New BMW M3 Touring GT3 triumphs on debut...

And looks mighty good doing it

By Matt Bird / Monday, 23 March 2026 / Loading comments

It was a very successful weekend for BMW at the first round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS). Not only did an M4 GT3 Evo, driven by Brit Dan Harper and Jordan Pepper, win overall - following a disqualification for Max Verstappen’s Mercedes, which used too many tyres - the M3 Touring GT3 also won its class. An auspicious start to another year’s endurance racing on the ‘ring.

There are caveats, as always. Prior to the disqualification, the AMG GT3 of Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon was a minute ahead of the BMW, so it would have been a pretty comfortable victory. And remember the M3 estate is competing in the experimental SPX class, rather than directly against other GT3-spec machines. For this round of the NLS, just one other car was in its category, a KTM X-Bow GTX. It came home 26th overall and second in class, against 12th overall and first for the BMW.

While it will likely have stronger competition as the season progresses, by its nature the SP-X category is never as keenly fought as some others. Probably most encouraging for the Touring team of Jens Klingmann and Ugo de Wilde is its pace is on par with the SP-9 GT3 machines, with an average speed above 170km/h and a fastest lap close to eight minutes. A trouble-free run meant that the 24H M3 finished ahead of both a Rowe Racing SP9-Pro M4 and in front of all bar one of the SP9 Pro-Am machines. Largely to be expected, of course, because this is a GT3 machine with a different body, but encouraging nonetheless. To finish first, first you have to finish and all that.

Indeed it sounds like the Touring 24H enjoyed something of a dream debut. Klingmann said: “We can draw an entirely positive conclusion... We are also very satisfied with the pace, the balance, and our learnings. There are no vibrations, no rattles, and even the little things that are important, especially for the 24-hour race, we have now started to sort out. All in all, I really enjoyed it.” Add that to the enormous interest generated by the new racing car and the weekend probably couldn’t have gone much better for BMW. Though just imagine how fired up Verstappen is going to be for the next round now…

Torsten Schubert, Team Principal of Schubert Motorsport, added: “Overall, we are very satisfied with the premiere of the BMW M3 Touring 24H. We can match the pace, similar to the GT3 cars. The first developments with the Yokohama tyre are also very positive. Now we want to continue doing a clean job – from the qualifying race to the 24-hour race.”

Not long to wait, of course, with this year’s N24 running in May. Imagine how cool an M3 Touring is going to look dicing with the Ferraris and 911s with the sun going down…