Lars Kern
Lars Kern | |
---|---|
Nationality | ![]() |
Born | Weissach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany | 18 November 1987
IMSA SportsCar Championship career | |
Debut season | 2019 |
Current team | AWA |
Racing licence | ![]() |
Car number | 13 |
Starts | 25 |
Wins | 2 |
Podiums | 6 |
Poles | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
Best finish | 11th in 2023 |
Lars Kern (born 18 November 1987) is a German racing driver. He currently competes in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship driving the No. 13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.[1] Kern is the GTD class winner of the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona with AWA and the winner of the 2016 24 Hours of Nürburgring.[2]
He is also a Porsche development driver and holds multiple lap records in Porsche production cars at the Nürburgring.[3]
Career
[edit]IMSA SportsCar Championship
[edit]2019
[edit]In 2019, Kern signed with Pfaff Motorsports to compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship.[4] He would drive alongside Scott Hargrove and Zacharie Robichon for the season. Kern would score his best result in Petit Le Mans finishing third.
2020
[edit]Kern returned to the championship for the 2020 season, resigning with Pfaff Motorsports to drive their No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside Dennis Olsen and Zacharie Robichon.[5] In the first race of the season at Daytona, Kern qualified on pole in the GTD class, however he and his co-drivers were not able to translate this in the race, finishing 13th in class.[6][7] Originally, Kern was signed to drive in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he only competed in two races the entire season, the second of which being Petit Le Mans. In Petit Le Mans, Kern finished fifth in the race.
2021
[edit]Following a shortened 2020 season, Kern returned for the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship to drive Pfaff Motorsports' No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor.[8] Kern would win his first race in the championship in the second race at the 12 Hours of Sebring.[9] He would also finish on the podium in second at Petit Le Mans.
2022
[edit]
For the 2022 season, Kern switched teams to newcomer AWA, joining Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, and Kuno Wittmer to drive the team's No. 13 Duqueine M30 - D08 in LMP3 for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of the season.[10] In the opening race of the season, he would finish in fifth for the team.[11] Kern would have a decent season, finishing a best of fourth at Sebring.
2023
[edit]Kern resigned with AWA for the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship to drive in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of the season.[12] He would be paired up with Matt Bell and Orey Fidani once again. In the second race of the season at Sebring, the trio would get their first podium of the season finishing second. They would get another podium at Petit Le Mans, finishing in second.[13]
2024
[edit]For 2024, Kern resigned with AWA for the 2024 season, however, he and the team would switch to the GTD class where Kern would drive the team's brand new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Bell and Fidani would once again join the team alongside Kern.[14] They would have a difficult season, with no podiums and a best result of sixth. However, due to Fidani consistency throughout the season, he and the team were awarded with the Bob Akin Award for Bronze rated drivers.[15] This gave the team, Fidani, Bell, and Kern an automatic invite to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2025
[edit]Kern returned to the championship for the 2025 season once again with AWA.[16] Matt Bell and Orey Fidani would return as Kern's teammates aboard the No. 13 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Marvin Kirchhöfer joining them for the 24 Hours of Daytona. The opening race of the season at Daytona did not start off strongly, with Fidani only qualifying 16th in class for the race. Although during the race, the team showed that they had pace and made their way up the field. Towards the closing hours of the race, the team sat in third behind the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin and the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche who were battling for the lead. Bell, who was in the car at this stage, overtook the No. 120 and battled with the No. 27 to take the lead of the race. With 20 minutes to go, Bell overtook the No. 27 for the race lead and kept it. Kern, Bell, Kirchhöfer, and Fidani crossed the finish in first, winning the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona.[17][18][19]
24 Hours of Le Mans
[edit]2025
[edit]
With AWA winning the Bob Akin Award at the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship, the team and Kern received an automatic invite to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.[20] Matt Bell and Orey Fidani would rejoin the team and Kern for Le Mans. They would finish a respectable 10th in the LMGT3 class in their debut.
