•    Independence Weekend success at the Nürburgring for GetSpeed Team JR286
•    Fantastic win for Tanner Harvey, Patrick Liddy, Jonathan Hirshberg and Steve Jans
•    Mercedes-AMG squad takes Michelin 24H SERIES European Series points lead
•    Grandstand finish in GT3 gives P2 for Porsche 911 of debutants Up2Race
•    Red Camel-Jordans.nl take 992 win and points lead after Mühlner retirement

 GETSPEED TEAM JR286-MERCEDES-AMG SCHREIBT GESCHICHTE MIT SIEG BEI PREMIERE MICHELIN 12H NÜRBURGRING

Nürburgring, Germany (5 July 2026):
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO squad GetSpeed Team JR286 claimed its first outright Michelin 24H SERIES European Series victory this afternoon during an outstanding first ever Michelin 12H NÜRBURGRING, a perfect result for the American-linked squad on Independence Day weekend.

Really coming into their own during the concluding six hours of the race today, the team of US drivers Tanner Harvey, Patrick Liddy and Jonathan Hirshberg, plus Luxembourger Steve Jans, secured the overall win and GT3-AM victory a full lap clear. They also now lead the outright GT3 standings.

“Honestly, I was freaking out”, said Harvey post-race, “I didn’t want to screw-up my entire team, so I tried to go slow, keep it on the track and not make any mistakes because Steve, Patrick and Jon made sure the car was in perfect condition the entire race for us to win. It’s a big deal because it’s the 250th anniversary of America, we wanted to celebrate!”

The battle for second place was breathtaking and raged to the chequered flag, the debuting Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO of Up2Race managing to see off Viper Niza Racing’s Mercedes-AMG by a mere 0.4 seconds at the chequered flag. Fabio Grosse somehow managed to keep the Porsche ahead on 53 lap old tyres, celebrating a star result with team-mates Tim Heinemann and Oleksiy Kikireshko.

Dominic Ang tried everything on his fresh Michelin rubber during the closing minutes, but third overall still marks a brilliant outright podium for Ang, Melvin Moh and Douglas Khoo. The PRO-AM class win went to fourth place finishers Proton Competition with their Porsche piloted by Manuel Lauck, Jörg Dreisow, Constantin Dressler and Joel Sturm.

Red Camel-Jordans.nl took 992 class victory, the team’s second in succession, to move to the top of the 992 championship with brothers Luc and Rik Breukers, their father Ivo, and Fabian Danz. HRT Performance’s James Kellett, Steven Gambrell, Jonathan Kearney and Igor Sorokin won 992-AM.

Gino Rocchio, Flippo Tornaghi and Nathan Huet topped TCE-TCX in Not Only Motorsport’s Ligier JS2 R, GTX was won by KEO Racing’s debuting Ligier JS2 RS of Adrian Kunzle and Kevin Madsen, and GT4 victory went to Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport’s BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82) of Michael Bonk, Martin Kroll, Claudia Hürtgen and her son Elia Weiss.

GetSpeed Team PCX Racing’s Mikaël Grenier lined-up on pole on Saturday in the No.28 Mercedes and maintained the lead, as Sturm in the Proton Porsche sliced into second at Turn Two, past Pierre Kaffer in the Saintéloc Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II. The early action was sensational, nothing to separate Grenier, Sturm, Heinemann, Kaffer and Jake Hill in the Era Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. 

More like a sprint than an endurance race, the close battling continued but as the end of the second hour neared disaster struck for the No.28 when Jordan Boisson lost control and speared into the pit-straight barriers at a Code 60 re-start. Somehow, the team limited repairs to a loss of only eight laps.

Another leading Mercedes hit trouble at four hours when Ajith Kumar went into the barriers at Turn Three in the No.93 Ajith RedAnt Racing entry, causing another Code 60. Lauck led for Proton at the time from Viper Niza’s Moh and Grosse in the Up2Race Porsche. Due to a team miscommunication, Lauck ended up pitting twice in quick order ahead of hour six and so Grosse took the lead. 

