NÜRBURG/EEMNES (11 May 2025) – Of course, the presence of four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen on Friday during the test day at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife attracted a lot of attention, but in the four-hour race of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie on Saturday, other Dutchmen were in the spotlights. There was podium success for Tom Coronel, Jan Jaap van Roon and Rudy van Buren, who finished third in the Cup 2 Pro-Am class with the Max Kruse Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. ‘Another trophy to take home, which is great, of course, but the most important thing is that we are well prepared for next month’s 24-hour race,’ said Tom Coronel.
 

 
Beautiful sunny spring weather for both the test sessions on Friday as well as qualifying and the race on Saturday meant that conditions were ideal. ‘You don’t often get consistent weather on the Nordschleife, so we wanted to make the most of it. It was especially important that the other drivers were able to rack up a lot of kilometres and get into a good rhythm, because on the Nordschleife you have to feel good to build confidence,’ said Coronel. ’During the tests on Friday, we did have some technical problems and we lost a lot of driving time because of them, but together we were still able to get the necessary mileage and find a good rhythm.’
 
This continued during qualifying on Saturday morning, with Coronel being the first of the team to go out and set a fast time. ‘In the end, it turned out that we had started our lap just a little too early, so that time didn’t officially count. That cost us a few starting places, but for a four-hour race, that’s not decisive,’ said the driver from Eemnes. The other drivers were also able to complete their laps, which showed that the Porsche with start number 927 was well on pace.
 

 
Coronel took the start of the four-hour race, experiencing a difficult moment right at the beginning: ‘The Abt-Lamborghini spun right in front of me, I was on the outside and had nowhere to go, so I lost a few places, but then I started to make up ground and was able to overtake a lot of cars again.’ At the end of his stint, Coronel handed the car over to Van Roon, who also drove well. ‘I had a good feeling, everything was going well,’ he said. ‘At one point, I heard “pit this lap” over the radio, and I hadn’t even realised I’d already been behind the wheel for eight laps! So everything was going really well!’
 
Rudy van Buren, who raced with Coronel and Van Roon for the first time, had to pit twice for a ‘stop-and-go penalty’, once because the car had stopped a fraction shorter than the required minimum pit stop time and once because no one from the organisation was there when Van Buren came in to serve his penalty stop. ‘It was my first race with the Cup Porsche, I drove twelve laps, I built it up nicely, I drove well,’ said Van Buren.
 

 
Now the Nürburgring 24-hour race on 21 and 22 June is the next big goal for the team. ‘Actually, the first NLS races of the season are all about preparing for the 24-hour race, and for us, it’s no different,’ explained Tom Coronel. ‘Now we’re going to analyse everything carefully and dot the i’s and cross the t’s. For example, next week we are all having our seats custom-made so that we’re all comfortable in the car and the driver changes can be done more quickly. The team is also working hard on all the details, but the big picture is there, we’re ready for the 24 Hours and we’re looking forward to it!’