Mastering the Nurburgring Nordschleife guarantees a driver’s place within the endurance racing elite. However, to those who regularly frequent the Eifel circuit, drivers who conquer ‘The Green Hell’ are elevated to god-like status.

Success at the Nurburgring is of the utmost importance to German automotive giants like Mercedes, BMW and Audi. Porsche have indulged a relentless interest in succeeding at the toughest racetrack in the world. From the first edition of the Nuburgring 1000km in 1953, to the final running of the event on the Nordschleife in 1983, Porsche amassed sixty-seven class wins. Ten of these wins were outright triumphs.

Although Porsche’s constant pursuit of performance generates machines capable of conquering the notorious Nordschleife, this is only one ingredient of the recipe. Drivers with razor sharp reactions and telepathic instincts are an essential component for Nurburgring glory.

A lineage of superb drivers have taken their turn to carry the torch for Porsche. Rally ace come endurance racer, Vic Elford, clocked up three wins at ‘The Ring’ in various iterations of Porsche’s 908 prototypes. Another brilliant Briton, John Fitzpatrick, carried on winning throughout the 1970s as Porsche’s motorsport focus shifted to the 911.

Arguably, Porsche’s greatest Nurburgring moment came in qualifying for the final 1000km race to be held on the Nordschleife. Wringing the neck of Porsche’s revolutionary 956 prototype, Stefan Bellof reached a mythical speed which seemed the work of science fiction. Setting an immortal lap record, Bellof lapped the 20.832 kilometre ‘Northern Loop’ in an astounding 6 minutes and 11.130 seconds.

In the modern era of the 24 hours of Nurburgring, Timo Bernhard fronted Porsche’s charge. Five wins makes Bernhard Porsche’s most successful driver at the gruelling 24-hour classic. Furthermore, all of Bernhard’s wins at the 24 hours of Nurburgring have been with Manthey Racing who boast an unprecedented six wins overall.

A hair-raising footnote to Bernhard’s Nurburgring legend was written on the 29th of June 2018. As a final farewell to Porsche’s triple Le Mans winning 919 Hybrid, Bernhard obliterated the Nordschleife lap record. Piloting a derestricted, unhinged version of the 919, the German ace lapped the Northern loop in 5 minutes and 19.546 seconds. Jaw-dropping on board footage of Bernhard’s lap has been enjoyed by 6.1 million viewers on YouTube.

Although Bernhard is far from finished behind the wheel, a new Nurburgring frontman has emerged within the Porsche ranks – Kevin Estre. Growing up in a racing family, Estre cut his teeth in karting under the tutelage of his Father and soon progressed to single seaters. Despite claiming the 2006 Renault Campus championship, Estre wisely migrated to the sports car sphere in pursuit of a professional career as a racing driver.

As many Porsche factory drivers have done before him, the Lyon native progressed through domestic Porsche Carrera Cup series and on to the global Porsche Supercup. In 2016, Estre received the call up to drive the Manthey Racing Porsche at the 24 hours of Nurburgring. Although this outing ended with a premature retirement, a fruitful partnership had begun.

Some may question if only four NLS (formerly VLN) wins are enough to consider Estre as a Nurburgring hero just yet. Furthermore, the Frenchman is yet to land the big prize of the 24-hour race. However, just examining Estre’s Nurburgring trophy cabinet would be completely missing the magic of the 2018 Le Mans 24 hour GTE winner.

Much like Stefan Bellof who came before him, Estre’s aura sprouts from unique moments of unfathomable bravery and superhuman skill. Arguably, Kevin’s most memorable display of genius came a little over an hour into the 2019 Nurburgring 24 hours.

Stalking Maro Engel’s rumbling Mercedes AMG GT3, Estre filled his rival’s mirrors with the unmistakable ‘Grello’ Porsche 911 GT3 R. A harrowing sight for any racer on the Nordschleife. With Engel leading onto the endless drag up the Dottinger-Hohe, Estre began his attack. The World Endurance Champion takes up the story:

“The Dottinger-Hohe is wide enough to have four cars, or three cars easily. We were fighting for the lead and I took a great draft. The Mercedes was in front of me and then a slower car on the right. I knew that the Mercedes would overtake left and if I went between them, he would squeeze me. So, I went left, left, left. And he continued to go left! At that time, you have to make the decision. Either you lift, or you stay flat and hope that he opens the gap. I took the decision to stay flat. Which was, in the end, the right one. But it could have been bad. It’s a small decision you take. Luckily, it was right this time and it made good footage, but it can go wrong and you’re the idiot” explains Estre.

Once into the lead, the entire #911 Manthey Racing crew of Estre, Vanthoor, Christensen and Bamber, deployed superior pace and led comfortably when dawn broke on Sunday. Devastatingly, a mishap with a temporary 60KPH slow zone left the Manthey car slapped with a time penalty. Thus, snatching the elusive Nurburgring 24-hour victory from Estre’s grasp.

The Nurburgring was most unkind to Porsche in 2020. Success was scarce while BMW and Mercedes asserted an ominous dominance. However, Estre silenced any doubts at the opening round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken Series in April 2021.

On the opening lap of the four-hour race, Estre slotted in behind race leading #31 Frikadelli Porsche, driven by Fred Makowiecki. Once again, Estre had a trick up his sleeve.

Exiting Galgenkopf, Makowiecki tried to shake off Estre’s advances. However, the ‘Grello’ 911 loomed ever larger in Makowiecki’s mirrors as the Porsche factory pair devoured the Dottinger-Hohe at 170 miles per hour. Approaching the flat-out left hander of Antoniusbuche, Estre swept to the outside, prompting Makowiecki to shut the door. However, to keep Kevin Estre out, you need to lock up and throw away the key. At the fastest point of the 24-kilometre circuit, Estre used the trackside grass to swoop past a stunned Makowiecki. This wonderfully audacious move made sure that it was Estre’s name in the headlines.

Still unsatisfied with his day’s work, Estre forged on and broke Klaus Bachler’s lap record which has stood for the last three years. Despite a stop and go penalty for a pit stop infringement, Manthey Racing revelled in a dominant opening win of the Nurburgring season.

Despite boasting wins at the 24-hour races at Le Mans and Spa, the Nurburgring 24-hour title eludes Estre. Based on his 2021 performance so far, a strong case could be made for Estre to settle this score alongside his Manthey Racing teammates Matteo Cairoli, Michael Christensen and Lars Kern. If Estre is successful in claiming this major endurance racing crown, rest assured that he will do so with stunning flamboyance.