Works drivers contest Nordschleife classic

The race is over. You can find the results here.

Interim report after 18 hour

The Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the Manthey Racing works team has made it safely through the night at the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. With six hours to the finish of this gripping and eventful Eifel classic, which was red-flagged for three hours on Saturday due to a severe storm with rain and hail, the number 912 nine-eleven driven by Michael Christensen (Denmark) is still running in sixth position. His teammates with whom he will make a renewed attempt to claim the top spot in the closing phase of the race are Richard Lietz (Austria), Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France).

“It’s important to survive the night at the Nürburgring“, said Head of Porsche Motorsport Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser. “We kept out of trouble and have held on to sixth place. The weather conditions were pretty bad early on in the night but then it dried up. We now have six hours of racing to go, which is the same distance as an entire WEC race. We have three WEC distances behind us, but now it counts. For us, this means to go all out again. It looks as if it will rain again. And thanks to our traction advantage, rain has always been known as Porsche weather.”

“There’s a lot happening out there on the circuit. With fog and several accidents you have to be really careful. I’m pleased we’ve made it this far without any problems,” said Richard Lietz after his night stint. Jörg Bergmeister added: “Things were chaotic in the morning with lots of cars at the side of the racetrack. Towards the end of my stint it was great driving and loads of fun. Our car ran flawlessly. The cool temperatures aren’t causing us any problems.”

Interim report after 8 hour

With a breathtaking charge through the field, the 911 GT3 R campaigned by the Manthey Racing Porsche works team is now within striking distance of the leader at the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring. Michael Christensen (Denmark), who shares the #912 vehicle with Richard Lietz (Austria), Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France), is now running in fifth place after eight hours of racing on the legendary Nordschleife. Before the race had to be red-flagged for three hours during the afternoon due to a bad storm with heavy rain and hail, the 911 GT3 R was still running in 14th place. But by the time Jörg Bergmeister came in for a pit stop after the re-start he had managed to make up eight places.

“That was a very turbulent start. First the long formation lap, then the spray and lots of aquaplaning,” said Jörg Bergmeister after handing the 911 GT3 R off to Frédéric Makowiecki. “The conditions were incredibly critical, but once the track started to dry the car improved and I was able to make up positions.

Interim report after 1 hour

The Porsche works team Manthey Racing has experienced a difficult start to the 24-hour race on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife. While the Austrian Richard Lietz is running 14th in the # 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R, in just the second lap Nick Tandy from Britain hit the barriers in the sister car. After an accident in the Top 30 Qualifying on Friday, the # 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R had taken up the marathon from 29th on the grid. The defending Le Mans champion had already overtaken eight opponents before going off the track in the Hohe Acht region. Due to a storm with rain and hail, the race was red-flagged at 16.20 hours and restarted only at 19.20 hours.

“It very much seems as if Lady Luck is not with us on the Nordschliefe this time,” said the Head of Porsche Motorsport Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser. “The race is over for our number 911 car. But once the race restarts, we still have an iron in the fire with our 912 contender.”

The 44th edition of the long distance classic in the Eifel got underway at 15.30 hours with 155 vehicles and 576 drivers sharing driving duties over the 24 hours.

Top-30-Qualifying

The fastest Porsche 911 GT3 R takes up the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring on Saturday from the sixth grid row. In the Top 30 Qualifying, which was run on the Nordschleife in individual timed laps under difficult conditions, Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki posted the twelfth quickest time in his flying lap. For the race, he shares driving duties in the cockpit of the 500 hp 911 GT3 R campaigned by the Manthey Racing works team with Richard Lietz (Austria), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Jörg Bergmeister (Germany).

In Manthey Racing’s second 911 GT3 R, his teammate and compatriot Kévin Estre left the partially damp track and crashed into the barriers. He will start the race with his teammates, overall Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) as well as Patrick Pilet (France), from 29th on the grid. As the best customer team to make it into the Top 30 Qualifying, Frikadelli Racing clinched position 20 with Patrick Huisman from the Netherlands.

2nd Qualifying

The second qualifying began on a wet track but was almost completely dry by the end of the session. The #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R, shared by the overall Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Frenchmen Patrick Pilet and Kévin Estre, qualified on tenth place. Their teammates Richard Lietz (Austria), Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) landed on the 15th grid spot. The customer team Frikadelli Racing clocked an excellent fifth fastest lap time under perfect track conditions.

