Verstappen’s Presence Helps Draw Near-Record Field for N24

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Verstappen’s Presence Draws Near-Record Field for N24Gruppe C Photography

When the green flag drops at the Green Hell, it’ll see a field larger than any in 12 years, thanks to the presence of four-time F1 champ Max Verstappen.

“With 161 cars entered, this will be the largest starting grid in over a decade—the last time more teams were represented at the endurance classic in the Green Hell was in 2014, with 165 cars,” The ‘Ring said in a statement.



Race organizers amended their own rules to pump capacity from the 150-car maximum that had been on the books. Teams had to agree to even more crowded garages to accommodate the bigger field. Garages at the N24 are already jammed, with several teams sharing garage space on top of each other.

You could come up with many reasons for the surge in entries, but, really, it’s the Max Factor. Who wouldn’t want to say they raced against the F1 hero?

Verstappen will drive the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen RacingAMG GT3, pictured below with Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon ,and Daniel Juncadella—three teammates who rank among the absolute best, both in terms of their track record and their Nordschleife expertise, N24 said.

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Last year’s winning ROWE BMWNurburgring 24




“Together, they form a lineup that is likely to set the benchmark for many competitors,” the ‘Ring said.

If all goes well, it could be the team’s first win on the track. At the Nordschleife Lang Strecke (NLS) season opener, the team initially secured victory before a disqualification due to tire count cost them the win; at the 24h Qualifiers in mid-April, they continued their preparations with further laps in the lead, before a technical fault led to a retirement.

But the rest of the field isn’t planning to just roll over and let Max win. In the top classes—SP9, SP-Pro, SP-X, and AT1—there are a total of 49 cars all fighting for the desired places in the three-stage top qualifying.



“The battle for the best starting positions is therefore set to be particularly intense this year, and the pressure is already immense in qualifying. After all, in the ‘24h sprint’—which the endurance classic has evolved into—a good starting position is more important than ever if you want to compete for overall victory.”

The defending champions from Rowe-BMW are fielding two of their BMW M4 GT3s in the hunt for victory this year—each with a line-up of top works drivers in the cockpit. Equally strong is the BMW team at Schubert, which has won its class eight times at the Nurburgring 24.

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At Porsche, Manthey is once again leading the charge, sending the ‘Grello’ #911 into the race with Kévin Estre, Thomas Preining, and Ayhancan Güven—meaning there are two DTM champions in the car. Preining secured the title in 2023, while Güven was crowned champion in 2025. Estre, meanwhile, won the 2021 24h Nürburgring in the Manthey Porsche.

The winners of the 24h Qualifiers, Scherer PHX (Audi), are also represented, while Abt (Lamborghini), Walkenhorst (Aston Martin), Dinamic and Lionspeed (Porsche), HRT (Ford) and other top teams are bringing strong driver line-ups to the ‘Ring.

The race runs May 14-17. You can watch it for free on the official 24h Nurburgring YouTube channel and on Red Bull TV. You can also see it on SPEED SPORT 1 network and DAZN.

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