Only one week after the twice around the clock classic at the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans come a second 24 Endurance Classic The Nurburgring 24 Hours.
With a massive field taking to the famous Nordschleife circuit this 24 Hour race is far from a fait accompli.
The Porsche customer team Manthey-Racing tackles the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring as the title defenders. After last year’s victory with the Porsche works drivers Richard Lietz, Patrick Pilet, Frédéric Makowiecki and Nick Tandy, the experienced squad from Meuspath are now aiming for the seventh overall victory.
“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.”
Australia’s Matt Campbell will be one of those behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R for the Frikadelli Racing Team alongside #31, Romain Dumas (F), Sven Müller (D) and Mathieu Jaminet (F).
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).
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).
The 2019 Nurburgring 24 Hour race starts 11:00PM AEST Saturday night and livestreaming with full English commentary from the team at behind Radio Le Mans will take you through the big race.
With Porsche Motorsport Media Release
