Despite an early setback in the 24h marathon, Kaufmann and Kremer Racing refuse to give up.

For the greatest sporting challenge of his season, Wolfgang Kaufmann once again travelled to the Nürburgring. Before the 24 hour race got under way, however, the small matter of the classic support race was waiting to be dealt with. Kaufmann’s first office for the weekend was a rare Group B Porsche 911 SCRS which he shared with Jonan Bonnier. This warm-up for the 24 hour „main event“ turned out to be a fine dress rtehearsal – after 3 hours of racing, Kaufmann/Bonnier came across the finish line in 2nd position in their class!

For the 24 Hours, Kaufmann changed over to the newly built Porsche 997 KR of Kremer Racing. The legendary team from Cologne made its first appearance in the SP-PRO class. This meant running the car with a slightly smaller air restrictor than usual on the six cylinder boxer engine, but even with this reduction in power the car turned the second-fastest qualifying lap.

The extreme endurance race on the more than 25 kilometer long track which was opened in 1927 initially showed some promise. Kaufmann took the start and drove the first stint where asserted himself within the field. As early as lap 17, the team was confronted with bad news: engine trouble on the Porsche 911! But giving up has never been an option for Kaufmann or Porsche Kremer Racing. In a display of heroic determination, the crew of mechanics changed the engine and sent the car back out on the track after only 1.5 hours.

Demoted to 141st position after this repair, the team saw any chance of a meaningful result disappear. Nevertheless, all drivers gritted their teeth and fought their way back up the order – place by place, hour by hour. The mechanical woes were not quite over at that point, as Wolfgang Kaufmann explains: „the electric power steering kept failing; during my last three stints, it was gone altogether.

Maneuvering the Porsche along the Nordschleife like this was some very heavy lifting!“ Ever the professional, Kaufmann still kept wringing the big Porsche’s neck, and in a joint effort, the team pushed its way back toward the top 50 places during the morning hours. And still, Lady Luck did not smile their way; when the paddle shift mechanism on the steering wheel refused to play any further part in the proceedings, the drivers had to resort to the old-fashioned, floor-mounted lever to change gears.

With two hours to go in this 43rd edition of the ADAC 24 Hours, the team had finally arrived inside the Top 50; and the climb through the ranks continued. At the end of 24 hours of racing, with 129 laps in the book, or approximately 3147 kilometers at racing speed, it was 2nd place in the SP-PRO class and 44th position overall for Wolfgang Kaufmann and his colleagues Eberhard Baunach, Maik Rönnefarth, and Philippe Haezebrouck. Following the car’s early trouble, the quartet had reclaimed almost 100 places!

Wolfgang Kaufmann was granted a special honour: „Kremer Racing not only entrusted me with the Porsche 997 KR at the start, but also let me take the car to the finish, for which I would like to thank the team! The whole Kremer Racing crew has delivered a magnificent performance, and displayed impeccable team spirit. My fellow drivers have also shown tremendous dedication and fighting spirit in this tough race.“