Around the same time the race fell under Code 60, due to a stricken car. Then, with 40 minutes to go in part one, red flags were flown due to a heavy collision into the Turn One barriers for Joshua Bednarski in the 992 class leading Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992 I).

Overnight, Up2Race led a GT3 Porsche one-two from Proton with Viper Niza third and, importantly, on the lead lap. ARC Bratislava had progressed impressively to fourth with its Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO, Juta Racing’s Audi R8 was fifth and the GetSpeed Team JR286 Mercedes sixth.

Much cooler weather was in evidence for Sunday’s six hours, Grosse and Sturm made even starts but the latter was tenacious on the outside into Turn One and able to grab the lead. Alex Aka too was very impressive in the Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport Audi R8, surging from seventh to fourth on the road.

Within minutes the first signs of predicted rain were in the air, but it was midway through the second hour when the first genuine shower arrived. Heinemann reveled in the conditions on slicks and moved to the lead ahead of Ang’s Mercedes, but no sooner had the rain arrived it cleared again. ARC Bratislava’s challenge was then damaged after a new rear wing was required.

More rain briefly appeared later, nothing to cause too much concern, and through the closing hours the Team JR286 bid looked increasingly solid. Ultimately able to cruise to the win a lap to the good, the battle for second provided premium entertainment. Behind the fourth placed Proton Porsche, fifth went to Continental’s Aka, Vasily Vladykin, Miguel Maria Garcia and Paul Scheuschner.

Just like GT3, the action in 992 during the first hour on Saturday was tremendous with nothing to choose between Mühlner’s No.921 Porsche, the No.928 HRT Performance car and the No.909 Red Camel-Jordans.nl Porsche. Martin Rump led off class pole from Kellett and Rik Breukers, but a small error from the leader on lap four enabled Kellett to nip past. 

Over the first three hours the lead was traded by that trio, but halfway through hour four Bednarski was tagged by the E2P Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO. Following a pit visit he rejoined in fifth but returned to the head of 992 through the next pit-stop cycles. 

The race fell under a Code 60 period into hour six, allowing retrieval of a car from the gravel, and soon after came Bednarski’s concerning high-speed crash at Turn One. Thankfully emerging safely, he received additional checks at hospital but the squad’s bid for a third win this season was over. 

Red Camel started Sunday at the head of the field with three other cars on the lead lap, the No.910 Seblajoux Racing car, the HRT Porsche and the No.920 Chazel Technologie Course entry. At the end of the first hour there was high drama for Red Camel in the pitlane when the right rear wheel didn’t attach correctly and Danz didn’t hear the warnings as he pulled away – his radio not yet plugged in.

Rival teams showed great camaraderie by helping out and normal service was resumed. Thereafter, all went smoothly for Red Camel who claimed a hard-earned victory. Second and the 992-AM win was taken by the consistently strong HRT with third overall in 992 going to impressive Chazel Technologie Course trio Antoni de Barn, Jean-Paul Dominichi and Jean-Mathieu Leandri.

Not Only Motorsport enjoyed its best race of the season so far in the TCE-TCX class, its rapid Ligier JS2 R in the hands of Tornaghi, Rocchio, and Huet proving to be the class of the field. Storming into a strong early lead on Saturday, perhaps surprisingly its cushion was only one lap when racing was halted on Saturday afternoon. 

There were several late scares in Sunday’s action when the car stopped on track with gremlins, but each time the Ligier fired back into life and the team won by four laps. asBest Racing’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS (982) took a strong second place with drivers Cesar Fonseca, Silas Passos and Alexandre Dante. 

Both GT4 and GTX were contested as single car entries and, in the former, Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport performed strongly throughout the 12 hours. KEO Racing debuted its powerful Ligier JS2 RS in the GTX class and while the team lost many laps on Saturday as a result of some gearing and electrical issues, the car started Sunday’s action from pitlane and happily took the finish.

Only one race now remains in the 2026 Michelin 24H SERIES European Series, and it’s the big one – the annual visit to Spain for the one and only Michelin 24H BARCELONA across 18/19/20 September.