Debut victory for Smyrlis Racing in Cup 3 and another Cup 2 success for KKrämer Racing – The championships are tightening up

Meuspath. With NLS7, the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring has started into the hot stage of the 2022 season. Final spurt in the championship – the battles for the PETN titles are tightening up. KKrämer Racing hits back in Cup 2 with a victory and extended its lead in the standings. In Cup 3, Smyrlis Racing celebrated its first win of the season and moved up from fifth to third place in the team standings.

In terms of weather, the 54th ZEWOTHERM ADAC Barbarossapreis covered almost the entire range that makes the Green Hell so distinctive: freezing temperatures and rising fog in the morning qualifying, rain right on time for the starting grid as well as shortly after the middle of the race and bright sunshine in between – a great challenge for the tacticians at the teams' command posts and the drivers. The right setup had to be found and the drivers had to handle sometimes difficult situations on the track and were not allowed to make the slightest mistake.

In Cup 2 class, KKrämer Racing (#112) came out on top in the end: Karsten Krämer, Christopher Brück and Moritz Kranz drove a strong race and clinched their second win of the season. The final phase in particular proved to be exciting when Kranz passed the leader Daniel Blickle on the penultimate lap and brought home the victory. The trio from AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120), for whom Tim Scheerbarth and David Jahn also took to the wheel alongside Blickle, ended up in second place with a gap of just 5.120 seconds. Tobias Müller and Hendrik von Danwitz drove to third place for Black Falcon Team Identica (#102). The duo also set the fastest race lap of 8:14.277 minutes in the 21st lap and thus secured an additional championship point.

"In the first stint we acted cautiously at first. After that we went full attack," said Kranz. "We extended our lead in the championship, but that's far from a comfortable buffer. We have to keep working hard to take the title." KKrämer Racing and AVIA W&S Motorsport each have two wins to their credit. The decision will be made in the two remaining races. "We had hoped to be able to save first place at the finish," admitted Scheerbarth. "Unfortunately, it wasn't enough in the end. Our motto for the last two races is full throttle. We are the hunters."

The three best-placed Cup 2 teams also positioned themselves in the top 10 of the overall standings of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. Sixth place for KKrämer Racing out of 121 cars that started – including 14 GT3 cars in the SP9 class – was the best result for a 992-generation GT3 Cup 911 in the still young history of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring.

Victory in the AM-classification of Cup 2 was secured by Klaus Abbelen and 'Jules' together with Pro driver Felipe Fernández Laser from the Frikadelli Racing Team (#111). "We had a good weekend, especially after not scoring any points in the 12h race," said 'Jules'. "The conditions today were really difficult, but the team did a fantastic job. We have a very good base – we need to build on that. We want to get even faster and build on this good result in the AM-standings."

Smyrlis Racing joins the championship figh

Driving to their first win of the season in the Cup 3 class were Christopher Rink, Philipp Stahlschmidt and Francesco Merlini in the Smyrlis Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS (982) (#952). "We've been working towards this moment all year," said Rink. "So far we've had a lot of bad luck, but today everything finally fell into place." In the difficult conditions, strategy came to play an important role. "We had a lucky hand with the tire choice, were able to quickly build a lead and then manage it to the finish." With a gap of 46.515 seconds, Stefan Beyer, Heiko Eichenberg and Torsten Kratz from Team Sorg Rennsport (#949) drove to their best result of the season in second place. Championship leaders Ivan Jacoma, Mauro Calamia and Kai Riemer of Team Schmickler Performance powered by Ravenol (#969) finished third. With its first win, Smyrlis Racing jumps up to second in the drivers' standings behind Schmickler Performance. "Our goal is to finish the championship in the top 3," said Rink.

The top-placed AM team was Mathol Racing (#955) with drivers Rüdiger Schicht, 'Montana' and Alex Fielenbach. The trio thus seamlessly continued their success at the 12h race, celebrating their second victory in a row and extending their lead in the AM standings of the Cup 3 class.

The seventh race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series will be held on October 22.

Press contact:

Laura Claesgens

Consultant Corporate Communications
E-Mail: l.claesgens[at]manthey-racing.de