Porsche has removed the Manthey Racing and several of its factory drivers from this weekend’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring due to fears of COVID-19.
The German manufacturer took the resolution after positive COVID tests sent regime checks after 24 hours of Le Mans last weekend, where Manthey drove the two factory Porsche 911 RSR-19s in the GTE Pro class.
A posted Monday night through Manthey said that “no one [in Porsche] who was at Le Mans will participate in Nurburgring,” so it is highly unlikely that the team will line up their own old 911 GT3 R ‘Grello’. At the German Endurance Classic.
“For us, people’s fitness is the most sensible priority,” said Fritz Enzinger, Porsche’s vice president of motorsports. “Due to the existing situation, it is quite transparent to us that we will have to position the sporting goals as the good not the unusual. “
“We will make every effort to provide as much help as imaginable to our groups of visitors for this race, thanks to the technical staff and factory drivers available. “
Manthey’s No. 911 car is one of 8 Porsche cars competing in The First Class SP-9 Nurburgring for GT3 cars, with Julien Andlauer, Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet and Lars Kern as team drivers.
Nicolas Raeder, team manager, said: “We made this resolution with Porsche Motorsport. Our team, “Grello” and the Nordschleife pass by.
“But in those circumstances, it is transparent to everyone at Manthey Racing that fitness is the priority for everyone taking part in the 24-hour race. “
KCMG’s two-car visitor, Frikadelli Motorsport and Falken Motorsport, is also affected by Porsche’s resolve to withdraw its drivers competing in Le Mans.
KCMG, which went from Nissan to Porsche this year, will not feature Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas and Patrick Pilet, while Frikadelli lost Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Campbell (who to play a double role with Manthey) and Falken would have to do without Thomas Preining and Matteo Cairoli.
Huber Motorsport, which uses only a 911 GT3 R, is affected.