24h Nürburgring: Porsche tackles Nürburgring 24-hour race from third on the grid

Top-Qualifying

With this, Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and his teammates Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Kévin Estre (France) have secured a very good starting baseline to tackle the race. 

The 28 fastest cars headed off into the individual time trials at ten-second intervals to attempt two quick laps on the Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife combination. Mathieu Jaminet was the first Porsche driver to tackle the decisive qualifier. The Frenchman, who shares the cockpit with Matt Campbell (Australia), Romain Dumas (France) and Sven Müller (Germany), clocked the fifth fastest time with his No. 31 500+hp nine-eleven from Weissach on fifth place. This made Frikadelli Racing the second best customer team at the Top Qualifying on the Nürburgring.

Frédéric Makowiecki (France) scored the seventh fastest time in the cockpit of Manthey-Racing’s title-defending Porsche 911 GT3 R with the starting number 1. With this grid spot, the experienced squad from Meuspath, with Richard Lietz (Austria), Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain), has the best chances of repeating last year’s triumph. The third Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Manthey-Racing with Matteo Cairoli (Italy) and Dennis Olsen (Norway) as well as the two German drivers Otto Klohs and Lars Kern takes up the Eifel classic on Saturday from twelfth. Klaus Bachler, Martin Ragginger (both Austria), Jörg Bergmeister and Dirk Werner (both Germany) head into the Nürburgring 24-hour race for Falken Motorsports from P18 in their Porsche 911 GT3 R (#44). The IronForce by Ring Police squad with drivers Lucas Luhr (Germany), Jan-Erik Slooten (Germany), Steve Jans (Luxembourg) and Adrien de Leener (Belgium) concluded the qualifying on 24th with the No. 8 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Quotes from the Top Qualifying

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “As expected, the result of the qualifying was very close. The gap between the frontrunners is tight. I’m very pleased with position three and also with the performances of the other Porsche 911 GT3 R. Hopefully we’ll squeeze out the last remaining bit in the race.”

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 GT3 R #911): “My second lap was a little better than my first. But unfortunately I made a minor mistake and that ruined my chances of a better time. Still, third place is a very good starting position for such a race. The car is agile and very well balanced. I’m really looking forward to the race. However, as we’ve experienced often enough, anything can happen here at the Nürburgring.”

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #31): “My lap was actually quite good. Maybe I could have done a little better in the first flying lap on fresh tyres, but the fifth and second best Porsche is pretty good. I was actually at the limit in all sectors and I took quite a risk. The pressure was enormous, but I had a lot of fun. We’re starting from the front of the field, which initially means not a lot of traffic. But the race is long and a lot can happen.”

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 GT3 R #1): “The setup we chose wasn’t quite right for the conditions compared to the previous sessions. We now have to assess the reason for this. The handling in the right and left-hand corners was very different. Of course, the qualifying isn’t the most important thing, but we’ll work on our vehicle setup again in time for the race.” 

Matteo Cairoli (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12): “At the end of the day, I’m very satisfied. I pushed hard, but I encountered a yellow flag during my fast lap and I had to slow down. Twelfth on the grid for the 24-hour race is absolutely okay. Anything can happen during the race. We have a fast car and we’re heading into the race with a good feeling.”

Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #44): “It’s actually crazy to get such a free run on the Nordschleife. That happens only once a year at the Top Qualifying. My lap was pretty good, but I didn’t manage to string all the sectors together perfectly. Still, we can live with P18. I’m really looking forward to the race.”

Lucas Luhr (Porsche 911 GT3 R #8): “My stint was okay, but I could have pushed a little more at certain points in my first lap. The gap to the top two is very big, but the cards will be reshuffled in the race.”

Result Top Qualifying

1. Christodoulou/Engel/Metzger/Müller (GB/D/D/D), Mercedes-AMG GT3, 8:10.910 minutes
2. Hohenadel/Arnold/Marciello/Götz (D/D/I/D), Mercedes-AMG GT3, + 0.137 seconds
3. Bamber/Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor (NZ/DK/F/B), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 0.657 seconds
5. Dumas/Campbell/Müller/Jaminet) (F/AUS/D/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 1.871 seconds
7. Lietz/Makowiecki/Pilet/Tandy (A/F/F/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 2.678 seconds
12. Klohs/Kern/Olsen/Cairoli (D/D/N/I), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 4.023 seconds
18. Bachler/Bergmeister/Ragginger/Werner (A/D/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 5.800 seconds
24. Slooten/Luhr/De Leener/Jans) (D/D/B/L), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 8.381 seconds

Preview

In the top SP9 category for GT3 cars, seven Porsche 911 GT3 R vehicles have been entered under the four customer teams Manthey-Racing, Frikadelli Racing, IronForce by Ring Police and Falken Motorsport. A total of 45 race cars from Porsche are on the entry list. 

Five of the seven Porsche 911 GT3 R represent the latest generation of the GT3 car from Weissach, which was unveiled at last year’s 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. The goal for the customer sport racer, which has already underlined its great potential at the Nürburgring long-distance championship (VLN), the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Blancpain GT Series and the ADAC GT Masters, is to build on the successes of the previous model at the “Green Hell” classic. 

