For ROWE RACING, the focus during its guest races in the ADAC GT MASTERS was primarily on the preparation for the upcoming races: in changeable weather conditions in the Eifel, the team from Worms in Germany showed two solid races and was able to try out different set-up configurations for the remainder of the season. Nico Bastian (GER) and Stef Dusseldorp (NED) shared driving duties behind the wheel of the SLS AMG GT3 with starting number #99 in the team’s home round at the Nürburgring. In the field with 21 cars, there were numerous thrilling duels in the battle for good results. In the two one-hour races on Saturday and Sunday, the ROWE RACING SLS scored one eleventh and one 13^thplace.

ROWE RACING’s team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf was very happy with the outcome of the weekend: “Our goal for the guest races at the Nürburgring was to test as many different set-up configurations as possible for the remainder of the season. That worked out really well for us and the drivers were able to test the SLS extensively in a race situation in all kinds of weather conditions. Being back for once in the ADAC GT Masters and providing some race action for our fans in our home round at the Nürburgring was very nice. With the insight we got here, we are now even stronger to take on the remainder of the season in the VLN and the Blancpain Endurance Series.”

Qualifying on Friday already made clear how close things were: only 0.254 seconds down on the pace-setters, Bastian started from eleventh place on the grid for the race on Saturday. In initially dry conditions, a tight battle for positions marked the race. Starting driver Bastian managed to make up some positions quite soon. When the rain set in, the ROWE RACING SLS with starting number #99 had a perfect strategy and a very quick pit stop to change to rain tyres. Dusseldorp having taken over driving duties in the cockpit of the gullwing halfway through the race, the team from Worms moved up as high as second. In the final laps, however, Dusseldorp no longer managed to keep up with the front-runners and, as a guest driver, he didn’t want to risk an accident in the tight battles for positions. Eventually, the Dutchman crossed the finish line in seventh place. Due to a time penalty of 30 seconds, the SLS AMG GT3 with number #99 was relegated and classified eleventh.

The second race also had plenty of overtaken and close battles for positions. Dusseldorp started from twelfth place and handed the ROWE RACING SLS to Bastian while in 14^th position after some 25 minutes. The early pit stop paid off: following a safety car intervention, the team managed to make up a few places to move up into the top ten. However, a drive-through penalty put an early end to Bastian’s progress and saw the SLS drop back to the rear end of the field. A very strong performance in the final third of the race allowed Bastian to move up to finish 13^th with the gullwing.