Valuable data and insights were gathered with a view to the 24-hour race in the Eifel Nürburg. Manthey EMA has made a successful start to the 2024 season on the Nordschleife, crowning an already successful first race weekend in the Eifel with victory in the second round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). On Saturday, Kévin Estre (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) placed the Grello Porsche 911 GT3 R with starting number 911 in second place in the NLS 1.
Race 1 Qualifying
With a lap time of 8:02.449, Kévin Estre secured fifth place on the grid for the first race on the 24.358-kilometer combination of the Nordschleife and the short Grand Prix circuit. The race started two hours later in sunny conditions and was marked by numerous Code 60 and double yellow periods. Over the course of the four-hour race, the 911 steadily worked its way up the field, gaining its first lead kilometers and eventually crossing the finish line in second place in the 64th ADAC ACAS Cup. It was the team’s first podium finish and a successful start to the 2024 season in the Eifel.
Race 2 Qualifying
Qualifying on Sunday morning started in cloudy but dry conditions. Laurens Vanthoor put the nine-eleven in fourth place on the grid for the second round of the NLS with a lap time of 7:58.696 minutes. The starting phase of the 63rd ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen was successful for the team. As early as the first corner of the 4-hour race, Estre piloted the nine-eleven from fourth to second position and took the lead as the first lap progressed.
Racing
The Grello was in the lead for much of the race. Due to an unfortunate Code 60 phase, which cost the Abt Lamborghini 30 seconds on the nine-eleven, final driver Laurens Vanthoor had to hand over the lead an hour before the end of the race. Due to insufficient fuel, the Red Bull Team Abt Lamborghini had to slow down on the last lap in order not to risk another lap on the Nordschleife. In a thrilling finish, Vanthoor regained the lead and crossed the line as the winner by 0.042 seconds.
“We are very pleased with the results of the first two NLS races of the year. The entire team deserves the victory thanks to the hard work they put in during the preparation period and throughout the weekend. Our main goals were to gain a lot of knowledge for the 24-hour race and to get our drivers used to the Nordschleife after the winter. On the other hand, we aim to be successful in every race. So we are very happy with second place on Saturday and the exciting victory on Sunday,” says Patrick Arkenau, Division Manager Racing of the Manthey Racing GmbH.
Round 2
The next outing for the Porsche 911 GT3 R with starting number 911 on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife will be the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers on 13 and 14 April 2024. For the first time this year, both 4-hour races will count simultaneously as the third and fourth races of the season in the championship standings of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie.
“Based on the current regulations, we assume that our performance in the two NLS races has already qualified us for top qualifying in the 24 Hours. However, we will only know for sure after the 24-hour qualifying next weekend,” explains Arkenau. In the cockpit of the Grello Porsche will be Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven, the two drivers who, together with Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, form the Manthey EMA driver line-up for the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring.
Driver comments
Kévin Estre, Porsche 911 GT3 R #911: “A very good weekend for us. We learned a lot and tried a few things on the car. Laurens and I gained experience in traffic, which is especially valuable on the Nordschleife and in wet conditions like we had in qualifying 1. A win and second place is obviously a great result and it’s always great for the fans to see the Grello up front. I think we’re on the right track for the 24-hour race. If the race were tomorrow, I would be ready to race. But first there is a lot of data for the team to analyze to improve the car even further. Next up is the qualifying race with Thomas and Ayhancan. Hopefully, we can learn something from that, and then we’ll see where we stand.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Porsche 911 GT3 R #911: “It was a great weekend with a second place and a victory. Today’s race and finish were particularly special for me as we were not expecting to win. Thanks to our very good pace until the end and the situation with the Lamborghini, we could clinch victory in the last second. But the main thing is that we learned a lot from the 24-hour race. Kevin and I also got a lot of practice in traffic and Code 60 phases. That’s very important and we’re going home with a good feeling. We’ll be back in a few weeks’ time, and hopefully, we’ll be able to put everything we’ve learned into practice.”
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