Over 40 BMW race cars will be in action at the “Green Hell”, including five BMW M6 GT3s. ROWE Racing will field two cars with works support from BMW Motorsport. The third car in the field is the Shell Helix BMW M6 GT3, with Brazilian BMW works driver Augusto Farfus among those sharing the driving duties.
Credit: BMW Motorsport
Walkenhorst Motorsport and Falken Motorsports will run the remaining two cars in the top SP9 category. BMW Motorsport Juniors Beitske Visser and Nico Menzel will be at the wheel of the #60 Sorg Rennsport BMW M4 GT4. They will be joined by Dirk Adorf, who mentors the BMW Motorsport Juniors, and the very experienced Dutchman Tom Coronel.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt is expecting great things from his teams, “Last weekend, we kicked off the season in Europe with the BMW M4 DTM and the BMW M8 GTE. Next up is one of the absolute highlights of the year for our BMW M6 GT3. For sure the goal is to claim the 20th victory for BMW at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
“As well as the battle for overall victory, the focus of this special race will once again be on the hordes of BMW customer teams, who will take on the Nordschleife in many different BMW cars. I am also curious to see BMW Motorsport Juniors Beitske Visser and Nico Menzel at the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4. The 24-hour race is a real festival of motorsport.”
Credit: BMW Motorsport
ROWE Racing team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf commented on his team’s objective for the race, “Our goal for the 24-hour race is a straightforward one, we want to go one better than last year’s second place. As simple as that may sound, it will be tough to achieve.
“At this unique race on the toughest circuit in the world, and against so much top-quality opposition, you need to remain fully-focussed and work precisely – not just for 24 hours, but for a full four days – and you cannot afford to make any mistakes”.
Credit: BMW Motorsport
ROWE Racing’s Tom Blomqvist, who will be in the #98 BMW M6 GT3 added, “ROWE Racing is familiar to me as I drove for the guys before. It is a great team, so hopefully, we will be able to get a good result”.
The British driver added, “As a driver, the 24-hour race is a spectacular event. The pleasure you get driving a race car around a circuit such as the Nordschleife is probably the most you can get.”
Credit: BMW
Factory BMW newcomer, Connor De Phillippi explained how he is looking forward to driving the #99 BMW M6 GT3 this weekend, “I am looking forward to my first outing as a BMW works driver at the Nürburgring 24 Hours and with it the opportunity to repeat my overall victory from last year.
“The BMW M6 GT3 is particularly strong on the Nordschleife. We have shown our speed in the VLN races. We now hope we can repeat that pace at the highlight of the season.”
Credit: BMW Motorsport
“The Nürburgring 24 Hours is one of my very favourite races on the calendar. The situation is new for me this year, with a new team, new teammates and different tyres”, Farfus said.
The #102 Shell Helix BMW M6 GT3 driver went on to say, “However, I believe we are well equipped, and we will try to get the maximum out of our package. It will be important for us to have a trouble-free race. If we can manage that, then we will be in for a good result.”
Credit: BMW Motorsport
The Falken Motorsports team will also be running the #33 BMW M6 GT3 this weekend. Turner Motorsport regular, Jens Klingmann is impressed with the Falken team and told us about his chances at the Nürburgring this weekend, “This is my first year with the Falken Motorsports team, but the two preparatory races have given me plenty of opportunities to get to know all the team members and my fellow drivers. I am very impressed by the experience and professionalism of the team.
“I have been made to feel very welcome there from the outset, which is an essential aspect to me. All in all, I am very optimistic about our chances in the 24-hour race.”
Credit: BMW Motorsport
Sorg Rennsport will run the same #60 BMW M4 GT4 that they field in the European GT4 series. Driver Nico Menzel is optimistic about what the team can achieve, “The 24-hour race gives us the opportunity to spend an awful lot of time on the most difficult track in the world with the car that we run in the GT4 European Series.
“I am looking forward to the race and driving alongside our Junior mentor Dirk Adorf. I also have two fantastic teammates from the Netherlands, in Beitske Visser and Tom Coronel. It is going to be an awesome weekend.”
The BMWs will be among the 150 starters at the Nürburgring this weekend, be sure to stay tuned for race updates throughout the race.
