The Porsche customer team Lionspeed GP ended the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in sixth place, with the highest-placed 911 GT3 R. Despite rainy and cool conditions, the Eifel classic attracted 352,000 spectators – more fans at the track than ever before. Dr. Ing. h.c. F Porsche AG celebrated 75 years of motorsport history with 60 customer cars in a field comprising around 160 race cars.

Once again this year, the 24-hour race took place over the 25.378-kilometre combination of the original Grand Prix circuit and the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The first twelve hours in particular were characterised by highly unpredictable weather conditions. This also resulted in constantly changing track conditions, with temperatures in the single digits. These conditions made tyre selection particularly difficult and led to numerous skids and retirements.

From the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer’s perspective, the Lionspeed GP customer team coped best with the situation. Former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich from Germany and his factory team-mates Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium and Ricardo Feller from Switzerland had to start from 24th on the grid following a problematic build-up, which included collisions in Qualifying 1 and the warm-up. During the race, the trio largely stayed out of trouble and gradually worked their way up the field. Sixth place was the reward for a flawless performance.

The same can be said about the No. 54 Porsche entered by Dinamic GT. Joel Sturm from Germany, Dutch driver Loek Hartog and the two former Danish Porsche Juniors, Michael Christensen and Bastian Buus, started the endurance classic from 21st on the grid. They, too, had a largely trouble-free race and were delighted to finish in eighth place.

In Pro-Am category, Porsche customer teams celebrated a six-fold success. In this class, professional drivers share the cockpit with ambitious amateur drivers. The class victory went to the No. 48 Black Falcon car, driven by the two Germans Patrick Assenheimer and Tobias Müller, along with Dylan Pereira from Luxembourg and Daan Arrow from the Netherlands. They finished tenth in the overall standings. The Am class for purely amateur crews went to the second Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R with Mustafa Mehmet Kaya (Turkey), Gabriele Piana (Italy), Mike Stursberg and Thomas Kiefer (both Germany). Porsche customer teams competed in eleven different classifications, winning nine of them.

“The conditions were extremely difficult. Things were particularly hectic in the first six hours, and it felt as though we were driving a full sprint race,” said Maximilian Müller, GT Race Support at Porsche Motorsport. “In the battle for the overall classification, we didn’t quite make it this year due to a few retirements, but we were also lacking a bit of pace to compete at the very front. We’re working on that now so that we’re better prepared for the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of June. Congratulations to our customer teams, who won their respective classes or achieved good results – we’re very pleased about that.”

The Porsche customer teams Manthey, Falken Motorsports and Dunlop Motorsport, as well as the No. 55 Porsche from Dinamic GT, failed to finish. The “Grello”, a particular favourite with the fans, was brought to a halt by an oil spill shortly before the four-hour mark. At that point, the works drivers Kévin Estre from France, Thomas Preining from Austria and Ayhancan Güven from Turkey were battling for a top result in second place. The Falken and Dunlop 911 GT3 R had to be retired before the halfway mark following contact with other cars. They too were in the top 10 at the time of their retirement. For the Dinamic GT car, the race was over a good 20 minutes before the finish line following a spin. It was in twelfth place.

Drivers’ quotes after the race
Ricardo Feller (Porsche 911 GT3 R #24): “We got the most out of our car, drove a flawless race, didn’t pick up any penalties and didn’t make any mistakes with the strategy or on the track. Unfortunately, our pace this weekend wasn’t enough to compete at the front. But I’m still pleased with the work everyone in the team has put in. It was great fun, even though it was a really demanding and difficult race, and at times even chaotic. The lapping traffic was bad this year, and there were a few misunderstandings on the track. But that’s all part of this race.”

Tobias Müller (Porsche 911 GT3 R #48): “That was a massive achievement by the whole team! We’d set our sights on winning the Pro-Am class and prepared well; we managed to get through the night without any issues and put up a good fight against the Pro teams. We’re very proud of that, especially given the difficult conditions and the strong field of competitors. Time and again, we were out on slicks only to have raindrops hitting the windscreen. Our 911 GT3 R lasted the full 24 hours without any problems, even though it took a few knocks, particularly in the early stages.”

Race Results
1. Engel/Stolz/Schiller/Martin (DEU/DEU/DEU/BEL), Mercedes #80, 156 Laps
2. Engstler/Bortolotti/Niederhauser (DEU/ITA/CHE), Lamborghini #84, -2.12,311 minutes
3. Krognes/Drudi/Thiim/Fernandez Laser (NOR/ITA/DEU/DEU), Aston Martin #34, -2.28,750 minutes
6. Heinrich/Vanthoor/Feller (DEU/BEL/CHE), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Lionspeed GP #24, -7.50,750 minutes
8. Buus/Christensen/Sturm/Hartog (DNK/DNK/DEU/NLD), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Dinamic GT #54, -1 lap
10. (1. PRO-AM) Arrow/Assenheimer/T. Müller/Pereira (GBR/DEU/DEU/LUX), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Black Falcon #48, -2 laps
11. (2. PRO-AM) Tilley/Hill/Kolb/Hofer (GBR/GBR/DEU/AUT), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Lionspeed GP #18, -3 laps
12. (3. PRO-AM) Rump/Bünnagel/Brundle (EST/DEU/GBR), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Mühlner Motorsport #123, -3 laps
13. (4.PRO-AM) Kim/Bruins/Cho/Seefried (KOR/NLD/KOR/DEU), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Hankook Competition #30, -5 laps
14. (5. PRO-AM) Goroyan/Kivtka/Berthon/Fontana (ARM/KGZ/FRA/CHE), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Car Collection #4, -6 laps
15. (6. PRO-AM) Li/Fjordbach/Ye/King (CHN/DNK/CHN/GBR), Porsche 911 GT3 R, High Class Racing #86, -6 laps
21. (1. AM) Kaya/Kiefer/Piana/Stursberg (TUR/DEU/ITA/DEU), Porsche 911 GT3 R, Black Falcon #5, -9 laps