DUNLOP Motorsport celebrated an impressive debut on the Nordschleife at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring, despite an early retirement. The driver quartet of Alessio Picariello, Julien Andlauer, Dorian Boccolacci, and Nordschleife specialist Nico Menzel delivered a strong performance for much of the race, battling their way forward under difficult conditions to within striking distance of the top 10. However, an accident involving Picariello shortly before the halfway point of the race brought their promising run to a premature end.

In Friday’s top qualifying session, the DUNLOP Porsche initially fell short of its own expectations. Starting from 27th on the grid, the team tackled the endurance classic in the Eifel, which was watched by a total of 352,000 spectators this weekend. Starting driver Nico Menzel impressively kicked off the comeback in the early stages and made up several positions in the first hour of the race. His teammates also built on the strong start and steadily worked their way forward as the race progressed.

Especially in the changeable conditions on Saturday evening, the black-and-yellow Porsche 911 GT3 R impressively demonstrated the strengths of the DUNLOP tyres. While numerous competitors struggled with the difficult conditions on the demanding Nordschleife, the quartet of drivers completed consistent and flawless stints. Shortly before the halfway point of the race, the team was already within striking distance of the top 10 when Alessio Picariello lost control while lapping a slower car and crashed into the guardrails. The Porsche was so severely damaged that the race could not continue. Fortunately, Picariello was uninjured in the accident.

A similar fate befell the #632 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992.1) of BLACK FALCON Team FANATEC, which was fielded in cooperation with Gran Turismo. Veteran driver Manuel Metzger, YouTuber Misha Charoudin, and the two Gran Turismo sim racers and content creators Steve Brown and Jimmy Broadbent were already leading the AT2 class by a comfortable margin before an unfortunate incident on Sunday morning also led to a premature retirement.

The #36 BMW Z4 E89 (2013 EVO) from Saugmotoren Motorsport, which was also running on DUNLOP tyres, made it to the finish line. Although the team led by Team Principal Julian Reeh also had to contend with technical challenges, the mechanics worked tirelessly in the final stages to get the crowd favorite back on the track and ensure a well-deserved finish. In the end, they finished 118th in the overall standings.