Weekend notebook: Verstappen wins his first GT3 race with Ferrari

Maranello 29 September 2025

In the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series, Max Verstappen celebrated his GT3 debut with a win at the Green Hell, sharing victory with Chris Lulham in Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3. In the 24H Series, the title slipped away from Scuderia Praha’s entry, while at Imola, in the Italian GT Championship Sprint series, wins and podium finishes kept two crews in contention for the national crown. 

NLS. Four-time Formula 1 World Champion, Max Verstappen, claimed his first GT3 victory in a Ferrari 296 GT3. The Dutch driver won the 57th edition of the 4 Hours of Barbarossapreis, round nine of the 2025 ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, held at the Nürburgring. Having received his licence only a few weeks ago, Verstappen shared the number 31 Ferrari entered by Emil Frey Racing with Chris Lulham in the SP9 class.  Starting from third on the grid after a qualifying session delayed by heavy fog, the Dutch driver moved into the race lead after 30 minutes. At the end of the second hour, Verstappen pitted the car with a 1-minute 2-second lead, handing over to Lulham, who maintained control of the race until the chequered flag. 

The second Ferrari on track, the number 21 296 GT3 of Frikadelli Racing driven by team principal Klaus Abbelen, finished second in the SP9 class and 13th overall.

The next round of the championship will be the season finale, the NLS Sportwarte-Rennen, on 11 October.

24H Series. Scuderia Praha’s number 56 Ferrari 296 GT3, which arrived at the Barcelona round eight points behind the leaders, was unable to close the gap and saw its title challenge come to an end. Josef Kràl, Miroslav Vyboh, Matus Vyboh and Dennis Waszek, competing in the Pro Am class, also led the race at one stage but lost valuable time when a mechanical issue kept them in the pits for several laps. They eventually finished 13th overall, sixth in the championship standings and second in the Pro Am. Dwight Merriman, Kyle Tilley, Ryan Dalziel, Jake Hill and Oliver Bryant crossed the line eighth in Era Motorsport’s number 81 Ferrari 296 GT3, placing fourth in the Pro Am. The result secured third place for them in the final class standings. 

The number 98 Ferrari of Into Africa Racing by Dragon, driven by Xollie Letlaka, Axcil Jefferies, Stuart White and Arnold Neveling, failed to finish.

With the European season concluded, the championship will resume on 5 December with the 24 Series Middle East Trophy.

Italian GT Championship. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola hosted the penultimate round of the Sprint series, ahead of the finale at Monza, where all the national titles will be decided. At Imola, a fifth-place finish and, above all, victory in Race-2 in the Pro Am class kept Ferrari–Raghunathan in the number 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 in contention for the Italian crown. Joining them in the title quest are teammates Leonardo Colavita and Ibrahim Badawi in the number 62 car, who secured a second and third place. In the GT3 Am, the number 27 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Sean Hudspeth and Rafael Duran took third and fourth spots.

In the class for one-make series configuration cars, Best Lap’s number 11 Ferrari 296 Challenge, crewed by Lorenzo Pegoraro and Filippo Croccolino, secured a win and a third place. Making their debut in the championship, Marco Zanasi and Andrea Belicchi in Pinetti Motorsport’s number 171 Ferrari 296 Challenge followed up their fourth place in Race-1 with victory in Race-2.

Stefano Gai and Fabrizio Fontana, in AF Corse’s number 169 Ferrari 296 Challenge, left Imola with second place in the opening race.

In the First Division Am, DL Racing’s number 3 Ferrari 296 Challenge, driven by Alessandro Pierluigi, secured third and second places, while in the Second Division Am, MRNC12’s number 546 Ferrari 488 Challenge, piloted by Emiliano Pierantoni and Riccardo Paniccià, finished second in Race-1 and fifth in Race-2.

The final and decisive round of the Sprint series will take place at Monza from 24 to 26 October.