Falken Motorsports to contest the 2026 ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring with Porsche 911 GT3 R and a strong four-driver line-up
Falken Motorsports is ready for the highlight of the season: the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring. This year, the Japanese tyre manufacturer will enter a Porsche 911 GT3 R carrying car number 44, driven by an experienced and well-balanced quartet. Sharing the wheel of the teal and blue fan favourite will be Austria’s Klaus Bachler, Dutchman Morris Schuring and the two Germans Sven Müller and Tim Heinemann.
The opening races of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Endurance Series provided Falken Motorsports with an important benchmark. Following the weather-related postponement of the season opener, Sven Müller and Tim Heinemann secured an impressive second overall in the rescheduled first race. The insights gained and the convincing performance have created strong confidence heading into the upcoming season highlight. Falken Motorsports is deliberately relying on continuity and experience within its driver line-up. Klaus Bachler has been part of the Falken squad at the Nürburgring Nordschleife since 2017 and has already celebrated several overall NLS victories with the team. What the 34-year-old Austrian is still chasing is victory in the 24-hour race itself.
Bachler shares the Falken Porsche with Morris Schuring, who brings fresh momentum to the team as an up-and-coming GT3 driver. The Dutchman celebrated overall victory at last year’s season opener - his debut race in Falken colours, alongside Sven Müller. Synonymous with experience and technical understanding, Müller has long been one of the team’s mainstays. Completing the quartet is Tim Heinemann, who has already proven himself to be an exceptionally quick driver on the Nordschleife.
Other teams competing on Falken tyres include the #88 Subaru WRX from Subaru Tecnica International, the #380 Opel Corsa GS Line 130 from Bitter – featuring Volker Strycek among the drivers, the #189 BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82) from Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport plus two cars from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport: the #514 BMW 330i and the #524 Toyota Supra.
Max Kruse Racing will field a total of five cars in the event - two Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II (#19 and #75), driven among others by Benjamin Leuchter and Tom Coronel, as well as three VW Golf GTI Clubsport 24h (#10, #50 and #76). Sharing driving duties are, among others, former professional footballer Max Kruse and Fabian Vettel, the younger brother of Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Falken has enjoyed a near-continuous presence at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring since 1999 and has established itself over the years as a permanent institution, both on the sporting side and around the event itself. One of the highlights for fans remains the traditional Falken Drift Show: on Friday evening (15 May). The Müllenbachschleife will once again become an action-packed stage for numerous professional drifters from 7:30 CET onwards, making it one of the long-standing crowd favourites moments of the 24-hour weekend.
Away from the track, Falken also offers visitors a varied supporting programme. On 16 May from 12:00 to 13:00 CET, Falken darts players Max Hopp and Martin Schindler will face each other in an exclusive show match. Afterwards, fans will have the opportunity to meet the two professionals in person, with autograph sessions taking place from 13:00 CET to 14:00 CET and again from 17:15 CET to 18:30 CET at the Falken darts stand.
The ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring gets underway on Saturday (16 May) at 3:00 pm CET. While hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected on site, fans at home can follow the race via the official 24h live stream platform as well as on RTL Nitro. Falken Motorsports will provide ongoing updates, background stories and behind-the-scenes insights via its digital channels and social media platforms.
The livestream can also be accessed via the official 24 Hour Nurburgring Chanel at https://www.youtube.com/@24hnbr/streams