Press
Falken Motorsports continues to be plagued by bad luck in the 2026 season of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS). At the 1st ADAC Eifel Trophy, the sixth race of the season on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the teal-and-blue No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 R had to be retired shortly before the end of the race despite a convincing performance. Klaus Bachler and Tim Heinemann had been running in third place overall up to that point and were well on their way to a well-deserved podium finish.
Falken Motorsports had already delivered a strong performance in qualifying. Despite a yellow flag period that ruined their first fast attempt, Klaus Bachler and Tim Heinemann remained unfazed. Later in the session, they secured third on the grid with a lap time of 7:57.520 minutes - an ideal starting position for the four-hour race.
The duo was competitive right from the start of the race as well. Bachler held his own in the leading group and even set the fastest lap of the race before Heinemann took over the wheel and seamlessly maintained the strong pace. With less than an hour to go, the Falken Porsche was still in third place when the race took an unfortunate turn.
While Heinemann properly slowed down during a yellow flag period, a driver behind him apparently recognized the situation too late and rear-ended the Porsche. Although Heinemann was initially able to continue the race, the left rear tire was damaged in the collision. For safety reasons, Falken Motorsports decided to withdraw the Porsche from the race as a precaution. This ended what had seemed like a sure podium finish.
For the Falken customer team Max Kruse Racing, the race day went more successfully. The Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II (#11) driven by Nico Otto, Christian Kohlhaas, and Christoph Lenz took second place in the AT1 class for alternative-fuel vehicles. The VW Golf VIII GTI Clubsport 24h (#10), driven by Heiko Hammel, Timo Hochwind, and Stephan Epp, however, retired early.
Following the sixth race of the season, Falken Motorsports will now take a break lasting several weeks. The action resumes at the ADAC Reinoldus Endurance Race on September 12, 2026.
In May, FALKEN competed in the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring for the 27th time, and today presents a new film, The Perfect Lap, showing the challenges of endurance racing in thrilling detail.
• Falken AZENIS FK520 (NG0) tyre package approved for factory-fit on new Porsche Cayenne Electric • Developed to support Cayenne Electric’s performance capabilities • Optimised rubber compound and staggered tyre set-up contributes to on-road handling, electric performance and rolling efficiency
Falken Motorsports continues to be plagued by bad luck in the 2026 season of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS). At the 1st ADAC Eifel Trophy, the sixth race of the season on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the teal-and-blue No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 R had to be retired shortly before the end of the race despite a convincing performance. Klaus Bachler and Tim Heinemann had been running in third place overall up to that point and were well on their way to a well-deserved podium finish.