Beyond the flag: From power cuts to penalties, Rowe stands tall in Nürburgring 24 Hours classic

Rowe Racing has won the 53rd ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring after a dramatic finish that saw the Manthey EMA Porsche stripped of victory following a 100-second time penalty. After 141 laps, it was the #98 BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn, Raffaele Marciello and Kelvin van der Linde that was declared the winner, adding a second outright Nürburgring triumph to Rowe’s 2020 success. The Manthey EMA Porsche, which crossed the line first, had been leading much of the race before being penalised for contact with a GT4 car. A protest was lodged by Manthey but rejected shortly before the finish.

The result delivered Kelvin van der Linde a third overall Nürburgring victory, and a second for Farfus. For Marciello and Krohn, it marked their first win at the Nordschleife.

A record crowd of 280,000 spectators witnessed the dramatic ending to one of the most heated editions in recent years. In the scorching Eifel heat, the Nürburgring once again showed its unpredictability with red flags, strategy twists, and tension between the leading camps culminating in a stewards’ verdict that defined the result.

“Things looked very different for us on Thursday,” said Rowe team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf. “We had completely different thoughts. But of course you always want to win. It wasn’t the fastest car that won, but the one that made the fewest mistakes. That was us, and we’re proud of that.”

The final hours saw a flat-out duel between Manthey’s Kévin Estre and Rowe’s Kelvin van der Linde. Estre retook the lead in the penultimate round of pit stops, but the unresolved time penalty hung over the #911. With Rowe staying within striking range, the final call came as Estre was on the final lap. The 100 seconds were added, and the BMW took the win.

Full 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours results.

Estre defends decisive incident

Kévin Estre: “There was traffic and the GT4 in front of me pulled to the inside in a triple right-hander. I was on the inside, had my space and he pulled in. There was no more room on the left. I braked, went over the kerb and touched the GT4 with my left front wheel. The driver probably thought I was further back or didn’t see me at all. I’m very glad that he’s okay. We saw this situation a lot during the 24 hours and I would do the same again if I got into a similar situation. There was room for me and if I’m on the inside, the other car has to make room on the outside. That’s a racing accident. I explained myself to the race director afterwards and explained my protest, but it was rejected. The rest is now history. Although we crossed the finish line first, we still lost because of the time penalty. That’s a very sad moment for this great race. But that’s how it can go, one contact and that ended our race. It was a great weekend for Porsche and for Manthey, but it wasn’t enough in the end. I’m just sad and disappointed right now.“

Clean race rewards Dinamic with unexpected podium

Starting 19th on the grid, Dinamic GT kept their #54 Porsche out of trouble while rivals faltered. “It’s not over until it’s over,” said Loek Hartog, reflecting on how the team gradually moved forward as others encountered issues. With a clean run and the Porsche’s trademark reliability, the quartet of Bastian Buus, Matteo Cairoli, Loek Hartog and Joel Sturm capitalised on attrition to fight for a podium spot late in the race. “We lacked a bit of pace,” admitted Cairoli, “but stayed out of trouble and avoided mistakes—and that made the difference.”

Power failure, not fog, causes red flag

Saturday’s midday power outage led to the tenth red flag in N24 history. This time, it wasn’t rain or fog but a fault in a refrigeration system in the pit building that halted the race for over two hours. The unusually hot conditions, which stayed dry for the entire week, a rarity at the Nordschleife, put strain on both drivers and machines, making this one of the most physically demanding editions in memory.

Elsewhere in the field

Dinamic GT completed the podium with its #54 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Bastian Buus, Matteo Cairoli, Loek Hartog and Joel Sturm, while Abt Sportsline’s #28 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 reclaimed fourth place from the #65 HRT Ford Mustang GT3 in the final laps. Despite missing out on a top-four result, HRT’s Mustang was the highest Pro-Am finisher in fifth overall, an encouraging sign for the new GT3 challenger.

Sixth went to the Eastalent Racing Audi, ahead of PROsport’s Aston Martin and the Konrad Lamborghini. The Hankook Competition Porsche and Renazzo Motorsport Lamborghini rounded out the top ten.

The highest placed non-GT3 car was the #948 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) of LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon, which took 11th overall and won the Cup 2 class.

There was also celebration for Dörr Motorsport, which claimed a flawless class win on the McLaren Artura Trophy Evo’s 24 hours debut, while Black Falcon also won SP10 (GT4) with its #67 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Atlanta Bear, Ryan Harrison, Alexandru Vasilescu and Leon Wassertheurer.

GetSpeed’s final lap salute

Both Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed entries encountered setbacks in the race. The #14 car retired with a differential failure, while the purple #17 Mercedes-AMG of Ralf Aron, Adam Christodoulou, Lucas Auer and Mikael Grenier, once in podium contention, suffered suspension damage through Bellof-S. Although seemingly out of the race, the team made extensive repairs and sent the car out with tyres smoking in a spirited burnout as it left the pit lane for the final lap. The car crossed the line 40 laps down to officially finish the race, much to the delight of the grandstands.

Disappointment for Scherer Sport PHX

For reigning champions Scherer Sport PHX, the weekend quickly turned sour. The team entered both a Porsche and an Audi, but a heavy crash for Laurens Vanthoor in Top Qualifying ruled out the Porsche early. The #1 Audi, meanwhile, retired after an electrical fault sent Luca Ludwig off track on lap 29. “We saw on Thursday what was possible,” said team founder Ron Moser. “This just wasn’t our weekend.”

All eyes on Spa

After Le Mans and the Nürburgring, endurance racing’s summer triple crown concludes next weekend with the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The GT3-only classic marks the centrepiece of the GT World Challenge Europe season and will see many familiar faces from the Nordschleife return to action. Rowe Racing will attempt to go back-to-back with its BMW M4 GT3s, including Nürburgring winners Farfus, Krohn and Marciello in the #98 entry, while Kelvin van der Linde returns to Team WRT.

NLS-Light brings a change of pace

Racing returns to the Nordschleife on 5 July with the inaugural NLS-Light event. Held in the wake of three major 24-hour races, the one-off race offers a breather for GT3 squads, as classes like SP9, SPX, SP-Pro and Cup 2 will not be eligible to enter. With a more compact grid and a unique entry mix, the 4-hour race promises a different flavour of endurance action on the Nürburgring.