Estre Confident Porsche Can Avoid N24 Tire Issue Repeat

Manthey EMA driver Kevin Estre is hopeful Porsche will be able to avoid last year’s tire issues that plagued the Type-992 911 GT3 R upon its Nürburgring 24 debut and led to an early retirement for the 2021 winners.

Estre and fellow FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar star Laurens Vanthoor will be joined by Repco Bathurst 12 Hour winner Ayhancan Guven and reigning DTM champion Thomas Preining at the wheel of the No. 911 Porsche.

Manthey, which last won the event in 2021, had their competitive run curtailed last year by punctures, which plagued multiple Porsche squads and eventually led to the No. 911 car’s retirement.

In 2024, Manthey enjoyed a strong start to its Intercontinental GT Challenge campaign as Vanthoor, Guven and Matt Campbell won Bathurst while Porsche is thus far undefeated at the Nordschleife.

Estre, who was part of Porsche’s last winning lineup three years ago, is confident that Porsche will not run into the same issues as twelve months ago.

“Last year, we had tire issues,” Estre told Sportscar365.

“We were quite quick, not as quick as Ferrari, but we could have fought for the podium. But we had tire issues which are a bit out of our hands.

“That’s why this year the NLS and Nürburgring allowed Michelin to bring a new tire, especially for the Porsche, because we were breaking the tire. This year looks stronger, at least we don’t break any tire.

“The preparation has been good, but you don’t know what the others are doing obviously. The car feels good. Then we’ll see what the BoP is and how the competition is.”

In total, four Porsches were identified to have struggled with punctures during the race last year. In addition to Michelin squads Manthey and Huber Motorsport, Falken Motorsports were also affected.

This year, Porsche is represented by six cars in the SP9 class, with three on Michelin tires (Manthey, Herberth Motorsport, Lionspeed GP), joined by a pair of Falken-shod entries and the No. 54 Dinamic GT machine on Pirelli tires.

Sebastian Golz, Porsche’s GT3 project manager, noted that the brand ‘applied appropriate measures’ in cooperation with each of the tire manufacturers involved.

“We began preparing for 2024 straight after last year’s 24-hour race,” said Golz.

“We worked hard alongside the manufacturers to understand last year’s tire damage. After in-depth analyses, we applied the appropriate measures.

“The start of the 2024 season showed that we did a good job together. Our teams and drivers are happy with the vehicle balance.

“Now we need to sort out the race procedures and focus on getting through the race without making any mistakes. Lap time performance alone is not the main priority.

“Teamwork, managing overtaking in a big field of 130 cars, the right tyre choice for different conditions and ensuring that the driver feels good in the car will be the keys to success.”

As Estre admits, Manthey will be looking to break a string of bad N24 results that occurred after its 2021 victory, having failed to finish since.

“Last year was about tires, the year before I think we were okay, but then Laurens had a crash with his brother,” he said.

“It’s difficult to say, I think we prove always with the Manthey car that we are, at least in the race, the Porsche to beat the last years.

“Let’s try to do it again this year. Knowing where we will be compared to the competition, this is an unknown.”

Porsche is yet to be defeated in Nordschleife competition this season, winning four out of four races in the NLS and N24 Qualifiers.

While the majority of those wins came at the hands of the Falken cars, which swept the Qualifiers and won NLS1, Estre and Vanthoor took a notable win by beating Red Bull Team ABT by just 0.042 seconds in NLS2.

“We finished second at one, we won another one and I think in the Qualifiers we finished on the podium as well,” Estre said.

“The Falken cars were also winning I think the Porsches were quite strong, but there was not such much competition, not so many brands in the NLS race because of a clash with GT World Challenge.

“The Qualifiers were a bit better, but until the start of the 24 hours, generally, it’s very difficult to have an idea. 

“Let’s see, I just hope that it’s going to be fair and that everybody, everyone which does a good job has a chance.”