NÜRBURG/EEMNES (28 April 2025) – After a difficult start to the weekend, Tom Coronel and Jan Jaap van Roon did not expect to be taking home any silverware at the end of the ADAC Ruhrpott Trophy, the second race of the season in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). Third place in the Pro-Am category with the Max Kruse Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was a well-deserved reward for Coronel and Van Roon for a strong comeback race and a token of appreciation for the team’s enormous efforts, which ensured that the Dutch duo’s Porsche was ready just in time for the race. ‘A strong performance by everyone. I also really enjoyed it, had a good rhythm and the speed was just right,’ said Tom Coronel.
 

 
The ADAC Ruhrpott Trophy took place for the first time as a round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, as usual with a race duration of four hours. The inaugural event was a joint initiative of two well-known organising clubs, ADAC Westfalen and Motorsport-Club Ruhr-Blitz Bochum. As usual, training took place on Friday, but that did not go entirely as planned for Coronel and Van Roon. ‘I had planned to do a lot of driving and training on Friday, but unfortunately that didn’t work out because someone else crashed our car,‘ said Van Roon.’And unfortunately, we didn’t have an ‘escape button’ here… I thought it was all over for us and had already packed my bag, but the team did an incredible job! They worked until four in the morning to rebuild the car!’
 

 
It looked like the Porsche would be able to take part in qualifying on Saturday morning, but it turned out that the engine’s air intake had been damaged as well. ‘I came in straight away, and the team changed the engine,’ said Coronel. ‘It was a real race against the clock, because we were able to get to the grid just one minute before the starting grid opened. We started last in our class, but at least we were able to race, which was the most important thing!’
 
Van Roon took the start and the first stint of the race, keeping up nicely with the rest of the field. After eight laps, Van Roon came into the pits as planned, where Coronel took over the car. He continued the progress of the Porsche with starting number 927, after which Van Roon took over for the final part of the race and drove the Porsche to the finish. In the class for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, Coronel and Van Roon finished eighth overall while the Dutch duo ended up third in the Pro-Am category, securing their first podium result of the season. ‘It was great to start the race and fight our way through the field,’ said Van Roon. ‘Unfortunately, we dropped back a bit in the final stages, but I can tell that I’m getting faster and faster. I’m already looking forward to the next race!’
 

Tom Coronel also looked back with satisfaction on his first race weekend of the year at the Nürburgring. ‘Of course, almost everything is focused on preparing for the 24-hour race in June, which is really the big race we are all working towards. I drove really well myself, got up to speed nicely and found a good rhythm. The fact that we’re going home with a trophy is more than we expected beforehand, so we can be really happy with that. On to the next race!’ That will be the 56th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, another four-hour race, which will take place on Saturday 10 May.