Somewhat less prestigious than the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring draws GT fans to a legendary circuit: the Nordschleife (25-kilometer northern section). The Nürburgring is comprised of 150 corners, including the Karussel (no translation needed), probably the most famous among them.

Like at Le Mans, rain can sometimes fall on only one part of the circuit, but even more so than at the 24 Hours, the weather can be extremely unpredictable in the Eifel mountains. Just ask the 2016 edition competitors, some of which were blocked for dozens of minutes on the track, incapable of making headway on what seemed like an ice rink after a hailstorm.

At the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (qualifying will take place this weekend) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, more than 200,000 fans gather to celebrate in a fun and friendly atmosphere. Nonetheless, for the drivers the undertaking is much more serious as they are chasing the coveted win. Marcel Tiemann, Pedro Lamy (Aston Martin driver in the LMGTE Am class at Le Mans), and Timo Bernhard (winner at the 24 Hours in 2010 with Audi) have all earned the trophy no less than five times.

Though Timo Bernhard is an official Porsche driver in LMP1, he will not be representing the German manufacturer as the marque has opted to support private teams running the 911 rather than enter official cars at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

So, the 911 entered in the professional class by Manthey Racing, the team with which Porsche competed in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2013 to 2015, will be driven by the trio of the official #91 911 RSR that will be at the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Pro class: three-time class winner at Le Mans Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet will be joined by Romain Dumas (two-time 24 Hours overall winner, and "loaned" to Alpine in LMP2 this year for Le Mans) at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring where driver line-ups are comprised of four drivers.

Of the driver line-up for the second Porsche 911 RSR, the #92, on the starting grid at Le Mans, only Kévin Estre - winner in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) - will be absent. His teammate for the year, Michael Christensen, will take the wheel of Frikadelli Racing Team's 911 and support from the American United Sports Car Championship, Dirk Werner, will drive Falken Motorsports's 911 along with, namely Jörg Bergmeister, winner in GT at Le Mans in 2004.

Photo (Copyright - Pascal Saivet/VSA): Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki, third in LMGTE Pro at the 6 Hours of Silverstone last weekend, will be teammates at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.