Racing record
[edit]Career summary
[edit]* Season still in progress.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Pfaff Motorsports | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 16 |
SEB 10 |
MOH |
BEL |
WGL 6 |
MOS |
LIM |
ELK |
VIR |
LGA |
ATL 3 |
29th | 91 | |
2020 | Pfaff Motorsports | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 1 13 |
DAY 2 |
SEB 1 |
ELK |
VIR |
ATL 1 |
MOH |
CLT |
ATL 2 5 |
LGA |
SEB 2 |
35th | 44 | |
2021 | Pfaff Motorsports | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 12 |
SEB 1 |
MOH |
BEL |
WGL 1 |
WGL 2 7 |
LIM |
ELK |
LGA 5 |
LBH |
VIR |
ATL 2 |
20th | 1215 |
2022 | AWA | LMP3 | Duqueine M30 - D-08 | Nissan VK56 V8 5.6L | DAY 5 |
SEB 4 |
MOH |
WGL 9 |
MOS |
ELK |
ATL 7 |
19th | 812 | |||||
2023 | AWA | LMP3 | Duqueine M30 - D-08 | Nissan VK56 V8 5.6L | DAY 4 |
SEB 2 |
WGL 5 |
MOS |
ELK |
IMS |
ATL 2 |
11th | 952 | |||||
2024 | AWA | GTD | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | Chevrolet LT6 5.5 L V8 | DAY 21 |
SEB 9 |
LBH |
LGA |
WGL 7 |
MOS |
ELK |
VIR |
IMS 6 |
ATL 11 |
35th | 1062 | ||
2025 | AWA | GTD | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | Chevrolet LT6 5.5 L V8 | DAY 1 |
SEB 10 |
LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS | ATL | 4th* | 590* |
* Season still in progress.
24 Hours of Daytona results
[edit]Year | Class | No | Team | Car | Co-drivers | Laps | Position | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | GTD | 9 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
470 | 37 DNF | 16 DNF |
2020 | GTD | 9 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
716 | 32 | 13 |
2021 | GTD | 9 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
702 | 36 | 12 |
2022 | LMP3 | 13 | ![]() |
Duqueine M30 - D-08 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
695 | 32 | 5 |
2023 | LMP3 | 13 | ![]() |
Duqueine M30 - D-08 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
717 | 35 | 4 |
2024 | GTD | 13 | ![]() |
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
308 | 51 DNF | 21 DNF |
2025 | GTD | 13 | ![]() |
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
719 | 21 | 1 |
24 Hours of Nürburgring results
[edit]Year | Class | No | Team | Car | Co-drivers | Laps | Position | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | SP-X | 170 | ![]() |
Porsche Cayman GT4 | ![]() ![]() |
121 | 23 | 1 |
2017 | SP-X | 150 | ![]() |
Porsche Cayman 981 GT4 CS | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
144 | 27 | 2 |
2018 | SP9 | 12 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
129 | 18 | 17 |
2019 | SP9 | 12 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R (17) | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
155 | 4 | 4 |
2020 | SP9 Pro | 31 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
85 | 7 | 7 |
2022 | SP9 Pro/Am | 25 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
156 | 11 | 3 |
2023 | SP9 Pro | 25 | ![]() |
Porsche 911 GT3 R | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
105 | DNF | DNF |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
[edit]Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | LMGT3 | 338 | 42nd | 10th |
References
[edit]- ^ "Lars Kern". IMSA. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
- ^ Robinson, Mark (2025-02-19). "Watches and Replacement Cars: AWA's Rolex 24 Corvette Success Story". IMSA. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
- ^ "Porsche test driver Lars Kern on the perfect Nurburgring lap". www.porsche.com. 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ Dagys, John (2018-12-13). "Pfaff Porsche Expands to Full-Season Effort – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Dagys, John (2019-12-10). "Olsen Joins Pfaff for Full Season Campaign – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona Qualifying". IMSA. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "IMSA 2020 Daytona 24 Results | IMSA Race Results". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "Vanthoor joins Pfaff Porsche line-up | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "Final 2021 Twelve Hours of Sebring results, IMSA points, statistics package". NBC Sports. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2021-12-14). "Pilot Challenge Outfit AWA Announces LMP3 Program – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ awateam. "TOP-FIVE FINISH FOR AWA AT THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA – Professional Race Team". Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Dagys, John (2022-12-21). "AWA Confirms Lineup for Two-Car LMP3 Effort for Daytona – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ awateam. "AWA Clinch Second Place Finish at Petit Le Mans in Final Round of the Season – Professional Race Team". Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Dagys, John (2023-11-13). "AWA Confirms Three More Drivers for Corvette GTD Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ awateam. "IMSA GTD Bronze Cup/Akin Award Winners! – Professional Race Team". Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ O’Connell, R. J. (2024-12-04). "Kirchhöfer Completes AWA Rolex 24 Lineup". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ awateam. "AWA Wins Rolex 24 hours of Daytona GTD – Professional Race Team". Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Staff, Speedway Digest (2025-01-26). "Corvette Racing at Daytona: Awa Corvette Wins the Rolex! - Speedway Digest - Home for NASCAR News". Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "Daytona drew AWA Corvette's lucky No. 13 | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Euwema, Davey (2025-05-21). "AWA Reveals Special Livery for Le Mans Debut – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.