1st Qualifying

The factory-supported Manthey Racing team has used the first qualifying session for the 24-hour race on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife predominantly to set up the two 911 GT3 R racers. The new customer racing cars from Weissach have already made it to the Top-30 Qualifying, which will determine the grid positions of the top teams on Friday. For this reason, the main priority for the qualifying session until shortly before midnight on Thursday on the storied racetrack in the Eifel was not to turn fast lap times, but to continue preparing for the race. The Eifel classic takes off on Saturday at 15.30 hrs.

Tackling initially dry and then wet conditions, the 911 GT3 R with the starting number 911, helmed by overall Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) with Frenchmen Patrick Pilet and Kévin Estre, set the 13th quickest time. The fastest qualifying lap time of their teammates Richard Lietz (Austria), Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) ranked them 34th.

Eight Porsche works drivers compete for Manthey Racing at the Nürburgring. Sharing the cockpit of the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R are outright Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Nick Tandy (Great Britain), the defending IMSA GT champion Patrick Pilet (France), as well as his compatriot Kévin Estre. In the sister 911 GT3 R with the starting number 912 are Richard Lietz (Austria), the 2015 winner of the FIA World Endurance Trophy as the best GT pilot, as well as Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France). Another works driver, Wolf Henzler (Germany), will contest the marathon for the Falken Motorsports customer squad.  

Manthey Racing (#911) with Nick Tandy (GB), Kévin Estre (F), Earl Bamber (NZ), Patrick Pilet (F)

Manthey Racing (#912) with Richard Lietz (A), Jörg Bergmeister (D), Michael Christensen (DK), Frederic Makowiecki (F)

Frikadelli Racing Team (#3) with Klaus Abbelen (D), Sabine Schmitz (D), Patrick Huisman (NL), Norbert Siedler (A)

Manthey Racing (#12) with Otto Klohs (D), Dieter Schmidtmann (D), Jens Richter (D), Robert Renauer (D)

Wochenspiegel Team Manthey (#21) with Georg Weiss (D), Oliver Kainz (D), Jochen Krumbach (D), Mike Stursberg (D)

Falken Motorsports (#44) with Wolf Henzler (D), Peter Dumbreck (GB), Martin Ragginger (A), Alexandre Imperatori (CN)

The 911 GT3 R celebrated it race debut in January 2016 at the Daytona 24-hour race mounted with the new, ultra-modern, four-litre flat-six DFI engine. The new racer promptly clinched pole position and finished the race second in the GTD class. The first victory came shortly afterwards at the World Challenge in the USA. Porsche designed the 500 hp customer-sport racer for GT3 series around the world based on the 911 GT3 RS production sports car. In its development, engineers paid special attention to uncompromising lightweight design, better aerodynamic efficiency and reduced consumption as well as improved handling.

Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “First Nürburgring, then Le Mans – two 24-hour classics within just three weeks pose a great challenge for us all. At the Nürburgring we’re placing the new 911 GT3 R into the capable hands of our long-standing partner Manthey Racing. Thanks to its extensive Nordschleife experience, this successful squad knows the Nordschleife like no other team and has already been able to gain valuable knowledge from VLN races with our new customer sports racer. Together with our works drivers, they will do everything to bring home the sixth joint victory from this extraordinary race.”

Sascha Pilz, Director GT Customer Sport: “Aside from Weissach, the Nürburgring Nordschleife was something of a second test and development ground for the new 911 GT3 R. After a strong start to the season at Daytona and many promising test runs at various VLN races, we’re now eager to see how the new car performs at the 24-hour race on this unique circuit under Manthey Racing and experienced customer teams.”

