Porsche and its customer teams are aiming for their 14th overall victory in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring on 21/22 June. In the top SP9 class, seven 911 GT3 R will be battling it out for overall victory at this year's Eifel classic.

The field of participants comprises a total of 141 vehicles, including 54 Porsches. The sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart is thus the most strongly represented brand at the 53rd running of the endurance race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

The Porsche customer teams sent a clear signal at the so-called "Qualifiers" in May: the powerful 911 GT3 R fielded by Scherer Sport PHX won both races over four hours. Manthey's nine-eleven, known as the "Grello", secured a position on the podium, as did the two GT3 Porsches fielded by Falken Motorsports. The Dinamic GT customer team is also aiming for overall victory in the 24-hour Eifel race with one of the identical 911 GT3 R, while Hankook and Black Falcon are primarily fighting for a top position in the Pro-AM classification of the SP9 class. Here, professionals share the cockpit with ambitious private drivers.

"The VLN races of the year so far and the two 'Qualifiers' races have shown that we are well positioned together with our professional customer teams," explains Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. "However, no one should be blinded by the good results: In the past races, we didn't have the entire field on the track nor did we see the true balance of power – I'm sure that the 24-hour competition will be very close and exciting. One thing is certain: we feel well prepared and want to clinch the next overall victory with the 911 GT3 R."

The commitment of Porsche customer teams goes far beyond participation in the top SP9 class for GT3 cars. 47 other racing cars of the brand are on the entry list in ten different categories. Thus, the sports car manufacturer once again provides the largest contingent of participants. With 17 units each, the various variants of the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and the 911 GT3 Cup are the most popular models. Eleven nine-elevens will start in the Cup2 category reserved for the current one-make cup race cars alone, and in the Cup3 classification for the GT4 Cayman, there are as many as twelve cars.

"Porsche is once again the most strongly represented brand at the Nürburgring 24-hour race this year. This shows that we enjoy great trust among our partners and customers and that our products are well established on the market," says Michael Dreiser, Head of Sales Porsche Motorsport. "I'm sure that the seven Porsche 911 GT3 R will deliver a strong performance in the tough competition of the top SP9 class: the customer teams work extremely professionally, the race cars are manned by first-class drivers. In the other categories, such as the intensely competitive Cup2 class with the 911 GT3 Cup and the Cup3 class with the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, our customers will certainly offer exciting motorsport again."

The race and the legendary "Green Hell"

The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring is taking place for the 53rd time. After the first edition in June 1970, the endurance classic was cancelled three times: in 1974 and 1975 due to the oil crisis and in 1983 due to construction work. Since 2005, a 25.378-kilometre combination of historic Nordschleife and modern Grand Prix circuit has been used. The track includes more than 70 corners, including the famous "carousel" with its steep elevation. On the roller coaster, the highest gradient is 18 percent, the gradient is a maximum of eleven percent. On the 2.6-kilometre-long "Döttinger Höhe", some racing cars reach top speeds of over 280 km/h.

The 24-hour race in the Eifel region is part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, along with the equally long classic in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), the 12 Hours of Bathurst (Australia), the 1,000-kilometre race in Suzuka (Japan) and the 8-hour race in Indianapolis (USA). Porsche won the manufacturers' title in this unofficial GT3 world championship in 2024.

The 24-hour race live on TV and in the stream

The German free TV channel Nitro will broadcast the Eifel classic live over the entire 24 hours. Pre- and post-coverage comprise almost four additional hours of airtime. The official website of the race offers a free livestream and live timing at www.24h-rennen.de/live/. The track announcers also provide the numerous fans at the track with up-to-date information at all times via Radio Nürburgring on the VHF frequency 87.7 MHz.

Teams and drivers at a glance (SP9 class, Porsche 911 GT3 R)

Scherer Sport PHX #16 – Ricardo Feller (SUI), Patric Niederhauser (SUI), Laurens Vanthoor (BEL)
Falken Motorsports #33 – Julien Andlauer (FRA), Nico Menzel (DEU), Sven Müller (DEU), Alessio Picariello (BEL)
Falken Motorsports #44 – Dorian Boccolacci (FRA), Tim Heinemann (DEU), Dennis Marschall (DEU), Morris Schuring (NLD)
Black Falcon #48 – Daan Arrow (NLD), Ben Bünnagel (DEU), Mustafa Mehmet Kaya (TUR), Gabriele Piana (SUI)
Dinamic GT #54 – Bastian Buus (DNK), Matteo Cairoli (ITA), Loek Hartog (NLD), Joel Sturm (DEU)
Hankook Competition #55 – Jongkyum Kim (KOR), Roelof Bruins (NLD), Marco Holzer (DEU), Steven Cho (CDN)
Manthey EMA #911 – Kévin Estre (FRA), Ayhancan Güven (TUR), Thomas Preining (AUT), Patrick Pilet (FRA)*
* = Reserve driver

Drivers' comments before the race

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16): "Directly after the intensive weeks in Le Mans, the next highlight is just around the corner. The Nürburgring 24 Hours is my favourite race. It will be exhausting, but certainly exciting and beautiful again. In the 'Qualifiers' it went very well for us. But that doesn't have to mean anything. Only at the big race is everyone really at the start and only then do we see the true balance of power. I'm really looking forward to it."

Julien Andlauer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #33): "This is the second time after 2024 that I'm competing with Team Falken. In the 'Qualifiers', it was good to do a few laps at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R – and we were quite successful on top of that. The track offers us drivers wonderful challenges, it's just fun. I hope that we will be at the forefront this year. The top 5 is the minimum goal, we are also happy to take a podium place or even the victory. It would be good for us if there was nice weather. We have great expectations."

Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R #911): "To drive with Team Manthey in the 'Grello' at the Nürburgring – that's something very special. The track is simply a dream. Our preparation went very well. All drivers got a lot of time in the cockpit in the VLN races and in the 'Qualifiers'. I was lucky enough to find different conditions during these races: I drove on slicks and on rain tyres. These experiences are important, we have learned a lot. I'm ready!"

The schedule

Thursday, June
19 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Qualifying 1
8:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.: Qualifying 2 (SP9 class only)
8:15 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.: Qualifying 2 (all classes)

Friday, June
20 1:20 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Top Qualifying
4:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.: Qualifying 3

Saturday, June
21 12:00 p.m. – 12:40 p.m.: Warmup
4:00 p.m.: Start of the 24-hour race

Sunday, June
22, 4:00 p.m.: Finish 24-hour race