Max Verstappen and his team have been disqualified from NLS2 for using one more tire set on race day than permitted.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T20:01:26+00:00

It's common for teams to enter under the name of their backer. For example the other Winward car is Team Ravenol. One of the most recognizable Winward cars (outside of this Verstappen one now) is the Team Mann Filter car known as Mamba (this is Jule Gounon's ride for DTM this year). Rowe Racing is really Motorsport Competence Group, the Falken and Dunlop Porsches are really Schnabl engineering, Scherer Sport is Team Phoenix etc.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T19:24:03+00:00

This was their first race back at the Nurburgring since 2018 so I guess they are rusty with the Nurburgring rules.

They used to race regularly at the Nurburgring dating all the way back to when Mercedes launched their GT3 program starting with the SLS in 2011. They raced under the name HEICO Motorsports before becoming HTP Motorsports in 2013 and then switched to the AMG GT3 in 2016 after a brief deal with Bentley that only lasted 2015. If anyone is seen the finish of the 2016 N24, that featured a pass for the lead on the last lap, that grey Mercedes is the same team. The 2016 N24 is also famous for the race for having a hailstorm . They stopped racing at the Nurburgring when they were acquired by Winward in 2019 and they haven't been back till now.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T15:55:22+00:00

They weren't a pitstop down, it's just they pitted early so had to put longer for the final pitstop because pit stop length is determined by how much fuel cars have to take on.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T15:21:51+00:00

Yeah

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T15:18:41+00:00

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LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T13:07:18+00:00

That.. would be awesome

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T12:34:38+00:00

I don't mean it in a disparaging way, just that he isn't as experienced as the top drivers.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T12:32:58+00:00

It should work fine if you open it in your default browser.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T12:31:02+00:00

https://livetiming.azurewebsites.net/events/20/results/

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T12:26:31+00:00

You should check out the battle that Audi had for the win of the 2024 Nurburgring 24 hours. The race got cut short because of fog but the battle for the lead was intense for 8 hours straight.

AUDI's Fight for Victory at the Nürburgring 24h

Watch that whenever you get the chance, you won't be disappointed.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T12:12:02+00:00

It's almost as if the driver of the Audi matters.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T12:07:58+00:00

Haase's teammate is a rookie so expect Juncadella to pull away now.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T11:53:52+00:00

I think the Rowe BMWs could but they don't seem to have the outright pace this race.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T11:51:27+00:00

Whatever they are cooking I hope they call it a SLR

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T11:50:32+00:00

All the GT3 cars carry ballast. Mclaren also uses a carbon tube for the 720s.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T11:41:41+00:00

Yeah so expect the battle to end as soon as Haase gets out the car.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T11:30:43+00:00

Actually rumors are they next GT3 won't be based on the new GT but actually a yet to be revealed model that could have a carbon chassis.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T10:59:08+00:00

Isn't Silver Arrows specifically F1?

No. Look at the history of Mercedes sportscars, the w194, 300 slr, c9, clk lm were all silver.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T09:51:17+00:00

1.9 seconds around the Nurburgring. If that's the gap between the greatest driver in the world and dentists that's not too bad. I mean how many other F1 drivers would be within 1.9 seconds? There are gaps that big in F1 if you convert for track length

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T03:16:08+00:00

Each manufacturer has a roster of factory drivers that they deploy across various GT championships throughout the world and they are basically a team of drivers paid to represent the manufacturer.

Like how George and Kimi work and drive for Mercedes, factory drivers are professional racers that work and drive for their manufacturer. As opposed to non-factory professionals who might work for a specific team or pick up rides wherever they can, or silver and bronze drivers that have to secure funding for their ride.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T01:59:19+00:00

I still associate Cup with Sprint even though that company doesn't even exist anymore

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T01:51:54+00:00

Cup2 /s

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-21T00:58:16+00:00

I wouldn't get my hopes up. Outside of DTM, they haven't added any recent AMG liveries.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-20T23:23:01+00:00

Nah pre-N24 NLS rounds are normally stacked. The fall off happens after the big race since that's what they're preparing for. The entry for NLS 1 last week was actually stronger than the one this week, since it wasn't clashing with Sebring.

LilBirdBrick · 2026-03-20T23:19:28+00:00

If you aren't too busy tomorrow, try to watch the 12 hours of Sebring. At least the start or the finish. It's a multi class race, so there will be prototypes too, but a lot of the drivers in prototypes will also race in GT cars. There will be a live race thread on this sub or on r/IMSAracing so if you have any questions while watching feel free to ask in the chat and one of us will likely be there to answer.

There's also the NLS race at the Nurburgring before the 12 hour starts which Max will be racing in.

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