Female drivers battle for overall honours in NLS Light debut
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 15 hours ago
- 7 min read
In the NLS Light round at the Nürburgring, the absence of GT3 cars allowed smaller classes to shine —and the teams featuring female drivers, particularly GirlsOnly's Schreiner and Schall and the #170 Toyota of Miki Koyama, contended for the overall podium.
The teams featuring female drivers took advantage of the absence of top-class entries in the NLS Light round to achieve top overall results at the Green Hell.
GT3-spec machines were in fact not eligible to compete in the newly introduced NLS Light format. As a result, several female drivers had a rare opportunity to challenge for overall honors.
Due to the proximity to the Nürburgring 24 Hours held two weeks earlier and other factors, the organizers decided to forego the inclusion of the larger, faster classes, instead giving smaller categories a chance to shine.
This shift also offered the chasing classes an opportunity to secure strong overall positions. There were also some changes for the female drivers on the grid: the GirlsOnly car, heavily damaged during the 24-hour race, was replaced by a new BMW M4 GT4 and entered in the SP8T class. Jasmin Preisig also switched cars: instead of her usual Golf TCR, she competed in an Audi TCR bearing the #333.
Miki Koyama returned behind the wheel of the SP8T #170 Toyota GR Supra GT4 after making her Nürburgring 24 Hours; followig her class podium, Desiree Müller also returned at the helm of the #977 Porsche Cayman GT4 in the Cup3 class.
The smaller field was immediately noticeable in qualifying. The #19 Kruse Racing Golf set a benchmark lap of 8:28.170 early on, earning the first-ever overall pole position for a car in the AT class. The reduced traffic also benefited the female drivers, with the #170 Toyota driven by Miki Koyama and the #146 GirlsOnly BMW (Carrie Schreiner and Janina Schall) setting early laps in the sub-8:40 range.
Preisig’s #333 Audi TCR and Desiree Müller’s #977 Porsche Cayman also performed strongly, placing well in both overall and class standings. After driver changes, lap times continued to drop—thanks in part to something virtually unheard of in the NLS: a completely clear Nordschleife.
The most notable improvement came from Carrie Schreiner, who steadily chipped away at her time before ultimately setting a new team record of 8:33.857. That time was good enough for seventh overall and third in class, two places ahead of Koyama’s Toyota, which Kotaka had taken to an 8:35.020.
The #333 Audi did receive two warnings in qualifying for exceeding noise limits. However, Jasmin Preisig’s lap of 8:55.518 placed them 15th overall and third in class. Desiree Müller brought the #977 Porsche to 12th overall with a time of 8:47.335—also good for third in class.
Qualifying was a joy for all drivers thanks to the minimal traffic. “I think only about 50 cars or so drove out. There was no traffic, and having the Nordschleife almost to ourselves feels fantastic,” said Janina Schall. Other drivers likened the session to “top qualifying” for the smaller cars—something normally reserved for GT3 machines during the 24-hour race.
The race start, held once again in summer heat, went smoothly for all the female drivers. Both GT4 entries gained two places on the opening lap, and the other two cars also made forward progress. Carrie Schreiner initially gained a position but soon had to concede it to the Schmickler team, slotting into sixth, just ahead of Kotaka in the #170 Toyota. However, Schmickler didn’t stay in the lead for long, suffering an incident in sector 3 of the next lap that destroyed the front right wheel suspension.
Meanwhile, the #977 Porsche climbed into the top ten overall within the first half-hour, with the #333 Audi running just outside in 13th. On lap four, Schreiner suddenly dropped to seventh—her time over 30 seconds slower than previous laps. Kotaka overtook her but pitted early the next lap in an effort to avoid a lengthy Code 60 caused by an accident involving the #730 in the Wehrseifen area. Schreiner’s time loss was due to significantly high transmission oil temperatures, forcing her to take a cool-down lap and later reduce pace overall to preserve the car.
For a brief moment, the team even feared retirement. Fortunately, Schreiner was able to keep going. Kotaka stayed in the #170 Supra, while the GirlsOnly BMW switched from Schreiner to Schall. However, the pit stop proved difficult and cost the team valuable seconds. Schall also had to manage temperatures and fuel consumption, losing further time.
Later, the other two female drivers also took over: Desiree Müller got behind the wheel of the #977 Porsche, and Jasmin Preisig replaced her teammate in the #333 Audi.
After rejoining, Müller couldn't quite match her teammate’s earlier pace and slipped back slightly. Meanwhile, Preisig in the Audi made steady gains. After taking a few laps to adjust, Schall also picked up the pace, briefly becoming the fastest driver on track.
