Photo credit: Porsche
Porsche’s Manthey EMA squad grabbed pole for this weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Hours after factory driver Kévin Estre produced a blistering 8:12.741 lap in Friday’s Top Qualifying. The Frenchman’s time in the No. 911 “Grello” Porsche 911 GT3 R was more than a second clear of the field despite air temps in the 90s °F and track temps topping 125 °F. Estre will share the car with Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven.
The session was halted for 75 minutes when Laurens Vanthoor crashed the No. 16 Scherer Sport PHX Porsche at Schwedenkreuz on his first flying lap. Vanthoor was unhurt, but the damage ruled the car out of the race. When qualifying resumed and was shortened to a single timed lap, Estre delivered sector-best times in four of nine splits to secure pole.
Photo credit: Porsche
Falken Motorsports placed its No. 33 Porsche fourth with local driver Nico Menzel, while teammate Morris Schuring put the sister No. 44 entry 12th. The Black Falcon Porsche qualified 11th after a post-lap penalty, third among Pro-Am runners.
With victories already this season at Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach, and Laguna Seca, Porsche heads into the six-hour Watkins Glen round of the IMSA championship atop every points table, but focus in Germany is firmly on the twice-around-the-clock classic. Porsche has 12 overall wins at the event, including last year’s triumph for the 963 prototype.
Green flag for the 25.378-kilometer Nordschleife–GP circuit combination drops Saturday at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EDT). Germany’s Nitro channel carries full live coverage; an English-language stream and timing are available at the official race website.