“Defending the title is on this year’s agenda. This task began on the very same day we clinched victory in 2018,” says Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. “To date, our new GT3 vehicle has clocked up more than 25,000 kilometres on the Nordschleife. The strength of the Porsche 911 GT3 R lies in its consistency over long stints. Our customer teams Frikadelli Racing, Falken Motorsport, Ring Police and Manthey-Racing have contributed significantly to making the overall package competitive. We now want to turn that into a top result at the 24-hour race.” 


Porsche 911 GT3 R, Frikadelli Racing Team #31, Romain Dumas (F), Sven Müller (D), Mathieu Jaminet (F), Matt Campbell (AUS), 2019, Porsche AG
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Frikadelli Racing Team

The ADAC TOTAL 24-hour race will be contested on a 25.378-kilometre combination of the Grand Prix circuit and the Nordschleife northern loop. “It’s like a winding country road. But as opposed to road traffic, maximum speed is permitted on the Nordschleife – it’s huge fun,” says title defender Richard Lietz (Austria). “The most extraordinary thing is that you have to inch your way closer to the limit every single lap. The conditions often change in the different track sectors, the traffic is unpredictable, and the fuel consumption alone changes the behaviour of the car on each lap,” explains Frédéric Makowiecki (France).

Christensen: “There can be only one goal: first place!”

The winners of the 2018 24-hour race will take up the challenge in the Porsche 911 GT3 R with the starting number 1. Porsche works drivers Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Michael Christensen (Denmark), Kévin Estre (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) share the cockpit of Manthey’s identical No. 911 sister car. “This race is one big adventure,” says Michael Christensen. “The weather always plays a major role, and the traffic situation is often tricky. It’s a huge challenge that we love to take on. When you drive for Manthey-Racing, there can be only one goal: first place!”

With six overall victories, including four in a row from 2006 to 2009, Manthey-Racing is the most successful team at the 24-hour classic, which has been contested in the Eifel since 1970. The crew under the brothers Martin and Nicolas Raeder fields a third Porsche 911 GT3 R. Otto Klohs shares driving duties at the wheel of the 2018-spec vehicle (No. 12) with the Porsche Young Professionals Dennis Olsen (Norway) and Matteo Cairoli (Italy) as well as development driver Lars Kern (Germany).

Porsche assists it long-standing partners with technical support and drivers. The No. 44 car campaigned by Falken Motorsport is manned by works drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Dirk Werner (both Germany) as well as the Austrians Martin Ragginger and Klaus Bachler. Joining forces in the new Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Frikadelli Racing (No. 31) are the works drivers Romain Dumas (France) and Sven Müller (Germany) as well as the Porsche Young Professionals Mathieu Jaminet (France) and Matt Campbell (Australia). The previous season’s car with the number 30 is driven by team owner Klaus Abbelen, Alexander Müller and Robert Renauer (all from Germany) and the Porsche Young Professional from Austria, Thomas Preining. Jan-Erik Sloten (Germany), Steve Jans (Luxembourg), Adrien de Leener (Belgium) and Lucas Luhr (Germany) take up the competition for IronForce by Ring Police in the No. 8 car. 


Porsche 911 GT3 R, Manthey-Racing #1, Richard Lietz (A), Frédéric Makowiecki (F), Patrick Pilet (F), Nick Tandy (GB), Manthey-Racing #911, Earl Bamber (NZ), Michael Christensen (DK), Kévin Estre (F), Laurens Vanthoor (B), 2019, Porsche AG
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Manthey-Racing #1

An overview of the cockpit crews (SP9 class)

Manthey-Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #1)
Richard Lietz, Patrick Pilet, Frédéric Makowiecki, Nick Tandy

Manthey-Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #911)
Earl Bamber, Kévin Estre, Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor

Manthey-Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12)
Otto Klohs, Lars Kern, Dennis Olsen, Matteo Cairoli

IronForce by Ring Police (Porsche 911 GT3 R #8)
Jan-Erik Slooten, Lucas Luhr, Steve Jans, Adrien de Leener

Frikadelli Racing Team (Porsche 911 GT3 R #30)
Klaus Abbelen, Alexander Müller, Robert Renauer, Thomas Preining

Frikadelli Racing Team (Porsche 911 GT3 R #31)
Romain Dumas, Sven Müller, Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell

Falken Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #44)
Jörg Bergmeister, Dirk Werner, Martin Ragginger, Klaus Bachler

The Porsche 911 GT3 R

The 911 GT3 R was newly developed for the 2019 season. Improvements in the areas of aerodynamics and kinematics were systematically implemented from the insights garnered from the many race outings of its predecessor. The six-cylinder engine in the rear of the GT3 customer racer produces over 368 kW (500 hp). The successful predecessor vehicle has netted many victories in international racing series, including the IMSA SportsCar Championship, the World Challenge, the ADAC GT Masters, the 24- hour race on the Nürburgring and the Bathurst 12-hour race.

The Schedule

The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring is one of the largest motorsport events in the world, to which more than 200,000 spectators are expected. 158 cars and around 580 drivers will head into the Eifel classic at 3.30pm on Saturday.
The free-TV station RTL Nitro broadcasts the top qualifying (21 June, 19:00 hours) as well as the entire race live. The Eifel classic can been viewed free-of-charge via live streaming on the internet website www.24h-Rennen.de as well as on numerous motorsport web portals.