Akshay Gupta scores podium finish at the Nürburgring 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen

Indian endurance racer and tech entrepreneur Akshay Gupta grabbed a second-place finish in the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). He was piloting a Hyundai i30N for STENLE Marketing Team Mertens Motorsport alongside German Alex Schneider and Belgian Jarno D’Hauw. The podium finish was in the sixth round of the championship in the VT2-F 4WD class at the KW 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen.

Heavy morning fog on the race weekend forced organisers to shorten the qualifying from 90 minutes to just 40. These unusual conditions meant the six-hour race was reduced to 4 hours and 30 minutes. Despite the setbacks, the trio fought their way up the order from sixth on the grid to second place.

Gupta was the only Indian on the grid among 309 drivers from 27 nations. Throughout the race, Schneider battled through health difficulties, putting Gupta in the car for the second stint while Schneider returned for the final three laps, bagging the podium finish.

Commenting on the victory, Gupta said, “This result is a much-needed turnaround for us this season, after a series of DNFs and setbacks earlier in the year. Standing on the podium again is a huge relief and a big step in boosting the team morale. We basically did 28 qualifying laps. The competition in our class keeps getting tougher and tougher, so it is getting more rewarding to race here. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this race.”

The second-place finish marks Gupta’s third major endurance podium of 2025, following successes at the Dubai 24 Hours (TCE class) and the Nürburgring 24 Hours (SP3T class) earlier this year with AsBest Racing.