The biggest weekend of DUNLOP Motorsport’s season has arrived. From 14–17 May 2026, the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring will once again transform the Eifel mountains into the spiritual home of endurance racing. The team is bringing a fresh challenger to the grid. Carrying race number 17, a Porsche 911 GT3 R in DUNLOP’s distinctive black-and-yellow livery will tackle the Nordschleife under the team’s banner for the first time.
A Driver Quartet Built for the Nordschleife
Four drivers will share the cockpit across the 24-hour run: Frenchmen Julien Andlauer and Dorian Boccolacci, Belgium’s Alessio Picariello, and German Nico Menzel. Menzel is a Nordschleife native whose familiarity with the circuit’s quirks could prove decisive when fatigue and shifting conditions start to bite. Between them, the line-up brings international GT pedigree, hard-earned Nordschleife mileage, and the kind of metronomic pace required to keep a car in contention over a full day and night of racing.
Lessons From the Run-In
Preparation has been thorough rather than glamorous. Outings in the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Endurance Series gave engineers a chance to log real data on the 911 GT3 R’s behaviour and to fine-tune the DUNLOP rubber to the demands of the track. The season opener was pushed back by weather, but when the team finally got going, it banked a top-ten overall finish straight out of the gate. This was a useful confidence boost heading into the main event.
That groundwork matters here more than almost anywhere else. The Nordschleife rewards teams that can adapt: weather systems can swing across the 20-plus kilometre lap in minutes, grip levels shift with every rain shower, and traffic management becomes a discipline in itself when GT3 prototypes are sharing tarmac with bracket-class hatchbacks.
Individual Strengths
Andlauer arrives with a deep CV across factory GT and prototype programmes. Boccolacci and Picariello have each clocked serious time on the Nordschleife and now sit firmly within the established GT3 ranks. Menzel rounds things out as the local specialist and the driver whose instinct for the circuit can shave fractions in conditions where data alone can’t keep up.
Other DUNLOP Runners
The team isn’t the only outfit racing on DUNLOP tyres. Saugmotoren Motorsport returns with the much-loved #36 BMW Z4 E89 (2013 EVO spec), with Nordschleife regulars Ralf Schall and Christian Scherer among its drivers. BLACK FALCON Team FANATEC, partnering with Gran Turismo, enters the #632 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992.1). This crew blends experience and online-to-offline crossover, with veteran Manuel Metzger joined by YouTuber Misha Charoudin and sim racing personalities Steve Brown and Jimmy Broadbent.
For the Fans on the Ground
Spectators heading to the Boulevard fan zone will find more than just a viewing point. DUNLOP’s stand hosts an interactive motorsport area where Gran Turismo simulators let visitors put in their own virtual lap of the Nordschleife. Pride of place at the booth goes to a Porsche 962 C on loan from the Porsche Museum. This car that swept all five rounds of the 1987 Supercup season on its way to the title.
How to Watch
The race goes green at 15:00 on Saturday 17 May. Those who can’t make it to the Eifel can follow every minute via the official live stream or on RTL Nitro. DUNLOP Motorsport will also be posting updates, behind-the-scenes content and team news through its social channels throughout the weekend.
