Driven by factory aces Kévin Estre and Thomas Preining along with Ayhancan Güven, Manthey EMA’s famously ‟Grello” liveried 992.1 911 GT3 R successfully finished the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours race in first place, however it was ultimately classified second when a 100-second post-race penalty relegated it to the first of the runner-up positions. As for Dinamic GT’s 911, it made a remarkable comeback drive to earn P3, rounding out the podium finishes for Stuttgart.
Living up to its history of being spectacularly eventful & unpredictable, this year’s edition of the ‘Green Hell’ endurance classic endured its fair share of race incidents and a high number of retirements going into the final 8 hours. Earlier, a paddock power outage even induced a 2 hour 15 minute red flag period, during which each team calmly composed themselves while rethinking their race strategies. The key moment which went on to determine the race’s outcome occurred at around 10:15 am: while leading proceedings in Manthey EMA’s 911 GT3 R, Kévin Estre found himself under mounting pressure from BMW’s #98 M4 GT# EVO. Entering the circuit’s ‟Miss-Hit-Miss” section, the French driver encountered the Dorr Motorsport Aston Martin driven by Rolf Scheibner and attempted an overtake at the third corner apex’s inside. Their resulting contact caused the British race car to crash over the barrier onto its roof. Race control therefore imposed a 100-second stop-and-go penalty on Estre, although the team’s protesting it meant the stewards’ decision would not take effect until after the chequered flag.
With the possible sanction’s looming spectre, an intense battle therefore continued between the Rowe BMW and ‟Grello” with Ayhancan Güven now at the wheel. While lapping backmarkers just before going into the long ‟Döttinger Höhe” straight, a drop in momentum forced Turkey’s former Porsche Junior to relinquish the lead. Just 45 minutes later however, he found himself able to retake P1 after his own pit stop when the BMW took a longer service stint in the pits. Estre took over driving for the final leg and was first across the finish line, with the confirmed penalty putting the 911 GT3 R second when all was said & done.
Kévin Estre later commented, ‟100 seconds – that’s a harsh penalty. I saw the gap on the inside and went for it. The other car had already been shown three blue flags but still turned into the corner. I had nowhere to go, despite swerving over the kerbs and onto the grass. That led to the contact, which sadly had serious consequences and caused the other car to roll. I’m very relieved the other driver is okay. Unlike my penultimate stint, the final one went well – the tyres held up better, and the Porsche was performing brilliantly again. We raced the entire 24 hours with relentless determination and gave it everything. I think we did a fantastic job.”
The #54 Dinamic GT Porsche came home third place after an impressive recovery drive after the 24 hours. Flawless performances were put in by Joel Sturm, Loek Hartog, and the former Porsche Junior pairing of Matteo Cairoli & Bastian Buus; steadily powering their car’s way up from 19th place. Their consistent progress throughout the historic circuit’s 25.378 kilometers placed them well to take the final podium place, just under half an hour before the race concluded.
Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R remarked, ‟24 hours in the ‘Green Hell’ – we experienced a roller coaster of a race and unfortunately lost cars to technical issues and accidents during the race. But we’ve nothing to hide and we defended the lead for many, many hours. Still, our drivers demonstrated just how competitive the 911 GT3 R is. The final stint demanded everything. Emotionally, and in terms of commitment from our drivers and teams. Although we crossed the line in first place, a 100-second time penalty for a sporting infringement cost us the victory. As a result, we finished the Nürburgring 24 Hours in second place overall with Manthey EMA. Dinamic GT with drivers Bastian Buus, Joel Sturm, Loek Hartog, and Matteo Cairoli sharing the cockpit, achieved a tremendous result running on Pirelli tyres. They fought their way through the entire 24 hours, delivering an exemplary race from 19th on the grid. Congratulations also to Hankook Competition, with Marco Holzer leading the team as the pro behind the wheel. Despite very limited preparation time and extremely challenging conditions, they persevered and never gave up.”
As part of the Intercontinental GT challenge, the Eifel region’s 24-hour endurance classic in the Eifel region will be followed by the iconic 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on this coming weekend, then Japan’s 1,000 Kilometers of Suzuka and the 8 Hours of Indianapolis in the USA. The previous manufacturers’ title win for Porsche in this independently run GT3 World Championship came just last year in 2024.
