• Karsten Krämer and Fidel Leib are PETN Cup 2 Gentlemen Drivers Champions
• David Jahn sets new lap record in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992)
• AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120) and Sorg Rennsport (#959) win their class from pole position

Nürburg. The season finale of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN) as part of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) held the last open championship decision in the Porsche one-make series at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. With a victory, Karsten Krämer and Fidel Leib of KKrämer Racing (#112) were the first PETN Cup 2 Gentlemen drivers to be crowned champions in the newly created classification. At the 56th ADAC Barbarossapreis, 21 cars in the Cup 2 and Cup 3 classes took to the starting line, ensuring a thrilling end to the season. The qualifying session was already spectacular with a new lap record in Cup 2 class by David Jahn. This put the number 120 car in pole position and led the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) to class victory with his teammates Daniel Blickle and Tim Scheerbarth from AVIA W&S Motorsport. The polesetters in Cup 3 class, Heiko Eichenberg, Fabio Grosse and Patrik Grütter, also stood at the top of the podium after the four-hour race.

The qualifying took place in cold temperatures, but almost ideal conditions, and led to a real race against the clock. David Jahn set a new lap record in the Cup 2 and gave himself a special birthday present. He lapped the 24.358-kilometre combination of the short Grand Prix circuit loop and the Nordschleife in 8:04.668 minutes, putting the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) from AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120) in pole position. In Cup 3 class, Fabio Grosse, the lap record holder, also came dangerously close to beating his own best time in the class. With a time of 8:32.482 minutes, he was less than three-tenths of a second short of breaking the record with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS (982) from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#959).

Victory from pole position and final championship decision in Cup 2 class

Polesitters AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120) with Daniel Blickle, David Jahn and Tim Scheerbarth came under pressure from the competition in the hard-fought Cup 2 class from the start, which led to several changes in the lead over the four-hour distance. In the end, the trio prevailed against Steve Jans, Tobias Müller and Noah Nagelsdiek from BLACK FALCON (#103). Mühlner Motorsport (#122) with Alexander Brundle and Ben Bünnagel followed in third place.

„A perfect day. The car was perfect and I could tell straight away in qualifying that the times were tumbling. Of course, setting the lap record was a great birthday present for me. The race was really good too. Tim and Daniel did a great job. It got really exciting towards the end. I had to give it my all again, but I managed to keep Tobias [Müller] behind me. That was a great end to a great year,” summarised David Jahn, lap record holder in the Cup 2 class.

In the Cup 2 amateur and gentleman driver standings, Karsten Krämer and Fidel Leib from Krämer Racing (#112) gave themselves the perfect end to the season. With a victory in both classifications, the duo secured second place in the AM championship and the title in the gentleman driver classification for AM-only driver pairings.

„The year has gone very well. We were well represented in the amateur drivers‘ championship and now to win the gentlemen drivers’ championship is of course great – a fantastic end to the season,” says gentlemen driver champion and team principal Karsten Krämer.

Last year's champion SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#959) takes the class win

At the end of the season, last year's Cup 3 champions Heiko Eichenberg, Fabio Grosse and Patrik Grütter of SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#959) clinched the class victory from pole position.

„The conditions were great, so I almost broke my lap record. It was really fun. The race went well too, and with a bit of racing luck and the bad luck of our opponents, we were able to take the win. A great end to the season for us,” explains Fabio Grosse, driver of car number 959.

Until shortly after the halfway point of the race, the trio was fighting for victory with this season's already determined Cup 3 champions Joshua Bednarski, Lucas Daugaard and Moritz Oberheim from AVIA W&S Motorsport (#962), until the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS (982) suffered a technical defect. Bednarski, Daugaard and Oberheim were thus denied the class victory they needed to win the NLS overall championship. Nevertheless, the team can look back on a successful 2024 season: two races before the end of the season, they won the team and drivers' championship in the Cup 3 class. Bednarski, Daugaard and Oberheim are also the 2024 PETN Overall Champions due to the highest number of points across both classes. Schmickler Performance (#950) with Horst Baumann and Stefan Schmickler completed the podium.

The amateur drivers‘ classification was won by Oleksii Kikireshko and Rüdiger Schicht with PRO-driver Alex Fielenbach from SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#969), ahead of Alex Koch and Niklas Koch from Smyrlis Racing (#953). The Koch duo also secured victory in the Cup 3 Gentlemen drivers’ classification as the best-placed AM-only driver pairing. Leonard Oehme, Moritz Oehme and Niklas Oehme from Team Oehme (#944) took third place.

„We've had a bit of bad luck this season, so we're very happy to end the season like this. We drove a super clean race – that paid off in the end. Now we're looking ahead to next year,” summarised Niklas Koch from Smyrlis Racing (#953).

The 2024 season of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring is now over. The victorious teams and drivers will be honoured at the NLS annual awards ceremony on 14 December. The Porsche Esports Endurance Trophy Nürburgring digital Nordschleife season starts a week later.