2025 Nürburgring 24hr
The Nürburgring 24hr is often regarded as the toughest endurance race of them all by fans. From its almost 15.7-mile-long track that undulates with more than 1,000 feet of elevation change through the German countryside, Jackie Stewart famously nicknamed the track “the green hell”. The race involved 130 cars across multiple different classes, meaning dramatically different speeds between said classes. We were fortunate enough to be invited to the event by Michelin UK whose hospitality could not have been better!
Porsche Manthey Racing (the Nürburgring is their home race, with their HQ being at the track) started in pole position with their ‘Grello’ 911 GT3 R after winning qualifying on Friday with a time of 8:12.741 minutes by Kevin Estre, 1.2 seconds ahead of Thomas Neubauer in the Rinaldi-Ferrari. Porsche Manthey were the favourites to win, having won 7 times previously, making them the most successful team in the race’s history.
Michelin has had an incredible track record when it comes to winning cars wearing their high-performance tyres at the Nürburgring, with 25 of the 24hr winners since 1992 crossing the finish line on a set of Michelins. The extremities of the track call for the best tyres and there’s clearly a preference when it comes to which performance tyres teams want to be suited with. Outside of the 24hr, the Nürburgring track record holder Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo set the record on a set of Michelins and the road-legal record holder, the AMG Project One also set its record on a set of Michelins, specifically Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs.
‘Grello’ led the entire race, however due to an incident on lap 100 where a Dörr Aston Martin was touched by the Porsche Manthey car during an overtake that caused the Aston to spin off into a guard rail and cause a rollover. ‘Grello’ was given a 1:40 minute penalty which, whilst disputed by the Manthey team, confirmed on the final lap resulting in Manthey (despite crossing the line first after the 24hrs was up on lap 141) taking 2nd place to the Rowe BMW M4 GT3 EVO. It was astonishing that the 1st and 2nd place cars were only 23 seconds apart by finishing time, despite the length of the race, it just goes to show the sheer pace of these and how tightly matched they truly are.
All of the cars that made the podium at this year’s 24hr were fitted with KW suspension coilovers, custom designed for each specific team. This is part of the reason we choose to partner with KW as their products are not only built to an incredibly high standard but they are properly proven again and again through events such as this.
The Rowe overcoming its 17th place start, making up 8 places on the first lap alone showed that the Rowe BMW was a serious threat from the very beginning however, it was clear that crossing the line first and having to settle for second place was something the Manthey team were severely disappointed in.
Despite Porsche Manthey not taking the win this year, it was an amazing event packed with excitement and action! We cannot wait for next year when we are sure Manthey will be back with a vengeance. Thanks again to Michelin for the invite and phenomenal experience.
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