In European endurance racing there are two dates on the calendar that everyone wants to win: Le Mans and the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Last year, these two crowning events took place on back to back weekends, providing teams like Porsche GT with the frankly exhausting challenge of performing at the top of their game at both distinctly different daylong races.
In a new 90-minute documentary about this unique two-week period in 2019, Porsche reveals the extent of the task its team faced. If you followed the action, you'll know that both events were far from trouble free for Porsche, with a strong, class-leading performance on the Circuit de la Sarthe stunted by a broken exhaust, and the team's chances of gold at the Green Hell scuppered by a penalty.
But while they were far from ideal results, Porsche's team members left Le Mans and the Nurburgring with their heads held high. The squad was always in contention and - if all had gone well - probably would have secured to wins. No doubt it has carried this confidence into 2020, although the pandemic has temporarily halted chances of demonstrating that potential again. For now, at least.
Until then, we have a feature-length documentary to help us scratch the racing itch. The film provides unprecedented access to the Porsche team's highest ranking personnel, including drivers Earl Bamber and Michael Christensen, to reveal why pitstops were called, why there were near misses and how it dealt with a number of quickly-fixed issues that otherwise could have each led to race-ending problems. It makes for dramatic viewing, and a welcome influx of racing content at a time when circuits the world over have temporarily fallen silent.