Porsche Goosebump Laps

The latest generation of the Porsche 911 GT3 R with the starting number 911 fielded by Manthey-Racing had held the lead for 105 of the 157 laps and ultimately had to settle for second place. Three hours before the end of the race, the nine-eleven lost the top spot after receiving a time penalty and was unable to make up lost ground despite setting the fastest pace in the field.

Right from the start, there was no doubt that the crew of the two newly crowned sports car world champions Kévin Estre (France) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) as well as Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Earl Bamber (New Zealand) were determined to win the prestigious endurance race in the Eifel. After a sensational overtaking manoeuvre, Kévin Estre swept into the lead after a good five hours of racing, which he and his teammates then defended for two-thirds of the distance with faultless stints and a perfectly set up Porsche 911 GT3 R. Clocking a time of 8:17.745 minutes, Estre also turned the fastest race lap in his last stint. The brutal time penalty of 5:32 minutes due to an overlooked yellow flag dashed all hopes of winning.