The #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Verstappen Racing, driven by Max Verstappen, Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon, and run with assistance from Winward Racing, has been disqualified from this afternoon’s NLS2 four-hour race, losing its victory.
Post-race technical checks revealed that the team used more tyres than were allowed. The #3 is therefore disqualified, with the ROWE Racing BMW squad of Dan Harper and Jordan Pepper inheriting the win.
NLS released a social media post which states:
After crossing the finish line at the second round of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, and Jules Gounon celebrated their first victory of the season in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing. About two hours later, reality set in. During the technical commission’s routine review of the so-called Tyre App, it was discovered that the team had used seven sets of tyres on race day instead of the permitted six. The stewards were thus forced to disqualify the car. The victory was inherited by Dan Harper and Jordan Pepper in the BMW M4 GT3 from ROWE RACING.
Christian Hohenadel, team principal of Winward Racing, said: “The disqualification hurts. Unfortunately, a mistake was made within the team that forced race control to retroactively disqualify the winning car. For us, this was our first outing as a Mercedes-AMG Performance team on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
“I would like to apologise to everyone who was rooting for us. We will now thoroughly analyse the day, meticulously prepare for the remaining races, and work toward the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring with full concentration.”
Imgaes courtesy of Mercedes-AMG & Frozenspeed