RCN Round 7: Luther and Schmickler take overall victory at Nürburgring
Michael Luther and Markus Schmickler claimed their fourth win of the 2026 RCN season at the Preis der Erftquelle on the Nürburgring Nordschleife combined layout.
Over 150 entries tackled the seventh round of the 2026 Rundstrecken-Challenge Nürburgring (RCN), held on the Nordschleife with the GP short-loop configuration. Clear late-summer conditions in the Eifel provided ideal running for the penultimate round of the season, the "Preis der Erftquelle".
Michael Luther and Markus Schmickler secured their fourth overall victory of the year behind the wheel of their BMW M4 GT4. David Vogt (Opel Astra TCR) finished closely behind in second place, while Andreas Schwarz rounded out the podium in his Seat Leon Cup Racer, marking his second podium appearance of the campaign. Rolf Weißenfeld drove his Peugeot 308 TCR to fourth place, followed by Porsche Cayman Cup winners Alexander Böhm and Jürgen Marzi in fifth.
Alain Dutronc finished sixth in a Porsche Cayman GT4 CS, ahead of class winner Erich Petrich (BMW M3) in seventh. Marcel Manheller made a successful seasonal debut by taking class R2A victory and eighth overall in a Toyota Supra, having stepped in to safeguard points for his squad. The newly formed duo of Lennard von Canal and Tim Neuser claimed ninth overall and won the BMW Cup class in their BMW M240i Racing, with Pascal Krichel (BMW M3) completing the top ten.
Championship frontrunners Sven Markert and Lars Harbeck took their sixth H3 class victory in a BMW 320i, retaining the lead of the overall RCN championship despite missing the top ten following early technical issues and delay under Code 60 flags. The result also secures the RCN Senior Cup title for Harbeck ahead of the finale. Their main championship rivals Jens Schneider and Robin Reimer suffered a setback in class R4 after a time penalty for an undercut pit-stop minimum dwell time dropped them to sixth in class, severely denting their title hopes.
In RCN Light, Maximilian Weissermel took the championship lead after winning his class in a Porsche Cayman, jumping ahead of Andrea Heim (Renault Clio), who finished second in her class behind a guest entrant.