CEST. Can the two Gamota BMWs stay ahead of the #44 Falken Porsche on the opening lap?
• The #650. After the fuel pump failure in NLS9, reliability is the question, not speed.
• Cup3. The #953 has to pass two Caymans to give itself a title chance.
• The #254. Ingo Oepen’s final laps after 24 years.

Can Gamota Racing turn its front-row lockout into a win, or will Falken or Schubert spoil the party? Tell us in the comments.