Fresh off the back of taking his first Porsche Supercup win in Hungary, the 20‑year‑old Marcus Amand took on the Nürburgring Nordschleife full of confidence and secured his permit at NLS7, driving for Four Motors Bioconcept‑Car in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. Together with Enzo Trulli, Yasser Shahin and Jürgen Marzi, they finished third in the SP7 class and were the only car specified in the AT category. For the newly named Porsche Junior driver, it opens up new opportunities to take on future races on the iconic German circuit.
Nordschleife challenges; Porsche Supercup momentum
The young French–Finnish driver has already won several national and international karting championships from 2013 until 2020 at a young age. After that, he moved to Formula 4, racing against names like Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Esteban Masson and Arvid Lindblad before real success came when he switched to Porsche Cup in 2024, competing in France and first claiming the Rookie title. The following year he became Porsche Cup France Overall Champion and added participation in Porsche Cup Asia and Australia to that.
This year, the freshly promoted Junior driver leads the Asia Cup standings and has made his debut in the Porsche Supercup but to achieve this all is anything but easy.
“It’s very hard to get selected as a Porsche Junior driver. You have to make a good impression. Then there are 12 of the best drivers in the world, so being faster or showing that you have the potential is very hard.”
But with titles, pace and potential to show for, he came out on top together with Flynt Schuring after the shoot‑out; with the Dutchman already having experience on this track, giving away tips was not something that took place.
“Not really. I asked a few questions. But I train a lot on the sim.”
Being with Enzo Trulli for this weekend is where he took the most learnings from.
“I’m teammates with him, so we train for days on the sim together. But I think I didn’t really prepare anything specific for it.”
To drive this challenging track in a GT4 car is something new for him, as he had only previously done laps in a BMW 3‑series E90 for his Permit B.
“It’s a dangerous but also very good track. The most difficult parts are the bumps. It’s knowing the bumps, because you don’t really see them. So you can really get surprised in the first few laps. It’s so easy to make a mistake. The curbs are big, there’s only grass. I mean, it’s quite scary but in a good way. It’s just about adapting to it.”
With that in mind, the driver stays cool about it when speaking to GT REPORT. “It’s not about pushing or anything. I just have to do eight clean laps in racing conditions and be okay with it to get the permit.”
He rounds off by adding the obvious when it comes to switching from the BMW to the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. “It has four wheels and one steering wheel; it should be quite similar.”
To try and get the permit in this specific class is something that wasn’t done with a specific reason behind it. “I think Porsche has done many races with other categories for the permit. For ex-junior drivers. So I think it was a logical thing for them. I didn’t really have to hustle or anything. Porsche really organized everything for me.”
Grabbing his first Porsche Supercup win the previous weekend at the Hungaroring, driving the #2 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for BWT Lechner Racing, gives the driver that psychological boost heading into this challenge. “I mean, for sure. The more you win, the more confident you are. Maybe it won’t help for this particular reason, but for sure you just feel better when you win. Better than the week before.”
Here at the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Langstrecken‑Serie, the target is simple. “Here it’s more about staying calm. To just get the permit and to be done with it.”
Permit secured; Asia focused with one dream in mind
After he secured his Permit A at NLS7, which opens up new opportunities such as taking part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the specific plans from Porsche remain unknown for now. “I think it’s more for a project. Maybe next year or the year after for the 24 Hours race here. But it’s not a real project for us. It’s just to get the permit done so we can do something later.”
The former Porsche Carrera Cup France champion has his eyes set on being successful again as he leads the standings in Asia by 68.5 points. “I’m more focused on the Super Cup there.”
But also in Europe the fight is still on, as with two rounds to go the gap to first is only 20 points. “I’m back in the championship hunt. I just try to get the best results possible but also have fun at the same time.”
On the question whether, despite getting his permit, we can expect to see him race more in Europe this year, the answer is that it might happen later in the future. “It’s how the contract went with the team in Asia; Team Shanghai Yongda BWT. Maybe if I continue next year, there’s a big chance I’ll focus more on Germany. But this is how it happened for this year.”
With Enzo Trulli being an Asia‑selected Porsche driver, it doesn’t mean the same applies to him, despite having Asia as his main focus. “It just worked like this. I did the shootout two years ago already to drive there, so I had a good relationship with them. I don’t really know why it went like this.”
But in the end, whether he races in Europe or in Asia, the target for the fast‑rising driver remains clear; becoming a Porsche factory driver.
When asked how he wants to achieve that dream, he says: “Win as many races as possible. At least convince people that you’re good enough to be a factory driver.”
