Race news
Pidcock's need for speed extends beyond cycling as he takes Porsche to Nürburgring
Pidcock swapped his bike for his Porsche 911 GT3 RS at one of motorsport's most famous circuits.
Free to read. No paywall.
Support our work and never miss
a story:
Favourite us on Google
Tomas Sisk / Cor Vos
Tom Pidcock traded two wheels for four at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, taking his Porsche 911 GT3 RS for a spin around the German motor racing track alongside Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister.
Pidcock drove his 992.1-generation 911 GT3 RS fitted with a Manthey Kit at the Nordschleife, where he had already recorded a 6:52.37 bridge-to-gantry lap earlier this year.
Faced with inclement conditions, Pidcock used the Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 wet-weather tyres before making the switch to dry-weather tyres as the rainfall started to ease.
Bergmeister, who won five American Le Mans Series titles during his career, is one of Porsche’s most successful drivers and became a brand ambassador in 2020.
The German was impressed with Pidcock’s pace and control around the track, comparing his ability to find smooth lines and maintain momentum to the Briton’s supreme skills on a bike.
“For someone who isn’t here regularly, Tom’s pace is pretty mind-blowing. There are people on the Ring every day who go slower,” Bergmeister said.
“The advice I could give him is to simply focus on hitting the marks: braking points, turn-in points. But you can see it all comes naturally. I guess there’s a reason why he’s so good on the descents in cycle racing!”
Pidcock explained how his passion for driving high-performance cars stems from his desire to improve, but also how it acts as a release from the pressure of racing on the bike.
“I guess it’s because it’s about ‘high performance’, just like cycling is for me. It’s the same mindset,” Pidcock said.
“Driving, in general, is a pursuit of improvement, which is constant in what I do daily. But here there’s no pressure, I can also enjoy the fact that I don’t need to push it to the extreme limit.”
“When I’m competing [in my career], there’s always so much pressure, so on track it’s nice that I can simply just compete with myself.”
While currently in off-season mode, Pidcock will, in no time, be looking ahead and building towards the 2027 season.
The Briton, who will be joined by 11 new teammates as it stands, including Giulio Ciccone and Mauro Schmid, will be aiming to build on an impressive season for him and the Swiss ProTeam, finishing fifth and 12th in the individual and team UCI rankings, respectively.
