Two of the world’s greatest endurance races for GT vehicles within eight days on back-to-back weekends show how Porsche Motorsport and its customer teams faced this extraordinary challenge during the 2019 season. Endurance, a stunning Porsche documentary available on YouTube and Amazon Prime, takes the viewer behind the scenes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (15/16 June 2019) and the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (22/23 June 2019).
These two endurance classics, just one week apart, put drivers, engineers and team managers under stresses seldom experienced in such a concentrated form, showing the pain and the glory of what such a tight schedule demands. The documentary outlines the background, challenges and tireless efforts of all parties through this excellent 90-minute film.
British film director James Routh, famous for his award-winning Formula 1 documentary Drive to Survive, accompanied the team, technicians and drivers for 25 days. From Le Mans preparations to test drives in Italy and a private test day after the endurance race in Germany’s Eifel region, this movie offers impressive behind-the-scene glimpses. The spectacular driving scenes are enhanced by candid comments from Pascal Zurlinden, Director Factory Motorsport. Porsche works drivers Kévin Estre, Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell give spectators an inside look at the stresses they faced during these two events. Porsche motor racing engineer Luca Massé also describes the everyday challenges of a Porsche race engineer.
The documentary showcases what endurance racing really demands: deprivation, stress, emotion and the total dedication and passion of all involved. Dealing with the tense situations and setbacks on the racetrack are portrayed in an unfiltered and realistic manner, showing the dangers and what life is like at the limit.
I attended both races in 2019, and can report that the demands of covering Le Mans and the Nürburgring 24 Hours on consecutive weekends from a media perspective was no pushover. The documentary comes highly recommended by the PORSCHE ROAD & RACE team, and can be viewed on YouTube or Amazon Prime, and you can view the gallery of images on our sister website, VIRTUAL MOTORPIX. We hope that you have a great weekend of viewing!!
Written by: Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale
