Defending Winner Manthey Dealt Pre-Race Penalty Setback

Defending Nürburgring 24 winner Manthey Racing will start from the back of the first starting group at this weekend’s edition after receiving a penalty during qualifying.

According to a stewards’ report, the No. 1 Porsche 911 GT3 R failed to respect flag signals and exceeded the speed limit in a zone where double yellows were waving.

The relevant bulletin did not state which member of the Manthey driver lineup committed the offense.

Two of last year’s winners, Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen, are sharing the car with Frederic Makowiecki and Laurens Vanthoor this weekend.

The qualifying penalty comes three years after the Manthey squad effectively lost the 2019 N24 edition due to a 5-minute, 32-second penalty caused by Vanthoor exceeding the speed limit in a yellow flag zone.

It is the second Porsche to receive a grid penalty for Saturday’s race start, after the No. 44 Falken Motorsports entry which earned a five-place grid drop for not respecting flag signals during night practice.

Additionally, the No. 100 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 has also been sent to the back of the first starting group for the same reason as Manthey.

Several other cars from categories outside SP9 also incurred sanctions during the three-hour Thursday evening session, which ran into darkness and was led by the No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW of Sheldon van der Linde.

Manthey already has a place booked in Friday evening’s Top Qualifying 2 shootout, which determines the overall pole-sitter and a large part of the SP9 order.

However, the team has confirmed that it will not take part in the session.