Kévin Estre has secured pole position for himself and his Porsche team, Manthey EMA, at the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours. The Frenchman set a benchmark lap time of 8:12.741 minutes that no other participant in Top-Qualifying could beat.
Just five days after their class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Manthey Racing squad has another reason to celebrate. With the driver lineup of Kévin Estre, Ayhancan Güven, and Thomas Preining, the team from Meuspath will tackle the 53rd edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours from the front row of the grid.
“I am very proud of my lap: The Porsche felt perfect, and I avoided every mistake,” a satisfied Estre stated to Porsche, adding, “Now we have a long race ahead of us. We’ve proven that we are strong in all conditions. We have the best cards now, but the competition isn’t sleeping.”
The fastest competitors in Top Qualifying were Thomas Neubauer in the #45 Rinaldi-Ferrari and Maro Engel in the #14 Getspeed-Mercedes-AMG, who finished in second and third positions, respectively.
Red Flag after Vanthoor Crash
Laurens Vanthoor, pole-setter Kévin Estre’s WEC teammate, caused a session interruption in Top Qualifying with a heavy crash. On his flying lap, the Belgian lost control of his #16 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Aremberg section and hit the guardrail at high speed. Although doctors gave the driver the all-clear after a check-up, the Scherer Sport car is no longer operational and will not participate in the race.
After an extended interruption, necessitated by crucial guardrail repairs, Top-Qualifying resumed at 4:00 PM. This was immediately followed by Qualifying 3, which determined the final grid positions from the ninth row onwards.
Watching the 24-Hour Race on TV and Stream
The race starts on Saturday, June 21st, at 4:00 PM. For those wishing to follow the action live from home, it will be broadcast free-to-air on RTL NITRO (German television channel) or available via a free live stream on YouTube.
Pictures © Martin.Motorsport