NLS10 live: Dunlop Porsche leads at half distance, Gamota drops back
One hour into the NLS season finale, the #23 holds a narrow lead while the #36 has dropped to tenth and the title leaders head their class
Race in progress. Updated at 14:00 CEST, at half distance. The first-hour report follows below, and a full race report will follow after the finish at 16:00.
Update 14:00: Dunlop Porsche leads at half distance
The first round of pit stops has changed the order at the front. At half distance, after eleven laps, the #17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R leads the 2. NLS Sportwarte-Trophy. Schubert Motorsport is second with the #77 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 14.241 seconds behind, after starting 15th. The #44 Falken Porsche is third.
The #23 Gamota BMW, which led the first hour, lost the lead with a pit lap of 12:07 and is now fifth, 50.7 seconds off the lead. The #36 has had a difficult race and runs 18th after two stops.
| Pos. | No. | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Dunlop Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 11 laps |
| 2 | 77 | Schubert Motorsport | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | +14.241 |
| 3 | 44 | Falken Motorsports | Porsche 911 GT3 R | +21.813 |
| 4 | 75 | Max Kruse Racing | Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II | +22.995 |
| 5 | 23 | Gamota Racing | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | +50.702 |
| 6 | 21 | SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | +1:01.412 |
| 7 | 48 | LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon | Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO | +1:27.626 |
| 8 | 2 | Team Joos Sportwagentechnik | Porsche 911 GT3 R | +1:31.872 |
Source: official VLN live timing, provisional, after eleven laps at 14:00 CEST.
In the title fight nothing has changed: the #650 Adrenalin BMW M240i still leads its class, and the #953 Smyrlis Porsche runs second in Cup3, 1:14 behind the #962 W&S Motorsport Cayman. In SP4, Ingo Oepen and Henrik Launhardt have completed eight laps with the #254 BMW.
After one hour: the #23 leads
The #23 Gamota Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO has turned its pole position into the lead of the NLS season finale. After five laps of the 2. NLS Sportwarte-Trophy on the Nürburgring, the #23 is just 0.417 seconds clear of the #75 Max Kruse Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II. The sister car, the #36, is having a harder afternoon: it started second and is now tenth.
The #23 controls the front
The #23 led the field away at 12:00 and came through the first lap 0.870 seconds ahead of the #75. Behind them, the order shuffled quickly. The #36 lost four places on the opening lap and crossed the line sixth, behind the #44 Falken Motorsports Porsche, the #17 Dunlop Porsche and the #64 Haupt Racing Team Mustang.
On the fourth lap, times across the whole field rose from around 8:10 to just over ten minutes. The live timing does not say why.
| Pos. | No. | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Gamota Racing | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | 5 laps |
| 2 | 75 | Max Kruse Racing | Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II | +0.417 |
| 3 | 44 | Falken Motorsports | Porsche 911 GT3 R | +3.620 |
| 4 | 21 | SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | +5.934 |
| 5 | 48 | LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon | Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO | +6.783 |
| 6 | 7 | Konrad Motorsport | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO | +9.588 |
| 7 | 17 | Dunlop Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT3 R | +10.272 |
| 8 | 26 | PROsport Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | +10.706 |
| 9 | 77 | Schubert Motorsport | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | +11.484 |
| 10 | 36 | Gamota Racing | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | +26.972 |
Source: official VLN live timing, provisional, after five laps at 12:55 CEST.
The #44 Falken Porsche is back up to third, and the #48 LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche has moved from ninth on the grid to fifth. Schubert Motorsport is on the move too: the #77 started 15th and is now ninth.
Title fight: the leaders in front
The championship is decided further back in the field, and for now it is going the way of the leaders. The #650 Adrenalin Motorsport BMW M240i of Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich and Sven Markert leads its class. A class win makes them champions.
Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg run second in Cup3 with the #953 Smyrlis Racing Porsche, behind the class-leading #962 W&S Motorsport Cayman. They need a class win and the #650 no better than second to tie on points. How the points work is explained in How NLS Championship Points Work, and the scenarios are in our title preview.
In SP4, Ingo Oepen’s final race is under way: the #254 BMW 346C he shares with Henrik Launhardt has completed three laps.
Our read
An hour in, Gamota Racing has half of what it wanted. The #23 looks comfortable at the front, but the #36 has dropped out of the fight for the podium for now. With three hours to go and several pit stops and driver changes still to come, a gap of less than half a second is nothing on the Nordschleife.
Qualifying is covered in our report on Gamota’s front-row lockout, and all times are on the NLS10 results page.
Who takes the win at 16:00: Dunlop, Schubert, Falken, or can Gamota fight back? Tell us in the comments.
