Manthey Grello Porsche retires early from 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours
16/05/2026
For Manthey, Porsche and the thousands of Grello fans around the Nordschleife, this one hurts.
Manthey’s iconic No. 911 “Grello” Porsche 911 GT3 R has retired from the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours after less than four hours of racing, following an accident caused by oil on track at Brünnchen. Kévin Estre lost the rear of the car, hit the barrier and, although he was uninjured, the damage to the rear and engine area was too severe to continue.
A strong start before everything changed
The No. 911 Porsche started the race from eighth position in a massive 161-car field, but it did not take long before Manthey moved into the fight at the front.
Kévin Estre made an immediate impression in the opening stint, climbing into the leading group and putting the Grello Porsche within reach of the top positions. Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven continued that momentum, keeping the car in contention through changing conditions on the 25.378-kilometre Nordschleife.
This was a front-running car taken out by one of the most unforgiving variables in endurance racing: oil on the racing line.
Brünnchen strikes again
The incident happened at Brünnchen, one of the most famous sections of the Nürburgring and a place known to many fans as “YouTube Corner”.
Estre had just started another stint when the car suddenly snapped away on oil. According to Manthey, there was no warning, no real chance to react and nothing the driver could have done to save it. The impact damaged the car heavily, and although it initially continued, a belt came loose and caused irreparable engine damage.
A painful end in Grello’s anniversary year
Manthey is celebrating 30 years of Manthey Racing and 10 years of the Grello livery in 2026. We recently covered the team’s special anniversary design for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, a one-off livery blending modern Grello elements with visual references to Manthey’s earlier colour scheme, the one linked to its dominant Nürburgring wins from 2006 to 2009.
The No. 992 car keeps Manthey in the race
Manthey is not completely out of the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours. The team’s No. 992 Porsche 911 GT3 R, entered together with the Griesemann Gruppe, remains in contention and continues to represent Manthey after the early loss of the No. 911.
The No. 911 was the fan car. The anniversary car. The symbol. The one everyone was watching. After two consecutive second-place finishes in 2024 and 2025, Manthey came into this race with one very clear objective: return to the top step.
Verstappen and Winward gain a major advantage
The Grello retirement also changes the shape of the race. Before the crash, the Manthey Porsche was one of the few cars capable of applying real pressure to the leading Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3, shared by Max Verstappen, Jules Gounon, Dani Juncadella and Lucas Auer.
With the No. 911 gone, and several other major contenders also eliminated early, the tactical balance of the race shifts heavily. The Nürburgring 24 Hours is still long, unpredictable and dangerous, but losing Manthey’s top Grello Porsche removes one of the strongest overall victory threats.
AutoNext Take
Manthey did almost everything right. The car had pace. The drivers were strong. The team looked competitive. The Grello anniversary story had all the ingredients for a fairytale.
But the Nordschleife does not do fairytales on request. Oil on track, no warning, one snap at Brünnchen, and a race that took months to prepare is over in seconds. That is not bad strategy. That is not driver error. That is the brutal lottery of endurance racing on the most unforgiving circuit in the world.
