Following a driveshaft issue for the dominant No. 3 Max Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG, his Winward Racing sister car took the overall victory in 2026's running of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Maro Engel, Fabian Schiller, Maxime Martin, and Luca Stolz won the Nürburgring 24 Hours Sunday afternoon, following a driveshaft failure for its sister car, the No.3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes AMG GT3.
Engel and Martin, the two principal racers of the No. 80, now find themselves defeated in the 2026 GT Challenge competition, following their win in the 12 hours of Bathurst back in March. A right-rear driveshaft issue demolishes the No. 3’s chance of an overall win, sending Dani Juncadella to the pits from the lead, elevating the No. 80 sister Car to first overall, ultimately resulting in AMG's first Nurburgring win in a decade.
The two Winward Mercedes cars were equally the class of the field through the second quarter of the 24-hour race, following attrition from some of the strongest competitors in the opening six hours. Right as the 11th hour struck, the No. 3 team poured to what seemed to be an unbeatable advantage with Max Verstappen starting his second stint of the race and first-ever night stunt in endurance racing.
View Price on AmazonIn his second night stint, this time a double, for four-time F1 champion Verstappen extended the lead of the No. 3 car to 45 seconds before handing it off to Juncadella. The Spanish racer was just in the pits when he returned to the circuit and saw an ABS warning on the dash. Without losing any major time, the team decided to keep the car racing, which led to its deterioration over two laps, resulting in the driveshaft failure that ended the first chance of victory with less than 3 1/2 hours remaining.
The No. 80 Mercedes-AMG, at the time piloted by Engel, took over the lead and sailed away to Mercedes' first win in a decade. The No. 84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, which started on Paul race, its way back to second gradually after a first lap puncture, greatly diminished the team's chance of success around Nordschleife.
The No. 84 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 completed the podium over the No. 99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. The fabled, once joked about, BMW ‘Wagon’ SPX entry of the No. 81 BMW M3 Touring 24h finished in fifth, the same position where it qualified after a 24-hour stint battling with the best overall.
Source: roadandtrack.com
