Falken Motorsports wins rain-soaked battle – title race still wide open

Following the nail-biting photo finish the previous day, Falken Motorsports struck back at the 66th ADAC ACAS Cup (NLS9) on Sunday. In sometimes difficult weather conditions, Tim Heinemann and Morris Schuring, starting from pole position in their Porsche 911 GT3 R, celebrated overall victory. Right behind them, Nico Menzel and Flynt Schuring secured a commanding one-two finish for Sven Schnabel’s team in the sister car. The podium, dominated entirely by Porsche, was completed by Patrick Assenheimer, Tobias Müller and Dylan Pereira in the Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO from 48 LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon (#48), who secured victory in the SP9 Pro-Am class despite some turbulence.

A nail-biting qualifying session and a chaotic start

Even in qualifying, the drivers gave no quarter. Pole-sitter Heinemann raved after qualifying about a ‘perfect lap’, the sort rarely seen in motorsport. However, the competition was hot on his heels: Tobias Müller, in the Black Falcon Porsche, was just 0.020 seconds behind. The top four cars were separated by just 0.460 seconds. At the flying start, there was an immediate crash in the AMG Arena: the previous day’s winner, Ugo de Wilde (Schubert BMW), tried to squeeze past Nico Menzel on the inside. After a slight collision, Menzel had to slow down, before the BMW was also hit by ‘Daan Arrow’ shortly afterwards and dropped far back. On lap eight, the Schubert BMW’s day’s work finally came to a premature end following a crash into the Brünnchen.

Tyre gamble, scare moments and wild spins

As the rain set in in the Eifel, a nerve-wracking game of strategic roulette unfolded between slicks and wet tyres. For the Black Falcon trio, the race turned into a real rollercoaster ride: first, Tobias Müller missed a Code 60 sign and crashed into Thomas Schönfeld’s VW Golf GTI, resulting in a bent rim and a subsequent drive-through penalty. Shortly afterwards came the scare of the day, when Müller spun out on the wet track at the ultra-fast ‘Mut’ corner – and miraculously managed to recover without touching the track barrier. “The spin, the drive-through penalty and so on – I think we can be incredibly proud to be on the overall podium here,” Müller panted with relief at the finish. Patrick Assenheimer added regarding the tactics: “We managed it quite well by pitting earlier when the conditions simply became too poor for slicks.”

A comeback in the downpour and a Schuring family celebration

Meanwhile, a brotherly battle raged at the front: Morris Schuring led the field at times ahead of his younger brother Flynt. For GT3 debutant Flynt, it was a real baptism of fire: “My first weekend in GT3, on the Nordschleife no less, and then in a race like this on slicks in the rain – it was incredibly difficult, but I’m absolutely delighted.”

In the pit lane, father Gerwin Schuring – himself once the overall winner at the Nürburgring – proudly watched his sons’ one-two finish. Winner Morris Schuring beamed after crossing the finish line: “I was happy just watching from the pit lane, but I’ve always had faith in Tim. It all feels so normal, but in two or three weeks’ time we’ll probably look back and think: ‘That was actually pretty brilliant.’”

‘Speedboating’ in the Eifel and the heroes of the day

In the final laps, the track turned into a lake. Breidscheid, Fuchsröhre and Schwedenkreuz became a slippery slide. “To say it was exciting is a massive understatement,” reported winner Heinemann. “I’ve never experienced conditions as bad as today’s. Aquaplaning on every bend, every straight. I’m really glad we got through it unscathed.” Runner-up Menzel was also out of breath: “Towards the end, it was almost like driving a motorboat. So much aquaplaning – there were a few heart-stopping moments – but we managed it quite well.”

The ‘Driver of the Day’ trophy went to Moritz Oberheim (#962 AVIA W&S Motorsport). After having to watch from the sidelines on Saturday following a crash in practice, he celebrated a triumphant return on Sunday with pole position, a start-to-finish victory in the CUP 3 and an award from the ILN, race organisers and the TV presenters: “It means a great, great deal to me. I know there are lots of good drivers here. Today really was a good day – it’s an honour for me to receive this trophy.”

Title race postponed: First zero points for the frontrunners

The race also took a highly dramatic turn with regard to the NLS overall standings: The Adrenalin trio of Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich and Sven Markert, who had been the undisputed leaders up to that point, were forced to retire their BMW M240i early due to a technical fault and had to be towed away – for the championship leaders, it was their very first zero-point finish this year. The challengers seized the opportunity: although Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg, in their Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, missed out on the class victory in CUP3 to Moritz Oberheim and Lorenz Stegmann, they picked up valuable points with their second-place finish. As a result, Fielenbach and Sandberg have closed the gap to the top of the standings to just four points.

The tide has also turned in the 2026 Production Car Trophy following the intense double-header: Piet-Jan Ooms and Ionuc Catalin Timis in the Toyota Supra (SRS Team Sorg Rennsport), as well as the trio of Philipp Leisen, Philipp Stahlschmidt and Daniel Zils in the BMW 330i (Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhattan Wheels) had travelled to the Eifel level on points in the VT2-RWD class. Following fiercely contested battles on both days of racing, Ooms and Timis finally capped off their weekend on Sunday with a class victory, finishing just ahead of their Adrenalin rivals, who had to settle for second place. Thanks to this success, the Sorg duo have taken sole lead in the Production Car Trophy standings and will now also head to the grand season finale in October with a four-point lead.

The battle for the NLS crown will therefore only be decided at the grand finale on 10 October 2026. The 2nd NLS Sportwarte Trophy (4h) will see the very last victory of the season contested – and the new champion crowned.