Then came an unusual radio message from the GirlsOnly BMW: “The grass is on fire!” Indeed, smoke and flames had broken out near Pflanzgarten II and the Stefan-Bellof-S. Fire crews responded during a Code 60 period in that section.
At the halfway point, Miki Koyama took over in the #170 Toyota and continued her teammate’s strong run—although lap times now hovered around the 9-minute mark due to Code 60 zones. Running fourth overall, Schall held second in class. Koyama was sixth overall and third in class, engaged in a long-distance duel with GirlsOnly. Müller held position at the tail end of the top ten and third in class. Preisig, meanwhile, sat in 13th and third in class, just behind her teammates in their Golfs.
But trouble struck the #333 Audi. After a third noise violation, it was shown the black flag with orange disc and required to pit to address the issue. After the necessary adjustments, the Audi rejoined without further penalties.
Meanwhile, the GirlsOnly team began catching the #170 Toyota again. Schreiner, back behind the wheel, was just under nine seconds behind Koyama and lapping nearly 10 seconds faster. On the same lap, Preisig pitted and handed over to Lenz for the final stint. Müller continued in the Porsche, running a quiet but steady race and moving into class podium during pit cycles.
After another lap, Schreiner had caught up to Koyama but couldn’t get past—either on the Grand Prix loop or the Nordschleife. On the next lap, Koyama even extended the gap by a second. But on lap 20, Schreiner finally made a successful move on the run up to the Nordschleife, taking back the class lead and setting her sights on an overall podium. She quickly built a gap and stayed ahead of the race leader, avoiding being lapped.
Soon after, Koyama pitted again, and Kotaka returned to the cockpit for the final stint in the #170 Toyota. At the same time, the #333 Audi with Preisig and Lenz was forced to retire, leaving Preisig without a chance to score points in the Ladies Trophy.
The GirlsOnly team had already lost nearly 10 seconds in each pit stop due to a faulty fuel pump, which significantly delayed refueling beyond the minimum stop time. For the final stop, they coordinated with officials and used a neighboring team's pit stall with a functioning pump.
The final stop went smoothly, and Schall rejoined to bring the car home. Schreiner had completed a grueling double stint in hot summer conditions while continuing to deal with gearbox oil temperature that continued to cause time losses, especially on the Döttinger Höhe, where she was unable to reach the car’s full speed.
At this point, strategic differences began to play out: the #155 BMW and the #76 Golf inserted themselves between the leading #19 Golf and the two GT4 contenders from GirlsOnly and Toyota, having made only two pit stops. The two female-driven teams were now fighting for fourth overall.
Shortly after, the #146 GirlsOnly BMW came under investigation for a short pit stop time. At the time, they held a 30-second gap over Koyama’s #170 car—enough, they hoped, to absorb a penalty and stay ahead.
With 20 minutes remaining, drama unfolded. A murmur ran through the pits as the leading #19 Kruse Racing Golf began slowing at Schwedenkreuz. In-car footage showed Leuchter working frantically at the controls before the car came to a halt near Mutkurve. The race leader was out. GirlsOnly inherited third place overall and second in class.
Their celebration was short-lived: race control issued a 46-second penalty for missing the minimum pit stop time by 11 seconds. The dwindling lead was not enough: Kotaka in the Toyota closed the gap in the final laps, making the result clear. The #170 Toyota with Miki Koyama claimed third overall and second in class. The result brought visible joy to the typically reserved Japanese squad.
The GirlsOnly team was however understandably disappointed to miss out on an overall podium but still could celebrate third in class.
Things didn’t go smoothly for Desiree Müller’s #977 Porsche either. On the final lap, the car limped over the Döttinger Höhe with hazard lights flashing. After running in podium contention earlier, they had to settle for 10th overall and fourth in the Cup 3 class.
Despite the setbacks, the NLS Light format—without GT3s—was a hit with fans, drivers, and teams alike. Drivers particularly enjoyed not having to constantly watch their mirrors and the rare chance to drive freely on the Nordschleife. Many teams would welcome a repeat next year: among them, Carrie Schreiner, despite the team’s late heartbreak, called the event "really cool" and said she would gladly compete again.
The next NLS round, however, will return to the familiar format with GT3 and Porsche Cup cars: round 5 of the season will be held on August 16 and will be the first full-grid event after the 24-hour race.
In the Ladies Trophy standings, Janina Schall has extended her lead thanks to the team’s consistent performances and now holds a three-point advantage over Desiree Müller. After her unfortunate DNF, Jasmin Preisig remains on four points.
