Manthey EMA will field a Grello Porsche in the 2024 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. Porsche drivers Kévin Estre (France), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Thomas Preining (Austria) and Ayhancan Güven (Turkey) will pilot the car with starting number 911. After two retirements in the last two years, Manthey is aiming for its eighth overall victory at the endurance classic in the Eifel region. Prior to that, the team will contest the first two rounds of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) and the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers with different driver line-ups.
With Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, two experienced and victorious Nordschleife drivers will be at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Estre has been an integral part of the Manthey entries on the Nordschleife since 2016. In 2021, he clinched the team’s seventh overall victory at the Green Hell. The Frenchman has been part of the Porsche works driver line-up in the FIA WEC Hypercar class since 2023. Laurens Vanthoor also drives a Porsche 963 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Belgian celebrated his most recent race success with Manthey EMA at the Bathurst 12 Hour in early February.
Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven complete the driver quartet. Both drivers will also compete for Manthey EMA in the 2024 DTM season. Preining, who won the DTM Team and Drivers’ Championships with Manthey EMA in 2023, also already piloted the Grello on the Nordschleife last year. Güven celebrated a successful debut with Manthey EMA at the Bathurst 12 Hour in February this year, taking victory in his first endurance race with the team.
Highlights
- Manthey EMA to run a Porsche 911 GT3 R sporting Grello livery at home race
- Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven to pilot the No. 911 car at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring
- Ahead of the endurance classic, the team will participate in the first race weekend of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) and the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers
Managing Director comments:
“The 24 Hour race on the Nordschleife is always a very special event on the calendar for us. The Grello is an icon here and we are very grateful for the great support we receive from the many fans every year. We are starting with a strong driver line-up and I hope that we can fight for the overall victory after the retirements of the last two years. This year, what is probably the world’s toughest endurance race is part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge – we have already proven ourselves at Bathurst, the season opener of the series, and we want to extend that lead. Our race calendar is busier than ever this season, but our crew and drivers are well prepared and I am confident about our home race,” says Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey Racing GmbH.
Manthey EMA’s season on the Nordschleife will begin with the first round of the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie on the first weekend in April. The driver pairings for the NLS races and the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers will be announced at a later date.
For Manthey and EMA Motorsport, this is not only the second time they will contest the endurance classic in the Eifel together. It is also the second season in which the team will start in both DTM sprint races and endurance races with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. The victory in the Bathurst 12 Hour marked a successful start to the endurance racing season. With seven FIA WEC races and the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring still to come, there are more endurance highlights to follow for the team.
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