The 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours ended with a dramatic BMW M4 victory after a thrilling and unpredictable endurance race. Rowe Racing took the win in the closing hours after the leading Manthey Porsche received a decisive time penalty.
This year’s event drew an impressive crowd of 280,000 spectators, saw temperatures hit 30 degrees Celsius, and featured a field of 140 cars. The race had it all—power outages, penalties, accidents, and high-stakes racing from start to finish.
The race began at 4pm with teams managing their pace carefully in the heat. Smaller teams, like Ollis Garage Racing with their Dacia Logan, struggled early, with the car stalling at the start before rejoining later to cheers from fans.
After just two hours, the event was temporarily halted due to a power failure at the pit complex. Communication and track lighting went down, forcing a full pause. After a three-hour delay, the issue was resolved and racing resumed.
Manthey Racing’s 911 GT3 R led the pack as night fell, chased closely by Falken Racing’s similar Porsche. Rowe Racing’s M4, which started in 17th after missing final qualifying, steadily moved up the field, gaining momentum as the night wore on.
Trouble struck Team Falken when their #33 GT3 R collided with another car after contact from a BMW 3 Series. The incident took Falken out of contention, giving Manthey breathing room to extend their lead.
Manthey held strong through the night and into the final hours. However, drama unfolded as Kevin Estre, driving for Manthey, collided with a backmarker Aston Martin while attempting an aggressive overtake. The move sent the Vantage airborne and drew a 100-second penalty from race officials.
This late penalty swung the result in favor of Rowe Racing. Their BMW M4 had been consistent all race, and the team capitalized perfectly, finishing just behind Manthey on track but winning comfortably once the penalty was applied.
With most BMW teams choosing to skip the race to focus on Spa, Rowe’s victory with the lone M4 was even more impressive. This marks BMW’s first Nürburgring 24 win since 2020, once again edging out rivals like Audi and Porsche in one of the world’s most demanding endurance races.
