Alex Brundle’s Nürburgring 24 Hours detour led to an unlikely GT3 podium

Max Verstappen must have thought his dreams of winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours were dashed. On the Monday of race week it was confirmed: for the first time, I would be driving a Mühlner GT3 car at the Nordschleife. A late call-up for a private team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R was an immense experience, and there was a class podium for our troubles. In fact, I was going to the Eifel that weekend anyway.

A 2-litre, ’65 Porsche was on the original menu. We filmed for Motor Sport at the Le Mans Classic with our Ford GT40 in 2025. The aim was to repeat the journey this time in a historic 3-litre Carrera RSR in the Nürburgring’s DHLM series. But reality struck: the cost to achieve this looked like the lottery numbers you would have had to select to pay it. So, classic Porsche specialist Richard Tuthill placed me with a customer at the Nürburgring to make a film.

A relaxing weekend in the Eifel, then. Until Bernhard Mühlner called and spoiled it all by offering me a drive in the race proper. A Tale of Two Porsches was the film’s title until a mechanical issue prevented the car from running. The next twist is that, ironically, my historic racing host, Patrick Kolb, was our main opposition team owner and a driver for the 24 Hours. A day later, I found myself banging wheels with the GT3 911 car of the bloke who had actually hired me for the weekend. How very ‘motor sport’.

I did some ‘proper’ historic racing too – before Germany, two races at the Donington Historic Festival. Gary Pearson’s Lister-Jaguar is always a delight. We were able to win the Stirling Moss Trophy for ’50s sports cars. The Lister is quick and snappy. A similarly aged D-type does all its complaining on the brakes, with an angry ‘tail wag’ on application, but then leaves you alone to glide into the corners. The Lister has similar grip, but the argument over direction is longer from the first turn of the wheel to the exit, feeling stiff and light.

I also shared my Ford Mustang with Scott Mansell – aka YouTuber Driver61 – in the pre-66 touring car race. Scott was excellent, leaving me with the pressure on by bringing the car in at the pitstops in second place. A multi-Mustang battle with British Touring Car champion Tom Ingram was my task if we wanted to keep P2. Drizzle then became properly wet, which in a live-axle Mustang means full throttle is a ‘no’ anywhere on track. I lost the sideways tussle; third at the flag.

The receptionist at the Premier Inn at Donington now knows me by name, because just before making haste for the Nürburgring, I was back. This time I was driving the only running, fully carbon-fibre Lister Storm GTL in which Julian Bailey and Jamie Campbell-Walter won the 1999 British GT Championship. My first go in a pukka GT1 car and impressively enough, exactly as it was left at the end of that season.

It’s of its era, but it’s amazing how fast it is: the best part of 700bhp. By now in acceleration terms I have a sense for drag, and it wonderfully punctures the air exactly how you’d imagine.