At the fifth race of the season of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) last weekend, W&S Motorsport achieved second place in the Cup 3 class with the AVIA racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #960. Drivers Marius Rauer, Finn Zulauf and Moritz Oberheim thus secured 1.5 points in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN). The CMS Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #962 could not start the 6-hour race due to technical problems after qualifying. The Vöhringer Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #961 crashed after one hour. The AVIA racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992 #120 also had to end the race early after an accident.

The 90-minute qualifying session began on Saturday morning in perfect summer weather around the Nürburg. The AVIA racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992 #120, driven by David Jahn, Paul Harkema and Tim Scheerbarth, started the 6-hour race from fourth position in Cup 2. In Cup 3, the AVIA racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #960 qualified for second on the grid with a wafer-thin gap to the pole-setter, while position three on the grid was reserved for the CMS Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #962 and drivers Mauro Calamia, Philip Miemois and Niclas Wiedmann. However, the bolide could not start the race due to technical problems. Sébastien Carcone, René Höber and Andreas Gabler lined up in tenth place in Cup 3 with the Vöhringer Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #961.

At 12:00 local time, the Green Hell of the Nürburgring was sweltering as the field set off on a 360-minute race. Start driver Tim Scheerbarth succeeded in gaining positions during his stint and after a few laps he was in the fight for the class lead. David Jahn and Paul Harkema were able to extend this fight for victory until the AVIA racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992 #120 crashed in the fourth hour of racing, thus ruining all chances of victory.

Finn Zulauf started the race with the AVIA racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #960 and took the lead in Cup 3 while still on the Grand Prix circuit of the Nürburgring. Marius Rauer and Moritz Oberheim also fought thrilling duels with their opponents and for the podium. The decision was open until the last hour. Perfect team tactics ensured that Oberheim was right on the tail of the leader in the final laps. In the end, he crossed the finish line in second place in Cup 3 and thus secured important points for W&S Motorsport in the PETN.

René Höber started from position ten with the Vöhringer Porsche Cayman GT4 #961 and was quickly up to seventh place in Cup 3 during his stint. Shortly after the end of the first hour, the car crashed.

The NLS now takes a summer break before the 12h Nürburgring on 9 and 10 September 2023, when it will race twice over six hours at the season highlight. W&S Motorsport will then again fight for victories in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring with its four Porsche.

Quotes after the race

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "After an intense six hours of racing, we brought a car home in second place in class. After fighting for victory for a long time, it was not enough in the end. The fight was very close and exciting, as could be seen on the livestream. Team and drivers did a great job. Unfortunately, we also failed to bring three cars to the finish. In Cup 2 we were on course to win and everyone did a great job until we were taken out of the race through no fault of our own. We will attack again at the 12h Nürburgring in September."

Tim Scheerbarth, Driver #120: "Unfortunately, after a good qualifying, things didn't go as we had hoped. There was a lot of hustle and bustle at the start, but I managed to stay out of it all and then drive for the win as the race went on. W&S Motorsport found the right strategy to keep us at the front. We then had to watch on the stream as the Porsche crashed in the Flugplatz section. That was frustrating, apparently luck is not on our side this season. We will be back for the big 12h race in eight weeks and we want to score big then."

Finn Zulauf, Driver #960: "The NLS 6-hour race is behind us and we wanted to fight for victory, which was also possible until shortly before the end. But in the end we didn't succeed. Marius and Moritz did a great job at the wheel in the heat and W&S Motorsport gave us a top prepared car. With second place we are on the podium and can take home a lot of points. But it's always annoying when you come so close to victory, which we hope to achieve at the next weekend in September."