With just under three hours to go in the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours, it’s a straight fight between two cars: the #911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R 992, which has dominated the majority of the race, and the #98 ROWE Racing BMW, which looks set to take a commanding lead in the coming laps.
Augusto Farfus was superb in the 21st hour, making a move on the Porsche down the Döttinger Hohe in the slipstream before Antoniusbuche with just under three and a half hours on the clock. That briefly ended the Manthey Porsche’s stranglehold on the race, as after leading 112 laps, the Porsche fell to second for the first time since Lap 21.
It didn’t last, though, as the #911 retook the lead from the #98 BMW by a handful of seconds at the 15th round of stops.
However, the race has been blown wide open by race control. As the hour 21 came to a close, the Manthey Porsche was handed a huge 1 minute 40-second time penalty for causing a collision before Güven’s most recent stint got underway.
Kevin Estre was aboard at the time and got involved in a tangle with the #179 Dörr Motorsport Aston Martin GT4, which was running third in SP 10. The Frenchman made a lunge up the inside, sending the Vantage of Rolf Scheibner into the armco and onto its roof.
Marciello, who was right on the bumper of the Porsche in the ROWE BMW, narrowly avoided getting involved, and the two leaders carried on. It was the #98’s second near miss of the race after Kelvin van der Linde came inches from being involved in the crash at Turn 2 yesterday that put the #33 Falken Porsche out of the race.
The investigation was lengthy. But with the dust settled and Kevin Estre out of the car, the #911 was deemed to be at fault and will lose a heap of time before the end of the race. Barring any further drama, the penalty will see ROWE take the lead back.
Meanwhile, the #28 ABT Lamborghini’s fine run continues, with the car holding third place overall, almost five minutes off the lead.
The SP9 Pro/Am leading #65 HRT Ford Mustang GT3 is fourth, with the #54 Dinamic Porsche completing the top five.
Elsewhere, Kondo Racing’s race suffered a heartbreaking end with three and a half hours left on the clock.
Felipe Fernandez Laser, from sixth place overall in the #45 Ferrari 296 GT3, was spotted by TV cameras in the barriers with a lower-class BMW at Schwalbenschwanz, with both drivers involved out of their cars.
The Rinaldi-run car, which led early and had been running off strategy after losing track position at the red flag restart and suffering two punctures, was an on-the-spot retirement.
Featured image courtesy of Frozenspeed
