The first champions in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring have been determined. Mauro Calamia, Ivan Jacoma and Kai Riemer decided the Cup 3 title in their favor at the penultimate race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. Before the final, the trio is unassailable in the lead in the drivers' classification and in the team classification, Schmickler Performance can no longer be denied first place. Meanwhile, the battle for the first crown in the Cup 2 class is proving to be exciting. AVIA W&S Motorsport took over the lead of the standings from KKrämer Racing after race seven.

Third place in the seventh race of the season was enough for Calamia, Jacoma and Riemer to secure the two titles early. The secret of success for Schmickler Performance powered by Ravenol (#969) was consistency. The team scored points in all races and clinched three victories. One of them was the important triumph at the 12h Nürburgring with double points. "Even if we had problems or setbacks in the race: We never stuck our heads in the sand, but fought to get the best result," explains champion Riemer. “In addition, there is the meticulousness of team boss Markus Schmickler, who leaves nothing to chance. The title makes me particularly happy for him and his team.”

Victory in the Cup 3 class in race seven went to Team Sorg Rennsport (#949) with drivers Stefan Beyer and Heiko Eichenberg. After 25 laps, the duo had a comfortable lead of 50.830 seconds over the second-placed Smyrlis Racing trio (#952) with Christopher Rink, Philipp Stahlschmidt and Francesco Merlini. "I have to admit that we also benefited from the loss of two opponents today," admitted Beyer. “The race wasn't as easy for us as it might have looked. In the end, our consistently fast lap times were decisive.” Team-mate Eichenberg added: “We muddled through the race a bit and didn’t always know exactly where we stood due to different strategies.”

Blickle and Jahn celebrate sovereign victory in the Cup 2

Excitement is guaranteed in the fight for the championship in the Cup 2 class of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring. With the third win of the season, the AVIA W&S Motorsport team (#120) turned the tide and took the lead in the team classification with one race to go. While the previously leading Porsche from KKrämer Racing (#112) retired after an accident, Daniel Blickle and David Jahn drove a confident race and won with 2:54.154 minutes in front of Marcel Hoppe, Nick Salewsky and Michele Di Martino from Mühlner Motorsport (#123 ).

Especially in the starting phase of the race, Jahn was impressively involved in the field of GT3 vehicles. Having started from the seventh row, the 31-year-old shot up to third place in the overall standings in mixed conditions at first. He returned from lap one in fifth place. “I already know many of the guys with whom I fought in the first rounds from my appearances in the ADAC GT Masters. And I had a lot of fun," said Jahn. The team preferred the first stop, among other things to clear the radiator openings of falling leaves. “I was able to quickly put a buffer on our pursuers. When our main competitors got stranded, the pressure was a little less,” said Jahn. “Nevertheless, the race wasn't easy because I hardly had a free lap due to yellow flag phases.

After seven of eight races, AVIA W&S Motorsport (#120) leads the team classification with 142 points ahead of KKrämer Racing (#112) (129.5 points). At the final in two weeks, 22 points are still up for grabs. The same picture in the drivers' standings: Blickle is ahead of the KKrämer drivers Karsten Krämer and Christopher Brück in first place.

The AM champions have already been determined

In addition to the champions in the Cup 3 classification, the winners in the AM driver classifications of both classes of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring have also been determined. In Cup 2, Mustafa Mehmet Kaya from Team Black Falcon (#104) can no longer take the title away. Together with Mike Stursberg and Hendrik von Danwitz, the 46-year-old Turk scored full points for the fifth time. "I'm very happy to have won the AM title in such a competitive class," says Kaya. “Switching from a GT4 car to the Cup Porsche wasn't easy. But I was able to improve from race to race. My thanks go to the team, who did a very good job with the car, which was new for all of us, and of course to my team-mates, who fought alongside me.”

In the AM classification of the Cup 3 class, Rüdiger Schicht, Alex Fielenbach and 'Montana' were able to win the championship. The trio of Team Mathol Racing (#955) was characterized above all by consistency in the 2022 season, scoring points in every race and most recently being the strongest AM team three times in a row. The masters scored 150.5 points on their account. "We didn't expect the result," admitted 'Montana'. “This is a dream result. The whole year went great for us. We always had a well-prepared car. In addition, the Cayman is particularly well suited for gentlemen drivers and you can constantly learn and improve yourself.” The 60-year-old is already looking to the future: “We have already spoken to our team boss about whether an assignment in the Cup 2 is possible in the coming year.

The season finale of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring will take place in two weeks. On November 5th, the 46th NIMEX DMV 4h race, which was canceled in April, will be rescheduled. The race distance is four hours.

Source: Manthey Racing GmbH