Standings after 18 hours
1. Alzen/Arnold/Götz/Seyffarth (D/D/D/D), Mercedes, 93 laps
2. Schneider/Engel/Christodoulou/Metzger (D/D/GB/D), Merecedes, 93
3. Vietoris/Seefried/Hohenadel/Van der Zande (D/D/D/NL), Mercedes, 93
6. Lietz/Bergmeister/Christensen/Makowiecki (A/D/DK/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 93
11. Dumbreck/Henzler/Ragginger/Imperatori (GB/D/A/CHN), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 91
15. Weiss/Kainz/Krumbach/Stursberg (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 90
22. Klohs/Schmidtmann/Richter/Renauer (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 86

Top 30 Qualifying

1. Haupt/Buurman/Engel/Müller (D/NL/D/D), Mercedes, 8:14.515 minutes
2. Farfus/Krohn/Müller/Wittmann (BRA/SF/D/D), BMW M6, + 1.631 seconds
3. Alzen/Arnold/Götz/Seyffarth (D/D/D/D), Mercedes, + 3.865
12. Lietz/Bergmeister/Christensen/Makowiecki (A/D/DK/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 7.433
20. Abbelen/Schmitz/Huisman/Siedler (D/D/NL/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 13.465
27. Weiss/Kainz/Krumbach/Stursberg (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 32.990
29. Bamber/Tandy/Pilet/Estre (NZ/GB/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, DNF

2nd Qualifying

1. Alzen/Arnold/Götz/Seyffarth (D/D/D/D), Mercedes, 8:16.311 minutes
2. Vietoris/Seefried/Hohenadel/Van der Zande (D/D/D/NL), Mercedes, + 0.179 sec.
3. Al Faisal/Gerwin/Dontje/Huff (SAU/D/NL/GB), Mercedes, + 2.064
5. Abbelen/Schmitz/Huisman/Siedler (D/D/NL/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 2.991
10. Tandy/Estre/Bamber/Pilet (GB/F/NZ/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 4.066
15. Lietz/Bergmeister/Christensen/Makowiecki (A/D/DK/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 5.028
19. Weiss/Kainz/Krumbach/Stursberg (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 6.005
23. Klohs/Schmidtmann/Richter/Renauer (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, +7.166
32. Dumbreck/Henzler/Ragginger/Imperatori (GB/D/A/CHN), Porsche 911 GT3 R, +11.233

1st Qualifying

1. Vanthoor/Mies/Müller/Kaffer (B/D/CH/D), Audi R8, 8:21.951 minutes
2. Farfus/Krohn/Müller/Wittmann (BRA/SF/D/D), BMW M6, + 1.215 seconds
3. Heyer/Asch/Ludwig/Keilwitz (D/D/D/D), Mercedes, + 1.349
13. Tandy/Estre/Bamber/Pilet (GB/F/NZ/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 4.238
22. Klohs/Schmidtmann/Richter/Renauer (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, +6.487
24. Abbelen/Schmitz/Huisman/Siedler (D/D/NL/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R,27. 7.212
27. Dumbreck/Henzler/Ragginger/Imperatori (GB/D/A/CHN), Porsche 911 GT3 R, +10.621
34. Lietz/Bergmeister/Christensen/Makowiecki (A/D/DK/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 15.793
37. Weiss/Kainz/Krumbach/Stursberg (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 21.951

RTL Nitro broadcasts the entire race live – from 15.00 hrs on Saturday, 28 May, to 16.50 hrs on Sunday, 29 May. As part of its coverage of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, RTL broadcasts the start of the race on Saturday from 15.25 hrs and the finish on Sunday from 15.45 hrs.  

The Nürburgring 24 Hours is famed for its suspense and thrills. Around the perimeter of the world-renowned, tradition-steeped circuit, fans revel in the unique atmosphere with a giant motorsport party. Germany’s greatest sport event draws its particular flair from the 25.378-kilometre circuit (Grand Prix plus the Nordschleife “northern loop”), as well as the fascinating mix of professional and amateur racers. Extraordinarily, lining up on the grid this year are 160 vehicles from 18 manufacturers – including 37 different Porsche model lines. Around 600 pilots will share driving duties over the 24 hours.

The factory-supported Manthey Racing team, with its headquarters just a stone’s throw away from the Nürburgring in the village of Meuspath, fields two new Porsche 911 GT3 R. Each of the customer-sport racers from Weissach, which is based on the 911 GT3 RS production sports car, is driven by a four-man works-driver squad. Manthey Racing has won the race five times through the “Green Hell”, a name that was coined for the Nordschleife. More than 200,000 fans are expected at the 44^th running of the Eifel classic on 28 and 29 May.

911 GT3 RS: Combined fuel consumption 12.7 l/100 km; CO₂ emissions 296 g/km