Porsche 911 GT3 R teams shine at 2021 Nürburgring 24 Hours

MANILA: Four Porsche customer race teams were among the top 10 finishers of the 2021 Nürburgring 24 Hours that happened June 3 to 6 at the iconic racetrack in Nürburg, Germany.

The top Porsche finishers were led by Porsche’s Manthey customer race team, which is composed of Kevin Estre, Michael Christensen, and Matteo Cairoli. The team was able to take the second spot using the No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R. They prevailed over 120 other teams, 99 of which have finished the race.

This year’s edition of the endurance race, which is also officially called the ADAC Total 24 Hour Race, encountered a 14-hour red flag session on Saturday evening due to bad weather. Despite the difficult track condition, Estre was able to deliver an outstanding performance on the partly flooded track. Within four laps, he was able to drive the team from 11^th spot to the top spot.

Similar 911 GT3 R cars were also used by the teams of Rutronik Racing, Huber Motorsport, KCMG, Frikadelli Racing, and Falken Motorsports. They were able to make up many positions until the start of the 14-hour break at 9:30 p.m. which was caused by thick fog.

When the race resumed on Sunday morning, Estre once again helmed the “Grello” 911 GT3. The 32-year-old charged from sixth place to the front of the field, handing the car off to Christensen while holding first place. Christensen was able to maintain the lead until he handed the wheel back to Estre in the last hour of racing. Estre was able to take the checkered flag by a margin of 8.817 seconds.

In a statement, Porsche Motorsport Vice President Fritz Enzinger said, “Our customer teams can be very proud of their achievements. Unfortunately, the strong performance was not always rewarded accordingly as numerous vehicles had to retire after becoming entangled in other competitors’ accidents.”

The Falken Motorsport team, composed of Sven Muller, Martin Ragginger, Klaus Bachler, and Alessio Picariello, used the No. 44 911 GT3 R which helped them land on the fourth spot. The team’s No. 33 sister car took the ninth place, while the Huber Motorsport team, composed of Stefan Aust, Philipp Neuffer, Nico Menzel, and Marco Seefried, clinched the eighth place. The Huber Motorsport team was also the undisputed winner of the Pro-Am class.

“I’m also particularly pleased about Huber Motorsport’s Pro-Am class win,” Enzinger added.

Estre said that this year’s edition of the Nürburging race may have been “unusually short” yet “extremely intense and exhausting.”

The Nürburgring 24 Hours is a highly anticipated endurance race that has been held yearly since 1970, save for three years due to the oil crisis in the mid-1970s and construction work on the track in 1983.

The 911 GT3 R has been used by Porsche customer race teams in several international series since 2019. It made its world debut in January 2019 at the Daytona 24-hour classic. The 911 GT3 R is powered by an ultra-modern 4.0-liter flat-six engine that generates 500hp.

Photos from Porsche

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