You see the results of many Nürburgring Nordschleife lap-time attempts, but the process that goes into them can be a bit opaque. Porsche racing subsidiary Manthey Racing reserved a couple hours of closed track time and tapped racer Kevin Estre to set a benchmark time with a 911 GT3 RS MR. Estre managed a 6:49.55 running the shorter “Sport Auto” circuit configuration, and Nürburgring YouTuber Misha Charoudin captured all the behind-the-scenes action.
The process of setting a ‘Ring lap is more complicated than you might expect. Manthey Racing only had the track for two hours, and that didn’t leave a lot of time to experiment with setup, tire pressures, aero balance, etc. To help speed the process up, the firm used tire-warming tents, so Estre can go out onto the track and right into a hot lap. Thankfully, Estre only needed two laps to get his time down. Manthey is based at the ‘Ring and develops its cars with Porsche factory drivers, so the baseline setup was good for Estre. His first lap was compromised by putting wheels off in the grass at the exit of the Flugplatz (yikes), but he still managed to lay down a 6:50.192. The next lap, was a 6:49.55. Not bad at all for a naturally aspirated street car. For the full story and video, check out this article from Road & Track.
