For Manthey, June marks one of the most challenging phases of the season. There are only a few days between the DTM at Zandvoort, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring – a project that poses special challenges for both crew and logistics.

Within just three weeks in June, Manthey has a particularly extensive programme ahead of him: the DTM at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the endurance classic at the Nürburgring. The tight schedule will challenge the team and logistics right from the start, as the DTM weekend at Zandvoort overlaps with the pre-test at Le Mans, France.

This means that six cars will be fielded at the same time for Manthey, as a third Porsche 911 GT3 R with the starting number 90 will be on the grid at the endurance classic of the WEC calendar in addition to the two cars used in the current season. The team secured the starting place for the nine-eleven driven by Antares Au (Hong Kong), Klaus Bachler (Austria) and Loek Hartog (Netherlands) by winning the GT class championship in the 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS). Immediately after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Meuspath-based team will conclude the event marathon with a home race at the Nürburgring. At the 24-hour race in the Eifel, the No. 911 car is occupied by Kévin Estre (France) and the two DTM drivers Ayhancan Güven (Turkey) and Thomas Preining (Austria).

In order for the implementation of this extensive project to succeed, a well-coordinated team effort and meticulous logistical organization are necessary. Planning for the intensive summer weeks began in winter – for Le Mans, for example, with the chequered flag falling in the finale of the ALMS in February, when the entry of three cars at the 24 Hours was confirmed.

From May onwards, the technical preparation of the three Porsches and the equipment for the race at the Circuit de la Sarthe was running in the background, while the DTM races at the Lausitzring and the 24h Qualifiers at the Nürburgring were still taking place at the same time. After the completion of both racing events, the preparation of the vehicles that started there for their next races began. Parallel processes like this continue in June: Immediately after the end of the DTM weekend at Zandvoort, some of the equipment and crew from Zandvoort travel directly on to Le Mans, while the other part makes its way back to the company headquarters in Meuspath at the same time to support the final preparations for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

Mechanics, engineers and other team members are thus in action for several weeks – although not continuously at all three events. For each series, there are largely separate crews, but they support each other. The close cooperation also extends beyond team and business unit boundaries: In all racing series, employees from other areas provide support, which not only enables extensive projects such as the intensive June to be realised, but at the same time actively lives the cross-departmental transfer of knowledge at Manthey.

"It is only through the motivated commitment of all employees that such an intensive programme in June can be implemented at all," explains Christian Moch, Group Leader GT Team at Manthey Racing GmbH. "The challenges that the month brings with it are enormous – both physically and mentally – but here our greatest strength is that we work as one large team, without strict separation between the individual projects. Where support is needed, we step in flexibly and flexibly, and we are particularly proud of this cohesion."

Each of the three events in June will challenge the team in its own way: the DTM as a sprint series differs fundamentally from the two 24-hour races in terms of format, strategy and technology, but the two endurance classics at Le Mans and the Nürburgring also each have their own challenges: While Le Mans, for example, will start with a Pro/AM line-up alongside hypercar cars, At the Nürburgring, the GT3 cars themselves form the fastest class – on a track over 25 kilometres long that is characterised by its unique track layout and often changeable weather conditions. The different requirements require flexibility and quick rethinking, but the same thing remains: Every race is approached with the same motivation, team spirit and the highest level of commitment.

"Managing several races at the same time means coordinating a lot of resources precisely. A good plan is the basis, but in the end the decisive factor is the implementation by the entire team. As a company, we can fall back on proven structures, motivated crews and cross-project and cross-division support. It will be three challenging weeks, but we are all pulling together and highly motivated. As always, we have clear goals for the races in the coming weeks and will do everything we can to achieve them together as a team," summarizes Patrick Arkenau, Head of Racing at Manthey Racing GmbH.

Race calendar June 2025:
DTM Zandvoort I 06/06-08/06/2025
24 Hours of Le Mans Pre-Test I 08/06/2025
24 Hours of Le Mans I 11/06-15/06/2025
24 Hours of Nürburgring I 19/06-22/06/2025