For the 2022 season, Smyrlis Racing will be entering the top-class Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) with a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. The racing team from Maintal near Frankfurt am Main is aiming for the top places in the Cayman GT4 Trophy by Manthey-Racing and in the championship with a powerful driver crew.

“I am very pleased that we will take another step towards professional motorsport this year. Driving your own Porsche on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is a dream for the entire team,” says Ioannis “Janni” Smyrlis, who founded his team in 2007. Since 2022, Smyrlis Racing has owned a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, which is used in the highly competitive Cup3 class in the NLS. After the GT3 racing cars, the 425-hp sports car from Stuttgart is one of the fastest cars on the Ring. “We know that the competition in the Cup3 class and in the entire NLS is incredibly fierce and that's why we were looking for experienced pilots for our Cayman. In the end, I'm really happy about our fast trio of drivers," said Smyrlis.

The German Nürburgring experts Christopher Rink and Philipp Stahlschmidt as well as the Italian Francesco Merlini start for Smyrlis Racing . Christopher Rink has numerous victories, is a two-time NLS champion and can look back on more than ten years of experience at the Nürburgring. In addition, he currently holds a record in the Eifel with 26 consecutive class victories and is now one of the most experienced drivers at the Ring. Rink is also a freelance coach and instructor and has accompanied the team around Ioannis Smyrlis in recent years. “I am really looking forward to the new project with Janni and his team. It's a challenge that we're happy to face together," says the Frankfurter.

In the last eight years he drove in the Nürburgring Endurance Series for the Adrenalin Motorsport team mainly in BMW racing cars, now he is switching to a Porsche car. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Adrenalin Motorsport for the successful years, the great cooperation and the many successes. I was able to learn a lot during this time and develop as a racing driver. The decision to try something new wasn't easy for me, but new life circumstances, a changed focus and the personal connection to Smyrlis Racing ultimately motivated me to do so," says the new father, who will also work for another team in the 2021 season DTM Trophy and drove in the ADAC GT4 Germany.

Rink and Smyrlis have a close family friendship that has gone far beyond motorsport for around 20 years. Both have also competed in countless races together and have always pushed each other forward. "That's why it's so nice that we're now united as a team in Europe's biggest mass sports series. My grandfather gave us the impetus to work together more than ten years ago and would certainly be proud of us now. It's also a return to my Porsche roots for me," adds Rink, who has already competed successfully in Porsche vehicles with his father and completed his master's degree in automotive engineering with the Zuffenhausen-based brand.

Philipp Stahlschmidt also has a good relationship with Smyrlis Racing and Christopher Rink. The Munich racing driver began his motorsport career with Smyrlis Racing in the DMV BMW 318ti Cup and worked his way up to international GT4 racing. For the last two years he has shared a cockpit with Rink in the NLS and narrowly missed out on the 2021 championship title. “With these two drivers we have top people in our Porsche, who will be backed up by a third fast driver,” explains Smyrlis.

Francesco Merlini from Italy has been a regular driver on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife since 2019. The 32-year-old successfully started his career in karting and achieved various class wins and podiums in the NLS. In 2021 he captured the runner-up title in the Cup5 class, in which the BMW M2 CS Racing are classified.

A few test days are now on the agenda for Smyrlis Racing to familiarize themselves with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. “We are working hard to be competitive from the first race. In addition to our projects in the DMV BMW 318ti Cup and in the Circuit Challenge Nürburgring, this is a real motorsport adventure that we are all really looking forward to,” concludes Ioannis Smyrlis. The Nürburgring Endurance Series will hold three official test days from March 18th to 20th and then start on March 26th with the first race of the season.