ROWE RACING’s competition debut at the Circuit Paul Ricard ended with a top result: after a spectacular recovery, the number #99 SLS AMG GT3 is rewarded with fourth place after 171 laps. In the 1,000 kilometres race at the French Côte d’Azur, the gullwing of the race team from Worms in Germany showed a convincing performance throughout the distance. In the course of the BES round that ran into the night, the team managed to make up a total of 23 positions.
After qualifying, in which the trio of drivers with Nico Bastian (GER), Stef Dusseldorp (NED) and Daniel Juncadella (ESP) couldn’t get a clear lap, the number #99 SLS AMG GT3 remained in 27th place. However, the team put in a perfect race on Saturday. Starting driver Bastian managed to move the gullwing up into tenth place quite quickly before handing over the car to Dusseldorp. The Dutchman continued the team’s progress and handed the car to Juncadella while in sixth place. As the night set in over the Circuit Paul Ricard, the team was firmly established in the top five. In the final pit stop, the team decided not to take on fresh tyres to gain some time and mount a challenge for a podium finish. In the end, they crossed the finish line in fourth place.
The I.G.A.T sister car with starting number #98 was classified 19th in qualifying. Starting driver Thomas Jäger (GER) quickly made up positions in the race and came close to the top ten. After a commanding stint, the former DTM driver handed the gullwing over to Nicolai Sylvest (DEN). After a collision, the SLS AMG GT3 had to be repaired and made it back on track. Due to consequential damage after the accident, Indy Dontje (NED) had to park the car after 67 laps.
ROWE RACING team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf: “We are very happy with today’s result, our best achievement in the BES to date. Making it to the finish in fourth place after having started 27th is an outstanding achievement. The entire team and the drivers have done a perfect job today. I am very proud of all of them. Unfortunately, we had to park our second SLS after it had also made good progress.”
The next BES round is the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, 23-26 July. ROWE RACING will also be competing in this race.