Nürburgring. The BMW teams in the leading group at the
Nürburgring 24-hour race all made it through the night without major
incidents. No fewer than five BMW M6 GT3s are in the top 10 after 16
hours of racing. Alexander Sims (GBR), Markus Palttala (FIN), Nick
Catsburg (NED) and Richard Westbrook (GBR) in the #98 car from ROWE
Racing are the best-placed quartet, in second place.
The #98 car and the current fourth-placed #43 BMW M6 GT3 from the BMW
Team Schnitzer – driven by Augusto Farfus (BRA), António Félix da
Costa (POR), Alex Lynn (GBR) and Timo Scheider (GER) – have swapped
positions regularly in recent hours and more BMW M6 GT3s are lying in
wait behind.
However, the #101 car from Walkenhorst Motorsport had to retire from
the classic endurance race in the Eifel region due to technical
problems. The Walkenhorst team #102 BMW Z4 GT3 is currently in
21st place.
The newly-developed BMW M4 GT4 is also competing well in its
endurance test at the Nordschleife. BMW Motorsport Junior Ricky
Collard (GBR), Dirk Adorf (GER), Jethro Bovingdon (GBR) and Jörg
Weidinger (GER) are currently in 33rd place in the overall standings.
Drivers’ quotes:
Augusto Farfus (#42/#43 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer):
“The night is finally over – and now it’s time to push really
hard. Our #43 car is running well, although we are missing this last
bit of pace to challenge the leaders. However, we want to put them
under pressure for the rest of the race. Now I will get some rest to
be in top shape for the final part.”
Alexander Sims (#98/#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing):
“Fortunately we got through the night without any incidents.
It feels as if the car is getting better and better. We are in the mix
for the top positions – and that’s where we want to stay.”
Stef Dusseldorp (#33 BMW M6 GT3, Falken Motorsports):
“It was amazing. I was at the wheel when the sun came out – a
very special moment. There’s not so much traffic out there any more,
so I could attack. The car feels great, the tyres work well so we have
managed to move forward step by step.”
Marco Wittmann (#42 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer):
“It’s a pity we lost touch with the front-runners due to a
refuelling problem. Now we need to wait and see what is possible for
us. Hopefully luck will come back to us for the rest of the race.”
Bruno Spengler (#20 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport):
“I did my first night stint. It was pretty unique for me: so
much traffic, so many accidents. It was chaotic in parts but that is
all part of my learning process. Of course we hope that we will be
able to improve our position in the next hours. There’s a lot that can
happen. A big thank you to the Schubert crew. The guys are doing an
amazing job.”
Jens Klingmann (#19 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport):
“I had a nice double stint into dawn but couldn’t really
enjoy sunrise as we really started pushing in this phase. Now we want
to work our way up. We will give our all to achieve this goal. The car
is running absolutely flawlessly.”
Philipp Eng (#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “We
managed to put in a good fightback after an early puncture. I did the
two nicest stints: into the night and in early morning which was great
fun. The car is great to drive, the pace is also good. Let’s see how
the weather will develop.”
Ricky Collard (#40 BMW M4 GT4, Securtal Sorg Rennsport):
“I did a double stint at night – and it was good fun. It was
a challenge as there were many incidents but our car was running
pretty well. I learn a lot here with every single lap.”
Positions of the BMW M6 GT3 teams at 7:30:
#19 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport – 10th
Jens Klingmann (GER), Jörg Müller (GER), John Edwards (USA), Tom
Onslow-Cole (GBR)
#20 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport – 13th
Jesse Krohn (FIN), Jörg Müller (GER), Bruno Spengler (CAN), Kuno
Wittmer (CAN)
#42, BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer – 7th
Marco Wittmann (GER), Tom Blomqvist (GBR), Martin Tomczyk (GER),
Augusto Farfus (BRA)
#43, BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer – 4th
Augusto Farfus (BRA), Alexander Lynn (GBR), António Félix da Costa
(POR), Timo Scheider (GER)
#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing – 2nd
Markus Palttala (FIN), Nick Catsburg (NED), Alexander Sims (GBR),
Richard Westbrook (GBR)
#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing – 15th
Philipp Eng (AUT), Alexander Sims (GBR), Maxime Martin (BEL), Marc
Basseng (GER)
#33 BMW M6 GT3, Falken Motorsports – 9th
Peter Dumbreck (GBR), Alexandre Imperatori (SUI), Stef Dusseldorp
(NED), Marco Seefried (GER)