24.05.13 3 x 36

„Essentially, we had no problems and yet, we missed our own targets”, Wolfgang Kaufmann sums up the 24 hour race at the Nürburgring. Following a class win in 2012, Kremer Racing wanted to reach the podium again with the Porsche 997 GT3 KR.

Porsche Kremer 997 KR

Porsche Kremer 997 KR

Porsche Kremer 997 KR

Wolfgang & japanese Fan

In qualifying, the team of Wolfgang Kaufmann, Jürgen Alzen, Dieter Schornstein and Peter Posavac with the number 36 car were on target: “We wanted to qualify within the Top 40, in order to get the coveted blue light that signals the other drivers that a fast car is approaching.” In the end, the famous team from Cologne noted the 36th starting position.

“The race then turned out to be very difficult for us because of the prevailing conditions. It all started well enough; when I came into the pits after the first hour, we were in 23rd position overall, and in dry conditions everything ran like clockwork”, Kaufmann said after the race. In the evening, however, heavy rain and occasional fog set in which prompted the clerk of the course to halt the race. Kaufmann supports the officials in their decision: “I generally like to drive to race in the rain, but this time there was so much water on the track in places, and with this so much danger of aquaplaning, that the risk for everyone involved was unnecessarily high. The clerk of the course has made the only right decision.”

When the race was resumed the following morning, it was still very wet all around the Nordschleife: “In that weather, we had great trouble finding the necessary grip, and stick to our scheduled lap times. To that we had to add a small problem with the undertray, and a penalty for not meeting the mandatory minimum pit stop time.”

At the end of a race without great technical difficulty, the Porsche arrived in 36th place overall, and 9th place in the closely contested SP 7 class – the same place they had started the race in. Ultimately the team was missing the time of the race interruption: “We had a regular race without major trouble, but some small issues set us backand with so much time missing from the race, we could not make up laps with the same consistency as in 2012. It is a shame for the whole Team Porsche Kremer Racing who prepared a top-notch car. Sadly, their tireless effort and fighting spirit was not rewarded with a podium finish.”