Nürburgring (DE), 29th May 2016. After the freak weather at the
start, the evening of the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (DE) ran
smoothly, at least from a meteorological perspective. It remained dry;
the drivers only reported periods of fog, which reduced visibility.
Eight hours before the end of the race, two BMW M6 GT3s are in the top ten.
Schubert Motorsport’s number 100 car – driven by John Edwards (US),
Jens Klingmann (DE), Lucas Luhr (DE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) – is in
fifth place, while the number 23 ROWE Racing car driven by Alexander
Sims (GB), Philipp Eng (AT), Maxime Martin (BE) and Dirk Werner (DE)
is in seventh place.
Car number 22 has been out of the race since 4:00hrs: With Klaus Graf
(DE) at the wheel, the BMW M6 GT3 had an accident in the Hatzenbach
section and retired. The number 18 car had a technical problem on
Saturday. The Schubert team worked hard overnight to be able to send
the BMW M6 GT3 back onto the track and into racing action.
The two Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3s are also still in the
race. Car number 999 is in 17th after making a pit stop for repairs,
which lasted several laps; the number 101 car is in 37th.
In the Cup 5 class, Michael Schrey (DE), Alexander Mies (DE), Emin
Akata (DE) and Dries Vanthoor (BE) in the number 305 BMW M235i Racing
of Bonk Motorsport are still in the lead.
Driver quotes after 16 hours:
Martin Tomczyk (Schubert Motorsport, number 100 BMW M6 GT3):
“We drove double stints during the night. It was okay. We didn’t risk
too much and drove safely, but quickly. We were mostly between third
and fifth place. I’m happy, it went quite well even though there was a
lot going on on the track. But that is the Nürburgring.”
Alexander Sims (ROWE Racing, number 23 BMW M6 GT3):
“I really enjoyed my night stint. On the initial laps, the main
task was getting into a rhythm in the traffic. That is the biggest
challenge driving at night-time. You need to assess where the others
are driving and if they will move. I think that we did well, but there
is still a long way to go in the race. Our BMW M6 GT3 feels really good.”
Dirk Werner (ROWE Racing, number 23 BMW M6 GT3):
“The positive thing is that the track conditions are relatively
consistent now. Which is why it was fun driving at night-time. But, as
always at the Nürburgring, particularly in traffic with the different
classes, it is difficult to fight your way up the field. We want to
reduce our deficit. We have already been able to make up a few
positions. Hopefully we will be able to continue in this way.”
—
Positions in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (as at: 7:30hrs):
Number 18 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport, 130th place
Augusto Farfus (BR), Jesse Krohn (FI), Jörg Müller (DE), Marco
Wittmann (DE)
Number 22 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, retired
Klaus Graf (DE), Richard Westbrook (GB), Nicky Catsburg (NL), Markus
Palttala (FI)
Number 23 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, 7th place
Alexander Sims (GB), Philipp Eng (AT), Maxime Martin (BE), Dirk
Werner (DE)
Number 100 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport, 5th place
John Edwards (US), Jens Klingmann (DE), Lucas Luhr (DE), Martin
Tomczyk (DE)
Number 101 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by
Dunlop, 37th place
Matias Henkola (FI), Kazunori Yamauchi (JP), Max Sandritter (DE),
George Richardson (GB)
Number 999 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by
Dunlop, 17th place
Victor Bouveng (SE), Tom Blomqvist (GB), Christian Krognes (NO),
Michele di Martino (DE)
Number 99 BMW Z4 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by
Dunlop, retired
Henry Walkenhorst (DE), Peter Posavac (DE), Daniela Schmid (DE), Jaap
van Lagen (NL)