Dunlop Porsche wins the NLS finale as Adrenalin’s BMW trio take the title
The #650 crew win their class and the 2026 NLS title, the #17 Dunlop Porsche wins the race and Ingo Oepen finishes his last race
Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich and Sven Markert are the 2026 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie champions. The Adrenalin Motorsport trio won the BMW M240i class in the 2. NLS Sportwarte-Trophy on Saturday and took the title by eight points. At the front, the #17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R of Nico Menzel and Sven Müller won the season finale by 37.691 seconds.
RNT-Motorsports followed the race at the Nürburgring. All results in this report are provisional, from the official VLN live timing.
A class win, and the title
The scenario was simple: win the class and the title was theirs. The #650 started from class pole, led the first hour and dropped to second in the BMW M240i class after an extra pit stop in the second half of the race. When the #664 Schmickler Performance BMW of Filip Hoenjet and Moran Gott also made a third stop, the #650 was back in front. It took the class win after 24 laps, ahead of the #664 and the #665.
With ten cars in the class, a win is worth 15 points. By our calculation that brings Bugane, Fübrich and Markert to 109 points. Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg finished second in Cup3 with the #953 Smyrlis Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, behind the #962 W&S Motorsport Cayman of Lorenz Stegmann and Moritz Oberheim, and end on 101. The tie that would have handed Smyrlis the title on countback never came close.
After the finish the Adrenalin drivers spoke to the circuit reporter, and they were clearly delighted. It is a strong answer to September, when a technical failure in NLS9 cost them their lead and left them only four points clear going into the finale. How the points work is explained in How NLS Championship Points Work.
Dunlop Porsche wins after Gamota’s opening hour
The overall race started with the #23 Gamota Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which turned pole into the lead and held it through the first hour. The pit stops changed everything. The #23 lost the lead with a long first stop, and from there the #17 Dunlop Porsche controlled the race. Sven Müller, entered in both the #17 and the #44 according to the provisional entry list, was at the wheel of the #17 at the finish.
The #44 Falken Porsche finished second, with Tim Heinemann at the wheel at the finish. Schubert Motorsport completed the podium with the #77 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Jordan Pepper and Tim Tramnitz, a strong recovery from 15th on the grid. The fastest lap of the race was a 7:57.915 by the #48 LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche, which finished fifth and won SP9 Pro-Am.
| Pos. | No. | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Dunlop Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 27 laps |
| 2 | 44 | Falken Motorsports | Porsche 911 GT3 R | +37.691 |
| 3 | 77 | Schubert Motorsport | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | +1:31.182 |
| 4 | 75 | Max Kruse Racing | Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II | +1:39.048 |
| 5 | 48 | LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon | Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO | +2:11.290 |
| 6 | 23 | Gamota Racing | BMW M4 GT3 EVO | +2:51.256 |
Source: official VLN live timing, provisional. The top 10 and all class winners are on our NLS10 results page.
Gamota Racing’s front-row lockout ended with sixth place for the #23 and 13th for the #36, second in SP9 Am. The early laps are covered in our live report.
Schubert takes the Speed Trophy
Third place also confirmed Schubert Motorsport as winner of the NLS Speed Trophy. The #77 started the day on 158 points. By our count, 25 points for third overall take it to 183, while the #48 adds 20 for fifth and ends on 140.
Ingo Oepen’s last race
In SP4, Ingo Oepen brought his final race to the finish. The #254 BMW 346C he shared with Henrik Launhardt completed 20 laps and was classified as the only car in its class. Oepen himself was at the wheel when it took the chequered flag. After 24 years in the driver’s seat, he ends his racing career with a finish.
Our read
Adrenalin did exactly what a champion has to do. After the failure in NLS9, the pressure was all on them, and they answered with class pole and a class win. The extra stop in the second half showed how thin the margin can be in a ten-car class, but in the end it never really came down to the tie-break.
The overall race was a reminder that on the Nordschleife a front row is only a starting point. Gamota had the speed on Saturday morning, but the Porsches and Schubert were stronger over four hours.
What happens next
- The official result. The VLN publishes the classification and the final standings after the stewards have confirmed the race.
- The final table. We will publish the 2026 standings as soon as they are official.
Did Adrenalin deserve the 2026 NLS title, or did Smyrlis deserve more after their run in the second half of the season? Tell us in the comments.
