Porsche 911 GT3 R Shines at Nürburgring Classic with Top 10 Finishes Amidst Challenging Conditions

The legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife witnessed another thrilling 24-hour race, with a record crowd of 352,000 spectators braving unpredictable weather. Porsche's iconic 911 GT3 R demonstrated its resilience and performance, securing multiple top-10 finishes despite treacherous track conditions and a highly competitive field.

Key Takeaways

• Three Porsche 911 GT3 R cars finished within the top 10 overall.

• Porsche customer teams dominated the Pro-Am category, securing a six-fold success and the class victory.

• Despite challenging weather, Porsche customer teams claimed nine class wins out of eleven categories entered.

A Grueling Race on the Nordschleife

The 24-hour race, held on the demanding 25.378-kilometer circuit combining the Grand Prix track and the Nordschleife, was significantly impacted by highly unpredictable weather in its initial twelve hours. Single-digit temperatures and constantly changing track conditions made tire selection a critical challenge, leading to numerous incidents and retirements.

Lionspeed GP Leads the Charge

The Lionspeed GP customer team, featuring former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich, factory drivers Laurens Vanthoor, and Ricardo Feller, navigated the difficult conditions commendably. Starting from 24th on the grid due to pre-race issues, the trio executed a flawless performance, steadily climbing the ranks to secure a sixth-place finish.

Dinamic GT Secures Strong Eighth Place

Another Porsche 911 GT3 R, entered by Dinamic GT (car #54), also delivered a robust performance. Drivers Joel Sturm, Loek Hartog, and former Danish Porsche Juniors Michael Christensen and Bastian Buus, who started 21st, completed a largely trouble-free race to finish in eighth position overall.

Pro-Am Category Dominance

Porsche customer teams achieved remarkable success in the Pro-Am category, claiming a six-car sweep. The #48 Black Falcon entry, driven by Patrick Assenheimer, Tobias Müller, Dylan Pereira, and Daan Arrow, clinched the class victory and finished tenth overall. The purely amateur class (Am) was won by the second Black Falcon Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Mustafa Mehmet Kaya, Gabriele Piana, Mike Stursberg, and Thomas Kiefer at the helm.

Porsche Motorsport's Perspective

Maximilian Müller, GT Race Support at Porsche Motorsport, acknowledged the extreme difficulty of the race. "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," he stated. While acknowledging that outright victory in the overall classification wasn't achieved this year due to retirements and a slight pace deficit, he expressed satisfaction with the customer teams' successes and highlighted ongoing work to improve for future events like the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Notable Retirements

Several other strong Porsche contenders faced unfortunate retirements. The highly popular "Grello" car, driven by works drivers Kévin Estre, Thomas Preining, and Ayhancan Güven, was forced to stop due to an oil spill while battling for a top position. The Falken Motorsports and Dunlop Motorsport 911 GT3 R entries also retired before the halfway mark after contact with other cars, despite running in the top 10 at the time. The #55 Dinamic GT car's race concluded shortly before the finish line following a spin, while in twelfth place.

Driver Reactions

Ricardo Feller commented on the team's effort, "We got the most out of our car, drove a flawless race... Unfortunately, our pace this weekend wasn’t enough to compete at the front." Tobias Müller expressed pride in the Pro-Am victory, stating, "That was a massive achievement by the whole team! We’d set our sights on winning the Pro-Am class and prepared well."