Rain from 3:00 a.m. CET presented additional challenges for
some time at this year’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. All four BMW
M6 GT3s however made it through the night and are still in the race.
Starting from 42nd on the grid, Spengler, Blomqvist and
Catsburg have delivered an impressive catch-up race so far at the
69th edition of the marathon in the Ardennes. After just a
few hours, they had moved into the top 10, and they moved even further
up the standings during the night. Catsburg was behind the wheel when
the rain started. The team decided to make the mandatory brake pad
change during his pit stop and then send him back into the race on
slicks despite the wet track. This paid off as the rain eased off and
the Dutchman subsequently moved up to fifth place. He handed the wheel
of number 98 over to Spengler in that position. The 2012 DTM champion
made up another two positions and was in third place when he pitted at
7:00 a.m. CET to switch with Blomqvist, who is keeping the BMW M6 GT3
on course for the podium.
Their team-mates in the number 99 sister car, Maxime Martin (BEL),
Philipp Eng (AUT) and Alexander Sims (GBR), also went about moving up
the order after their bad luck in the opening stage. After just over
an hour, a broken wheel fastening saw them drop right down the field.
Since then, the trio has had an uneventful race and kept up a good
pace. In the morning, they were in 19th place with their
BMW M6 GT3.
BMW Motorsport Junior Nico Menzel (GER) and his driving colleagues
Markus Palttala (FIN), Matias Henkola (FIN) and Christian Krognes
(NOR) are also doing well in the race in the #35 Walkenhorst
Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. They lost a couple of minutes when Henkola was
hit by another car and the front of the car was damaged. Krognes took
a short trip into the gravel in difficult conditions but the number 35
was able to stay in the race, with Menzel completing a double stint
into the morning on his Spa debut. The trio are currently in
25th place overall, and 5th place in the Pro Am
class. The fourth BMW M6 GT3 in the field, with Henry Walkenhorst
(GER), Stef van Campenhoudt (BEL), David Schiwietz (GER) and Ralf
Oeverhaus (GER) sharing the cockpit, was in 29th place in
the morning.
Quotes after the night:
Bruno Spengler (
#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “My stint into the
morning went very well. The car performed brilliantly and I think that
the conditions in the early hours of the morning suited us. I pushed
to the max the whole time, like in a DTM race. The team is doing a
fantastic job in terms of strategy, which isn’t so easy with so many
yellow flag periods. So far everything is going well, so now we need
to wait and see what comes our way.”
Nick Catsburg (
#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “It was a really
difficult stint. It started to rain and we weren’t sure which tyres to
go for but the team made a great decision to keep driving on slicks
after the pit stop. I thought they were crazy, but it turned out to be
a good and clever decision. It was difficult at the start, but we kept
the car on the track and then made up a few places and some time. So,
from that perspective it was a really good stint.”
Maxime Martin (
#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “I had a really good
double stint in the night. There were a number of accidents, which
resulted in several yellow flags and safety car periods. Our car is
good and it is a real shame about what happened to us in the early
stages, but that’s racing. Now it’s all about finishing the race. Then
we will see where we end up.”
Nico Menzel (#35 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport):
“It was an eventful night, but we can be happy with the
performance so far. I drove a double stint into the morning. There
were a lot of yellow flags and safety car periods, but at the end of
my stint I had about 30 minutes of driving with a clear track and I
was able to keep up with the leader’s pace. The car is performing
perfectly. We still have a few hours to go. The podium in the Pro Am
class is still a way off, but with a bit of luck, we can still aim for it.”