• Lionspeed GP returns to Nürburgring for much-loved home race event
• 80 Porsche shows speed, but is condemned by strategic misfortune
• Bronze Cup effort scores points after recovering from early contact

Lionspeed GP enjoyed a positive home event during the penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup despite mixed on-track results as the team, cheered on by many passionate fans, displayed strong pace and execution but was set back by strategic misfortune and incidents not of its own making.

The three-hour race at the Nürburgring was a special occasion for the team, given the fact that its roots lay at the Eifel venue and it has achieved significant success there in years prior. Now, it returned to the track representing Porsche in the top category of the top GT3 championship in the world as Bastian Buus (DEN), Thomas Preining (AUT) and Ricardo Feller (CHE) teamed up aboard the No. 80 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo supported by Potentia, a North American-based developer of next-generation industrial and AI infrastructure.

On the other side of the garage, the team’s Bronze Cup effort returned to action for the first time since it scored a class podium at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The No. 89 Porsche, back in Lionspeed GP’s trademark white and red color scheme and supported supported by long-time partners Manorhaven, Abacus Global Management, Staloc and Beyond Capital Partners, was driven by team principal Patrick Kolb (GER), Bashar Mardini (CAN) and Alex Fontana (CHE).

During Sunday morning’s qualifying, the No. 80 crew once again demonstrated that they are capable of delivering the raw speed required to fight at the front of the world’s most competitive GT3 championship. Across the Endurance Cup’s three-driver average qualifying format, Buus, Preining and Feller combined their efforts to put together a lap of 1:53.789 to secure third overall in a field of 55 GT3 cars. The No. 89 Porsche, meanwhile, qualified 11th in Bronze Cup with a time of 1:55.947.

The three-hour race would turn out to be an incident-packed affair, with multiple Full Course Yellows and safety cars spread throughout. At the head of the field, Buus maintained his early position in the top three, after an attempt to grab the lead in the opening corners of the race. After settling for third, Buus struggled to overtake the Mercedes in P2 on track whilst defending against a strong Garage 59 McLaren from behind.

The team then opted for a strategy call to pit early in an attempt to get the mint-liveried machine into clear air, and undercut the competition and take the lead in the pits, but was unfortunately set back by an ill-timed Full Course Yellow as soon as Feller rejoined the track. As a result, rather than benefitting from the undercut, it dropped the team outside the Top 20, but ran a strong, error-free race for the remainder of the contest to recover to 15th place.

In Bronze Cup, the No. 89 Porsche enjoyed a strong start with Mardini at the wheel, but its initial run was derailed after getting spun by another competitor in the early exchanges. Despite that, it recovered strongly to finish ninth in class, picking up valuable points along the way.

Across the weekend, Lionspeed GP enjoyed a highly positive reception at its home race, bolstered by its highly passionate fans and many guests and partners that attended the event. It also announced the second season of its “Between the Lines” video documentary series, which will focus around the team’s history victory in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

Lionspeed GP’s GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season will continue with the penultimate round of the Sprint Cup season at Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands on September 18-20.