Ten years ago, the ROWE DMV 250-Meilen-Rennen lived up to its nickname as the Winter Race. Snow earlier in the week, fog on race morning, and near-freezing air set the tone for a gruelling four hours on the Nordschleife. Out of 133 starters, barely two-thirds made it to the flag. It was a day that tested endurance more than outright speed.

It was one of those Nürburgring weekends where endurance meant everything. By the end of four hours, Black Falcon had emerged on top, their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 surviving the cold and the competition to claim victory in front of a shivering crowd.

Black Falcon Keeps Its Cool

The #2 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Hubert Haupt, Manuel Metzger, Yelmer Buurman, and Adam Christodoulou started from pole and never strayed far from the lead. For much of the race, they were locked in combat with ROWE Racing’s identical SLS, driven by Klaus Graf and Christian Hohenadel.

Even for the winners, the race was no easy run. In the final hour, Buurman fought an electrical issue that threatened to shut the car down entirely. With the battery refusing to charge and systems flickering, he turned off everything non-essential and coaxed the big AMG to the flag.

With 37 cars failing to reach the finish, the weather was a silent opponent for everyone. Tyres cooled too fast, electronics misbehaved, and several teams were caught out by condensation or frozen sensors.

For Black Falcon, though, the win underlined why they were one of the era’s benchmark endurance teams. Based just down the road in Meuspath, the squad was a regular frontrunner not only in VLN but also on the international stage, and this was one of the many days that defined their reputation for preparation and grit.

The Battle That Never Reached the Finish

Behind them, ROWE Racing pushed relentlessly. Graf and Hohenadel, fresh from Mercedes’ first VLN win of the year in August, were determined to repeat that success.

Their white SLS shadowed the Black Falcon car lap after lap until a broken wheel bearing forced them out just four laps from the end. It was a cruel blow for a team that would soon embark on a new era: 2015 marked their final outings with Mercedes-AMG before switching to BMW and, a few years later, achieving glory at Spa and the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

Christodoulou’s Late Call

Adam Christodoulou’s weekend had started unexpectedly. Originally set to take AMG’s brand-new GT3 model out for its second spin with the factory HWA team, he was called back to Black Falcon when AMG withdrew the test race due to the weather.

“They decided the data wouldn’t be useful in those temperatures,” he said later. “Suddenly on Wednesday it was a bit of a panic, but there was a seat left at Black Falcon — and it worked out perfectly.”

He and Buurman controlled the early phases before handing the SLS to Manuel Metzger, who impressed once again after spending most of the season racing the team’s SP7-class Porsche.

“At the end, Yelmer was struggling a bit because we had an issue with the battery,” Metzger said. “It didn’t really charge like it should, so the car went into jerk mode — really scary stuff. We were just happy the race lasted only four hours. My first overall win — that was cool, and in my second race in the SLS, even cooler.”

It was another early milestone in careers that would later take the three drivers deeper into AMG’s works programmes.

Manthey’s New Porsche Debuts

While the front battle was a Mercedes affair, Manthey Racing made headlines with the first appearance of the 991-model Porsche 911 GT3 R. Entered in the SPX class and driven by Nick Tandy and Frédéric Makowiecki, the car — still fitted with the old 997 engine — finished third overall.

It marked the debut of a car that would become a customer racing cornerstone, competing successfully until its replacement by the 992 GT3 R eight years later.

End of an Era

2015 also closed a chapter for BMW. The Z4 GT3 made its final Nürburgring start two weeks later as the brand’s flagship model before the M6 GT3 took over in 2016. Walkenhorst Motorsport’s entry carried the torch for the V8-powered coupe that had defined BMW’s GT3 identity for half a decade. The team would continue to run Peter Posavac’s private Z4 for another four years before the cars’ homologation finally expired.

For ROWE Racing, 2015 would be their final year with Mercedes-AMG before switching to BMW, beginning a partnership that would bring victories at both Spa and the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

In retrospect, autumn that year was a turning point: the SLS nearing its final days, the M6 waiting in the wings, and a new Porsche just beginning its story.

Audi and Glickenhaus in the Mix

Twin Busch Motorsport continued Audi’s late-season development push with their new R8 LMS GT3, the Busch twins joined by Marc Basseng. The trio finished second overall for another strong showing for a car that was only weeks away from its first customer deliveries.

Adding flair to the field, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus entered its striking SCG 003C, driven by Jeff Westphal, Thomas Mutsch, and Jethro Bovingdon. The American-built prototype was never a podium threat, but its appearance value was undeniable, the kind of eccentric entry that made the VLN grid so distinctive.

Frikadelli’s Rise

Fifth place went to Frikadelli Racing’s Klaus Abbelen, Sabine Schmitz, and Patrick Huisman in the Porsche 997 GT3 R — a line-up that embodied the Nordschleife’s unique mix of pace and personality. Schmitz’s popularity and fearless driving made her the fan favourite of the era, and 2015 marked one of Frikadelli’s strongest seasons before the team grew into a front-running force in later years.

The Legacy of a Frozen Afternoon

Looking back from 2025, that October weekend stands as a snapshot of a series in transition. The SLS AMG was nearing the end of its life, the Z4 GT3 was bowing out, and Porsche’s next generation was taking its first steps.

For Black Falcon, it was another jewel in a period defined by precision and resilience: traits that would echo through AMG’s future Nordschleife efforts.

When Yelmer Buurman crossed the line with his headlights cutting through the fog, it summed up everything the Nürburgring demands: courage, patience, and the ability to endure.

Cold, chaotic, and unforgettable, the 2015 Winter Race remains one of the defining days of that VLN decade. And yet, it wasn’t the end of the story. Two weeks later, in the dense fog of the season finale, Black Falcon’s SP7-class Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, driven by Manuel Metzger, Gerwin Schuring, and Philipp Eng, stunned the field by taking outright victory — the last time a non-GT3 car has ever won on the Nordschleife.

Continue the story: Two weeks later, Black Falcon did the impossible again. Read our look back at the 2015 VLN10 — the last non-GT3 win at the Nordschleife.

Or, take a look back at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring earlier that year, that was one of that GT3 generation’s final big races.

Photos by Miguel Bosch.