131 cars, a big crowd of fans along the track, and roughly half the starting field equipped with our KW Racing suspensions; that can only mean one thing: the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie is back. At the 57th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, the third round of the NLS season, even the weather in the Eifel region cooperated perfectly.

From pole position, the Hong Kong-based motorsport team KCMG headed into the race. Together with former Formula 1 driver Kamui Kobayashi, they led and dominated the field for a long time. However, a Code 60 infringement earned the Mercedes an 85-second penalty.

While KCMG initially still dominated, the chase by the pursuers quickly intensified. Over the entire four-hour distance, flawless laps, fast pit stops, and strong pace were the strategy for success.

Thanks to the KCMG penalty, the BMW M4 GT3 (#23) from Gamota Racing moved further forward. It even overtook its sister car from Schubert Motorsport (#77). The cockpit of the Gamota GT3 was shared by the two Nordschleife veterans Moritz Kranz and David Jahn together with team principal Antal Zsigo, who had secured fourth on the grid in qualifying with a lap time of 7:59.100 minutes.

But behind the Gamota Racing BMW, which was classified in the “Amateur Class SP9 AM”, the local favorites and big GT3 teams were closing in relentlessly. The Schubert Motorsport crew in the BMW M4 GT3 (#77) had stayed in the leading group throughout the entire race and remained within striking distance of the leaders. Then, on lap 21, Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng, and Robin Frijns took over the lead in the Schubert BMW (#77).

Then everything came thick and fast, and in the final laps of the 57th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy everyone pushed hard once more. For example, the Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (#911) first had to fight its way forward through the entire field of traffic.

From its 16th starting position, the Grello crew – with drivers Ayhancan Güven and Matt Campbell alternating – had a lot of overtaking work ahead. There was also a spectacular battle between the Grello and the car that would eventually finish third.

Schubert Motorsport won the third NLS round of 2026 with their BMW M4 GT3 (#77) ahead of the Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (#911).

Other KW Racing customer teams in the top 10 included the BMW M4 GT3 (#23) from Gamota Racing, which finished sixth overall and took the class win in SP9 AM. Seventh place went to the Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R (#5).

The HWA EVO.R also made its NLS debut. The race version of the HWA EVO is also equipped with our suspension technology.

While the road version comes with either a four-way adjustable KW V5 or a semi-active KW DDC suspension, the race car uses the KW V7 Racing. These new KW motorsport dampers feature adjustable high-speed and low-speed valves for both compression and rebound. In addition, there is an adjustable blow-off valve for both the compression and rebound stages. For example, this suspension setup is also used in the DTM by the Lamborghini Temerario GT3.

The third NLS round served as preparation for the HWA EVO.R ahead of the Nürburgring 24-hour race. Because HWA will also compete there in the SP-X class. We are already looking forward to the SP-X class battle between the HWA EVO.R and the BMW M3 Touring 24h, which is also fitted with KW Racing dampers.

You can find more about our KW Racing program on our KW suspensions brand page at www.kwsuspensions.com/de-en. Selected motorsport suspensions are also available to order through our online shop.
Photos: Gruppe C Photography.