SVEN SCHNABL
Thanks to Porsche’s dedication to motorsport and the trackside assistance it offers to teams competing in some of the most challenging racing environments, campaigning 911s is brilliant fun for competitors and a thrilling spectacle for marque enthusiasts.
My father raced cars when I was young, so you could argue my motorsport career was an inevitability. I started as a mechanical engineer back in 1986, when I worked on Ford Sierra XR4 and RS500 touring cars. A decade later, I was in charge of my own race car preparation company, Schnabl Engineering, and was responsible for spannering the Petronas Super Touring Mondeos, before managing Alfa Romeo 156s in the German Touring Car Challenge. Running cars in the V8 Star Championship followed, but with a high number of manufacturers exiting the touring car scene, plus V8 Star’s future being less than certain, I reasoned the time had come to participate in Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.
I knew the series well, not least because rounds of the competition took place on the same bill as the events my team was already attending. It struck me how the Porsche series always fielded a strong grid, plus it always seemed to generate good print and television coverage. Needless to say, I was keen for Schnabl Engineering to be involved, which is why my company prepared a 996 GT3 Cup for the 2003 contest, before becoming a two-car team in readiness for the following season.
With a pair of 996s on the track, I was pleased with a third place finish in 2004’s team standings. The drivers did well, too, and from there, Schnabl Engineering continued to take part in Carrera Cup alongside other demands, including the FIA GT Championship. Further seasons in Carrera Cup followed, with technical assistance provided to teams competing in Carrera Cup Asia, resulting in Darryl O’young securing top honours in the drivers’ championship. Twice.
2007 was an even bigger year for Schnabl Engineering’s Porsche activities. We fielded two 997 GT3 Cup cars in Carrera Cup Germany and two more 911s for the Mobil 1 Supercup. Technical assistance was provided to one of the drivers competing in Carrera Cup France. By 2009, Schnabl Engineering was responsible for a trio of GT3S in Carrera Cup Germany, three in Mobil 1 Supercup and technical assistance to O’young in Carrera Cup Asia. These were great years, but arguably the best was yet to come: in 2010, I was approached by Japanese tyre manufacturer, Falken, with a proposal to prepare a 997 for Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring (VLN) and the year’s standalone 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Schnabl Engineering’s relationship with Falken continues to the present day (as you’ll see from the 2021 N24 preview on page 36). During time working with the Japanese brand, my team has continued to provide technical assistance to participants in Carrera Cup Germany and Carrera Cup Germany Asia, as well as other GT competitions and endurance races, including the challenging Dubai 24 Hour.
This trip down memory lane not only serves to highlight Schnabl Engineering’s vast experience in a variety of motorsport disciplines, perhaps useful information before you get stuck into the following pages and follow the Falken team’s progress in N24 the day after this magazine goes on sale, but it goes to show how prolific Porsche racing is, and how motorsport is an essential component of the manufacturer’s commercial activities.
Key to this ongoing success is just how good each successive generation of 911 is as a race car, of course, but there’s also Porsche Motorsport’s support to take into consideration. Unlike racing with cars from other marques, you don’t need to keep a stockpile of expensive parts tucked away when working with a 911 – trackside assistance from Porsche is brilliant, with every event attended by the company’s representatives, each of them on hand to help with parts and advice when required. Unsurprisingly, this is especially true of Carrera Cup events, but Porsche is also keen to see its cars do well in other racing environments, including a fan-friendly series of endurance racing competitions held at the Nürburgring either side of the venue’s annual 24-hour race.
As one of the few series with an ‘open tyre’ policy, it’s the perfect stomping ground for Falken, where a variety of different tyre makers are supplying the grid. This exciting difference between cars makes for fantastic racing. I’m already looking forward to seeing what the Falken 911s can do in 2022’s N24!