Lionspeed GP is a German sports car racing team established in 2019 by drivers José Garcia and Patrick Kolb. Based in Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany, the team currently compete in the 24H Series, GT World Challenge Europe, and Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. Lionspeed previously raced with operational support from other racing teams, before becoming a fully independent squad in 2024.
The team are former class winners in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, winning the SP9 Pro-Am class in 2020 and 2024.
History Lionspeed GP's first venture into motor racing came at the 2019 VLN Series, competing with a Huber Motorsport-backed Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Andreas Simonsen, Lorenzo Rocco Di Torrepadula, and co-founder Patrick Kolb drove the car for the season, with Johannes Stengel and Christoph Rendlen stepping in at select rounds. In that year's 2019 24 Hours of Nürburgring, they competed in the SP7 class, finishing 5th in class and 25th overall. The team made a strong step forward in 2020, with Lionspeed, again backed by Huber Motorsport, taking the SP9 Pro-Am class title in the 2020 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie and a class victory in the 2020 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Car Collection Motorsport later supported Lionspeed's operations between 2021 and 2023, exclusively racing in Audi machinery.
After years of racing with operational support, the team transitioned into an independent team in 2024, having established their own team infrastructure. In their first Nürburgring 24 Hours as a standalone entry, Lionspeed won the SP9 Pro-Am class with co-founder Kolb, Antares Au, Indy Dontje, and Patric Niederhauser. The team also raced in the Spa 24 Hours for the first time that year, finishing the 2024 24 Hours of Spa 7th in the Bronze class.
In the 2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Lionspeed supported a Cup 3 class entry with Chris Lulham and four-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, driving a power-restricted (mandatory for "rookies" of the circuit) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. The latter had competed to earn a DMSB Permit Nordschleife, a permit necessary for competitors to participate in Group GT3 sports cars at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
At the 2026 24 Hours of Spa, Lionspeed GP won the race outright with Bastian Buus, Ricardo Feller, and Thomas Preining. They subsequently became the first Spa 24 Hours winner to start from pit lane.
Race results
24 Hours of Spa YearEntrantNo.CarDriversClassLaps2024 Lionspeed x Herberth80Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Antares Au Alexander Fach Alessio Picariello Martin RumpBronze47522nd7th2025 Lionspeed GP80Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Ricardo Feller Patrick Kolb Riccardo Pera Gabriel RindoneBronze54621st4th2026 Lionspeed GP80Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) Ricardo Feller Thomas Preining Bastian BuusPro5411st1st89 Alex Fontana Bashar Mardini Axcil Jefferies Patrick KolbBronze53720th3rd
24 Hours of Nürburgring YearEntrantNo.CarDriversClassLaps2019 Huber Motorsport63Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Ulrich Berg Patrick Kolb Jonathan Miller Johannes StengelSP714225th5th2020 Huber Motorsport25Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) Marco Holzer Patrick Kolb Nico Menzel Lorenzo Rocco Di TorrepadulaSP9 Pro-Am8215th1st2021 Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport12Audi R8 LMS Evo Jean-Louis Hertenstein Fidel Leib Klaus Koch Johannes StengelSP95430th21st Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport24Audi R8 LMS Evo Milan Dontje Patrick Kolb Patric Niederhauser Lorenzo Rocco Di TorrepadulaSP95424th20th2022 Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport23Audi R8 LMS Evo II Dennis Fetzer Klaus Koch Dennis Marschall Simon ReicherSP9 Pro-Am15413th4th Audi Sport Team Lionspeed by Car Collection24Audi R8 LMS Evo II Mattia Drudi Patrick Kolb Christopher Mies Patric NiederhauserSP9 Pro1596th6th2023 Lionspeed by Car Collection Motorsport24Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Matt Campbell Mathieu Jaminet Patrick Kolb Patrick PiletSP9 Pro16DNFDNF2024 Lionspeed GP24Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Antares Au Indy Dontje Patrick Kolb Patric NiederhauserSP9 Pro-Am509th1st2026 Lionspeed GP18Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) Jake Hill Max Hofer Patrick Kolb Kyle TilleySP9 Pro-Am15310th2nd24Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) Ricardo Feller Laurin Heinrich Laurens VanthoorSP9 Pro1565th4th References