NLS: Carrie Schreiner wins scorching Nürburgring battle in GT3 comeback
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Carrie Schreiner made an impressive return to GT3 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, winning the AT1 class in an Audi R8, marking her 15th class victory in the NLS, as well as her first in a GT3 car.
After previously competing with the Girls Only team in NLS, Carrie Schreiner has made a surprising yet impressive return to GT3 racing at the Nürburgring, winning the AT1 class in an Audi R8.
The Saarland native’s previous GT3 outings in the NLS series had been in Mercedes, Ferrari, and BMW machinery. Now, years after her last GT3 race at the Nordschleife, Schreiner staged a comeback in her preferred vehicle class, driving the No. 18 Audi R8 for Equipe Vitesse. In doing so, the Audi ambassador remains loyal to both the brand and her supporters in the e-fuels industry. For the sixth round of the NLS, the team did not compete in the standard GT3 class (SP9); instead, due to their use of e-fuels, they entered the top class for alternative technologies: AT1.
Like all participants, the team faced unique challenges over the race weekend: the Eifel weather was excessively hot, bringing temperatures of up to 40°C on Friday and well over 35°C again on Saturday. The heat took a heavy toll on drivers, cars, and tyres, resulting in lap times that were consistently much slower than usual. Schreiner began Saturday morning's qualifying session at a somewhat cautious pace but, after an initial safety lap, secured provisional pole position for the class.
As track grip improved, her teammates stepped up the pace, securing pole position in the AT1 class—and 14th place overall, ahead of the Porsche Cup cars—with a lap time of 8:07. Their class rival failed to match this performance and finished behind them in qualifying.
During final preparations at the pit walk, just before heading to the starting grid, a sudden issue with the Audi was discovered: a fuel tank leak posed a fire risk and had to be fixed within minutes to avoid a pit-lane start. The leak was quickly discovered, but replacing the parts proved tricky. As a result, Schreiner had less time to recover before the race, as she had to get into the car immediately after the repair to make it to the starting grid in time. Ultimately, the repair was completed quickly, and after the frantic rush, the team was able to start the race normally without any issues.
At the start, Schreiner managed to defend her position but had to let a small gap open up to the cars ahead. However, she held her ground, losing only one overall position during the first lap - a move that did not affect her standing within her class. She then found her rhythm; despite constant attacks from cars in other classes coming up from behind, she maintained a steady pace and clocked an 8:14 lap time early in the race.
This would prove to be the team's fastest lap, as her teammates were unable to match it, partly due to Code 60 zones. Just 20 minutes in, the first Code 60 phase occurred at Adenauer Forst, a section of the track that saw numerous incidents throughout the race. Constant minor incidents and traffic issues eventually allowed the rival car in her class, driven by Otto, to overtake Schreiner after 30 minutes.
However, the No. 11 car's joy was short-lived; shortly after the pass, it was shown the "meatball flag" (black with an orange disc) because its GPS transponder was malfunctioning. Race control uses this device to monitor Code 60 zones, meaning the failure represented not just a technical issue but also a potential competitive advantage.
While the field spread out in most classes, the battle at the front of the AT1 class remained tight, and Schreiner managed to keep the gap close. Meanwhile, further Code 60 phases were triggered - one in the Hatzenbach section, another at Adenauer Forst, and a prolonged one at Galgenkopf. The latter, in particular, lasted almost until the end of the race.
Schreiner had now found her rhythm and was able to make up ground in the overall standings. After Otto had to make a forced pit stop for repairs, she already held a lead of over a minute over second place. Shortly before the scheduled pit stops, a new Code 60 zone was implemented at Schwedenkreuz. Schreiner capitalized on this and came in for her scheduled stop after one hour.
As soon as the Code 60 restrictions at the start of the Nordschleife were lifted, new ones at Pflanzgarten were deployed. Unlike last year, however, there was no grass fire here - though, unfortunately, there was another accident. Overall, incidents around the track were increasing significant, though most were minor issues that did not trigger a Code 60.
Ziegler, who had taken over the Audi, rejoined the track in a strong position. Thanks to the early stop, the No. 11 car was subject to a shorter minimum pit stop time and was able to quickly fix the GPS issue, allowing it to get back out ahead of the No. 18 Audi on track. Then came the next drama for the Equipe Vitesse team: Ziegler pitted shortly after taking over the car and dropped back. The brake pedal felt soft, making a safety stop necessary. He fell to 30th place overall, trailing the class leader by nearly two minutes. Undeterred, Ziegler maintained his pace. Catching up was difficult due to the numerous incidents, yet he steadily chipped away at the deficit.
A heavy crash occurred between Flugplatz and Schwedenkreuz, resulting in a long Code 60 zone in one of the fastest sections of the track at the race’s halfway point. This slow running hampered the recovery effort, though Ziegler arguably had better luck with traffic in that area than his rivals.
The gap shrank to 70 seconds. Just ten minutes later, it briefly looked like another Code 60 would be needed in a fast section: a Porsche crashed at Tiergarten losing its rear wing and came to a halt sideways across the track. However, the driver managed to limp back to the pits under his own power. Consequently, the extended neutralizations remained limited to the stretch leading to Schwedenkreuz and the Schwalbenschwanz/Galgenkopf area.
For this reason - and because pit stops were due anyway - both AT1 cars came in for service, with the drivers swapping places in each car. Froese took over from Ziegler and continued the pursuit. For the final 75 minutes, the track finally cleared except for the Schwalbenschwanz section, and the real chase began.
Froese was nearly 25 seconds faster than Kohlhaas (in car #11), narrowing the gap to just 40 seconds. Within two laps, he was right on the class leader’s tail. Running in 24th place overall, he challenged for the lead shortly after the final hour of the race began. Kohlhaas defended desperately, but it was clearly only a matter of time. Several attempts to overtake on the GP circuit prove unsuccessful. At Ahremberg, both cars are slowed down by a Code 60 zone while the other class closes in from behind.
Eventually, Froese positioned himself better for the Adenauer Forst section, pulled alongside on the inside at the exit, and managed to overtake before reaching Metzgesfeld. This secured the class lead. Froese was then able to pull away just as quickly as he had closed the gap; within the very first lap following the maneuver, he established a 12-second lead.
Towards the end, the number of accidents rised again; an SP9 Audi crashes at Hatzenbach, briefly making Schreiner’s car the top-placed Audi in the field. However, another SP9 Audi overtook after the final pit stop. Further accidents occurred at Adenauer Forst, Metzgesfeld, Kesselchen, and Schwalbenschwanz. Equipe Vitesse however remained unfazed by all this, confidently driving to a class victory and finishing 16th overall.
For Schreiner, this marks her 15th class victory in the NLS, as well as her first in the AT1 class and in a GT3 car.
"After so much bad luck this year, I’m just happy to complete a race without major complications. That’s why this little victory feels so good,“ she says. She aims to build on this success, planning to drive the Equipe Vitesse GT3 Audi again in rounds 8 and 9 of the NLS.
NLS round 7 clashes with her GTWC commitments, where she is set to compete in her next race: the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. This makes her the first female German driver scheduled to compete in both the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the race at Spa. The latter is considered the biggest and toughest race in the GT3 world. "We know how strong our competitors are, but that’s exactly what makes it so appealing,“ Schreiner continued, sounding motivated.
