Nürburgring. The #33 FALKEN Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 was the
best-placed BMW in an eventful 24-hour race at the Nürburgring
(GER). Jens Klingmann (GER), Peter Dumbreck (GBR), Alexandre
Imperatori (SUI) and Stef Dusseldorp (NED) finished sixth overall.
Victory went to the #4 Audi.
The #33 car was the only BMW M6 GT3 in the top category, the SP9
class, to see the chequered flag at the endurance classic in the Eifel
region of Germany. By nightfall, both ROWE Racing cars, the BMW Team
Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3 and the #101 Walkenhorst Motorsport car were all
out of the race as a result of crashes. The second Walkenhorst car
then also crashed in the night, forcing it to retire.
BMW teams did, however, enjoy success in many other classes. In the
SP10 class, the Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport run #71 BMW M4 GT4
finished runner-up to take its place on the podium. The CUP5 class,
which featured 13 BMW M240i Racings, was won by the Adrenalin
Motorsport team and its #240 car. Further victories came in the SP4
(#325 BMW 325i, MRC RaceWorld), SP5 (#84 BMW 1M-Coupé, Leutheuser
RacingEvents), V4 (#150 BMW 325i, Adrenalin Motorsport) and V2T
(#162 BMW F30, Manheller Motorsport) classes.
Quotes from the Nürburgring 24 Hours:
Jens Marquardt (BMW Group Motorsport Director): “Our
teams had been looking forward to the Nürburgring 24 Hours for months.
With 230,000 spectators, it provided a unique stage for the highlight
of the GT season. We came to the Eifel track very well prepared –
which makes this overall result in the SP9 class all the harder to
take. I am pleased for FALKEN Motorsports, who managed to finish sixth
overall with their BMW M6 GT3. However, the race came to a premature
end for the other five BMW M6 GT3s. The fact is that you only have a
chance here in the Green Hell if you get through the race without
making any mistakes. We did not manage that. We have shown more than
once recently that we are capable of winning a 24-hour race – whether
at Spa-Francorchamps or Daytona. We lost this time in the top category
on the Nordschleife. Despite this, we are still 100 percent behind
this event. We had well over 40 cars in action. For us, it was once
again a fantastic festival of customer racing. The competitiveness of
our customer teams in classes like SP10 with the BMW M4 GT4, in which
we finished second, was confirmation of our commitment to customer
racing. I would like to congratulate all the teams for that. As far as
the battle for overall victory is concerned, I have just one thing to
say: We will come back stronger. Congratulations to Audi on their
overall victory.”
Jens Klingmann
(#33 BMW M6 GT3, FALKEN Motorsports, 6th place):
“We drove a clean race and didn’t make any mistakes. Our
speed was consistent but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to move up
through the field. However, when you consider that we had to start
from 31st place, we managed to improve significantly with a
nearly ideal race. Taking our situation into account, we can be
pleased with sixth place, even though we had hoped for better results
from BMW’s point of view.”
Timo Scheider (#42 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer, DNF):
“I feel sorry for BMW and BMW Team Schnitzer. My crash was
very unlucky. I had been behind the Hyundai for several corners and
was able to pull past him in Brünnchen. Unfortunately, he didn’t see
me and hit me.”
Jesse Krohn (#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, DNF): “When
I exited the pit lane I had a Porsche in front of me who was
travelling slowly. I pulled up next to him and wanted to overtake him.
In turn one, I drove as close to the inside as possible, but he cut in
and there was contact. It is a great shame that this incident brought
our race to an end.”
Philipp Eng (#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, DNF): “That
was a frustrating 24-hour race. We only managed three and a half hours
of it out on the track. However, that kind of thing happens,
particularly on the Nordschleife. When I was in the car, it felt good
and we were running in the top five.”