Porsche legends Timo Bernhard and Joerg Bergmeister will come out of retirement for this weekend’s seventh Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie round (NLS7) as the marque prepares to close an important chapter in its customer racing history.
The two Porsche brand ambassadors will share the final 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport produced as a racing car during Saturday’s six-hour ADAC Ruhr Cup. Bernhard’s Team 75 operation will run the GT4 entry at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Following its final competitive appearance, Porsche will transfer the car to its museum collection in Stuttgart. The manufacturer will replace the Cayman-based model with the new Porsche 911 GT4 R for worldwide GT4 competition in 2027.
Porsche icons return for one-off NLS appearance
Bernhard and Bergmeister have both stepped away from full-time competition. However, the significance of the final Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport has drawn the long-serving factory drivers back to the cockpit.
Their one-off NLS7 appearance will combine two of Porsche’s most successful endurance racers with the last example of a car that has formed a major part of the manufacturer’s global customer racing programme.
Both drivers now work as Porsche brand ambassadors, making them fitting choices to oversee the model’s competitive farewell.
Furthermore, the Nürburgring provides an appropriate setting. Bernhard and Bergmeister built substantial parts of their careers around endurance racing, while both have achieved notable success on the Nordschleife.
Team 75 prepares final Cayman for competition
Team 75 will operate the car during the six-hour race.
Bernhard founded the team after building his own successful career with Porsche, and the organisation has since competed across several GT categories. Therefore, the programme connects Bernhard’s driving legacy with his current role as a team owner.
The squad will prepare the final production racing car for one last competitive outing rather than a demonstration run.
Consequently, Bernhard and Bergmeister will need to manage the same traffic, changing grip levels and physical demands as the rest of the NLS field. The six-hour format will also give both drivers meaningful time behind the wheel.
The team will aim to deliver a clean and competitive final race before Porsche preserves the car as part of its historical collection.
Bernhard brings extensive Nordschleife success
Bernhard ranks among the most accomplished drivers in Nürburgring endurance racing.
The German has claimed 10 overall victories across NLS and its former VLN identity. His success at the circuit also includes major achievements with Porsche machinery across several generations.
However, Bernhard’s most famous Nordschleife performance came outside conventional competition.
In 2018, he drove the unrestricted Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo around the circuit in 5:19.546. The extraordinary lap established an all-time Nordschleife record and demonstrated the potential of Porsche’s Le Mans-winning prototype without standard championship restrictions.
That achievement remains closely associated with both Bernhard and Porsche’s wider endurance racing history.
His NLS7 return will involve a very different car and objective. Nevertheless, the appearance allows him to add another chapter to his relationship with the circuit.
Bergmeister adds further Porsche heritage
Bergmeister also carries extensive experience of Porsche GT machinery and the Nürburgring.
The German achieved success across major endurance races and international GT championships during his factory career. Moreover, he has continued demonstrating the performance of Porsche road and racing cars since stepping away from regular competition.
Bergmeister has established several category records at the Nordschleife. In 2025, he drove a manual-transmission Porsche 911 GT3 to a production car benchmark of 6:56.294.
Therefore, both drivers arrive at NLS7 as Nordschleife record holders.
Their understanding of the circuit should prove valuable as they guide the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport through its final race. The Nürburgring’s length, elevation changes and multi-class traffic demand experience, particularly during an event that lasts six hours.
Final car heads directly to Porsche Museum
The NLS7 entry carries additional importance because Team 75 will run the final Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport built as a racing car.
Porsche will not return the car to regular competition after the ADAC Ruhr Cup. Instead, the manufacturer will add it to the Porsche Museum collection in Stuttgart.
That decision ensures that the final example retains a direct connection to competition rather than ending its active life after leaving the production line.
The car will enter the collection after racing on one of the world’s most demanding circuits with two drivers closely linked to Porsche’s modern endurance history.
As a result, the final Cayman will carry its own competitive story into the museum alongside Porsche’s championship-winning prototypes, GT cars and significant road models.
Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport reaches end of racing chapter
Porsche developed the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for international customer racing.
The mid-engined platform gave private teams a competitive GT4 package while maintaining a close relationship with the road-going Cayman GT4 RS. It subsequently appeared across domestic, regional and international championships.
The model also continued Porsche’s Cayman Clubsport lineage, which established the compact sports car as an accessible route into professional GT competition.
However, Porsche will move away from the Cayman platform as it prepares its next global GT4 challenger.
The final car’s production and NLS7 appearance therefore mark more than the retirement of one chassis. They also signal the conclusion of the manufacturer’s Cayman-based GT4 programme.
Porsche prepares 911 GT4 R successor
The Porsche 911 GT4 R will replace the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in worldwide GT4 competition from 2027.
The change will move Porsche’s customer racing entry into the 911 family, which already forms the foundation of the manufacturer’s GT3 and one-make racing programmes.
Consequently, teams will begin transitioning towards a new platform as Porsche aligns more of its international customer competition around the 911.
The successor will carry the responsibility of following a well-established Cayman programme. However, Porsche’s decision also gives the GT4 category a closer technical and visual connection to the marque’s flagship racing model.
Before that transition begins, Bernhard and Bergmeister will provide the Cayman with a final competitive send-off.
NLS7 combines sporting and historical significance
The six-hour ADAC Ruhr Cup will provide an appropriate conclusion for the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
Rather than stage a ceremonial retirement away from competition, Porsche will allow the final car to complete one more endurance race on the Nordschleife.
Team 75’s involvement adds a personal connection through Bernhard, while Bergmeister strengthens a driver line-up rooted in Porsche’s factory racing history.
Nevertheless, the programme will still face the normal demands of an NLS event. The drivers must negotiate a large multi-class field, manage changing circuit conditions and protect the car across six hours.
A successful finish would give Porsche the ideal outcome before the Cayman begins its next life as a museum exhibit.
Bernhard and Bergmeister close one era before another begins
NLS7 will briefly bring two renowned Porsche drivers back into active competition while bringing the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport’s production racing story to an end.
Bernhard and Bergmeister offer extensive Nürburgring knowledge, major endurance achievements and close links to the manufacturer. Meanwhile, Team 75 provides the professional structure required to take the final car from the factory to the starting grid.
After Saturday’s race, Porsche will preserve the Cayman in Stuttgart and turn its attention towards the 911 GT4 R.
Therefore, the ADAC Ruhr Cup will represent both a farewell and a transition. Porsche will honour the final Cayman Clubsport through genuine competition before beginning a new global GT4 chapter in 2027.
