Stuttgart. Right place, right time – for Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), the timing at the first qualifying session of the 24 hour race was perfect. At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, he opted for slicks at the right moment before heavier rain set in again. With a lap time of 9:26.421 minutes on the 25.378 kilometre combination of the Grand Prix circuit and the Nordschleife, Bergmeister planted Porsche Team Manthey’s orange and white liveried 911, with its 480 hp combustion engine supplemented by two 60 kilowatt electric motors, on second place. The German teams up with works driver Richard Lietz (Austria), Porsche junior Marco Holzer (Germany), and the former Porsche junior driver Martin Ragginger (Austria).

Because of thick fog, the first qualifying session was halted at 22.20 hours after three of the scheduled four hours. Tomorrow, the second and final two-hour qualifying session takes place at 12.45 hours, before the 38th edition of the Eifel classic takes off on Saturday at 15.00 hours. The Porsche teams were well prepared. Under cold and changeable weather conditions, they completed the first qualifying without any problems and safely covered the minimum amount of laps as required by the regulations.

Third position went to Team Mamerow Racing. Former Porsche junior Chris Mamerow (Germany) achieved the third quickest time of the field in the 911 GT3 R. Mamerow competes alongside Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler and his German compatriot Joerg Hardt.

For the title defenders from Manthey Racing, Porsche works driver Marc Lieb (Germany) claimed the quickest time with sixth. After winning three times in succession, the driver quartet returns this year to compete under team boss Olaf Manthey. Sharing driving duties are works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as experienced Manthey pilot Marcel Tiemann (Monaco).

The 911 GT3 R run by Haribo Team Manthey secured 16th position in qualifying. At the wheel of the 911 sporting the Haribo gold bear design is a racing pro line-up consisting of Lance David Arnold (Germany), Christian Menzel (Germany), Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and Alexander Margaritis (Germany).

YouTube - 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the Nürburgring

The squad driving the Porsche 911 GT3 RS brought home a commendable 36th place. The four men aim to show that a production vehicle is up to the challenges of a 24 hour race. Manning the vehicle for the 24 hour classic is former DTM pilot Roland Asch (Germany), race professional and TV commentator Patrick Simon (Germany), as well as two Nürburgring-experienced journalists Horst von Saurma (Germany) and Chris Harris (Great Britain).

Television station Sport1 (formerly DSF) broadcasts over 20 hours of the Nürburgring 24 hour race. For the first time, Porsche offers its German-speaking fans its own internet radio as part of a web special under Official Porsche Website. In a ten-minute radio show held on the hour every hour during the race, commentator Burkhard Bechtel reports on the progress of the Porsche league, and also interviews interesting guests at the track.

Source [Porsche]

 

3 audi at the top 3 places for the race

 

^^Yep Audi has really stepped up the game with the R8 LMS cars!
See post below:

 

Four Porsche qualify in the fastest ten

Stuttgart. In a gripping final qualifying session for the Nürburgring 24 hour race, Porsche pilots secured good starting positions. Fastest with the new 480 hp 911 GT3 R was Lance David Arnold (Germany), who clinched the fifth grid position for Haribo Team Manthey. Chris Mamerow (Germany) turned the sixth quickest lap driving the Mamerow team’s 911 GT3 R. After topping the time sheets for a lengthy period, Porsche works driver and last year’s winner Marc Lieb (Germany) takes up the Eifel marathon tomorrow at 15.00 hours from seventh on the grid.

Twenty-four-year-old Lance David Arnold shares the cockpit of the 911 decked out in the gold bear design with two-time winner of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), former DTM driver Alex Margaritis (Germany) and Christian Menzel (Germany), the reigning champion of the Asian Carrera Cup. The Mamerow squad entrusts the car to a line-up of experienced Nordschleife drivers. Former Porsche junior, Chris Mamerow, shares driving duties with Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) and his compatriot Joerg Hardt.

The winning driver quartet from the last three years, who compete in Manthey Racing’s 911 GT3 R sporting the starting number one, did not take part in the final stages of the qualifying. “We would prefer to come first in the last lap of the race than in the first lap,” said Marc Lieb. “We deliberately conserved our material for the race.” Like last year, the 911 of the four-time victorious team under Olaf Manthey has a top-class driver line-up. Lieb, who currently leads the points in the Le Mans Series after two wins as title defender, shares the cockpit with the other factory pilots Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as Marcel Tiemann (Monaco).

The innovative 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Porsche Team Manthey) heads into the 38th edition of the 24 hour race from the ninth spot on the grid. “Our aim was to qualify in the top ten and we did this,” summarised works driver Richard Lietz (Austria). “Under dry conditions we weren’t able to do better due to the weight of our car. In the race we are relying totally on the efficiency of our 911 GT3 R Hybrid.” Sharing driving duties with the Austrian are Porsche junior Marco Holzer (Germany), works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), and the 22-year-old former Porsche junior Martin Ragginger (Austria). The 480 hp six-cylinder engine is supplemented by two 60 kilowatt electric motors and serves as a rolling test lab under the toughest race conditions to provide Porsche with crucial results for the further development of hybrid technology.

The crew at the wheel of the standard 911 GT3 RS were delighted with their 42nd place on the grid after a trouble-free final qualifying. Sharing the cockpit are former DTM pilot Roland Asch (Germany), race pro and TV commentator Patrick Simon (Germany), as well as the two Nürburgring regulars and journalists Horst von Saurma (Germany) and Chris Harris (Great Britain).

Television station Sport1 (formerly DSF) broadcasts over 20 hours of the Nürburgring 24 hour race. For the first time, Porsche offers its German-speaking fans its own internet radio as part of a web special under Official Porsche Website. In a ten-minute radio show held on the hour every hour during the race, commentator Burkhard Bechtel reports on the progress of the Porsche league, and also interviews interesting guests at the track.

 
Result final qualifying:
1. Ekström/Jarvis/Scheider/Werner (S/GB/D/D), Audi R8 LMS, 8.24.753 minutes
2. Basseng/Rockenfeller/Stippler/Stuck (D/D/D/D), Audi R8 LMS, + 0.815 seconds
3. Abt/Collard/Luhr/Mies (D/F/D/D), Audi R8 LMS, + 3.214
4. Biela/Fässler/Kaffer/Hennerici (D/CH/D/D), Audi R8 LMS, + 4.497
5. Arnold/Menzel/Westbrook/Margaritis (D/D/GB/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 4.768
6. Mamerow/Henzler/Hardt (D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 5.026
7. Bernhard/Lieb/Tiemann/Dumas (D/D/D/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 5.570
8. Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy (D/BR/D/P), BMW M3 GT2, + 8.108
9. Bergmeister/Lietz/Holzer/Ragginger (D/A/D/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, + 9.890
10. Alzen/Schwager/Jäger/Bert (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S, + 10.153
11. Werner/Müller/Priaulx/Adorf (D/D/GB/D), BMW M3 GT2, + 12.087
12. Rostek/Ludwig/Bronzel/Winkelhock (D/D/D/D), Audi R8 LMS, + 13.106
13. Weiss/Jacobs/Pietsch/Kainz (D/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 13.753