A double whammy spoiled the second VLN race of the season at the Nürburgring for ROWE RACING – the team’s final rehearsal for the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Both BMW M6 GT3s failed to finish the 41st DMV 4-hour race. But the squad from St. Ingbert once again demonstrated the new car’s big potential, after having finished third at the qualifying race for the marathon in the Eifel mountains that is on 28th/29th May.

Up to 30 minutes before the end of the race the #22 BMW M6 GT3, driven by BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin and Klaus Graf, had set its sights on a podium finish again. Then a technical issue stopped the pairing from Belgium and Germany at Kesselchen. Martin and Graf were running fourth at this point of the race, only nine seconds behind the third placed car.

For BMW works drivers Philipp Eng from Austria and Alexander Sims from Great Britain in the #23 car the race came to an early end. When trying to lap a slower car on lap six, Sims was involved in a collision with another competitor that was right in front of him and damaged the front of the BMW M6 GT3. Sims managed to bring the car back to the pits, but had to retire as the damage was too bad.

ROWE RACING Team Principal Hans-Peter Naundorf: “It was a bit difficult today. The weather conditions were not what all of us had wished for. It was cold and there was always the risk of rain. Also the race went completely differently to two weeks ago. We can’t be fully satisfied with the final rehearsal for the 24-hour race. We had to retire one car early in the race after a collision, the second car stopped, probably due to a mechanical problem, after going at a decent speed up to then. It is not what you could call the perfect preparation, but you must not give in. If the final rehearsal goes wrong, then the premiere might be even better.”

Maxime Martin: “It was an interesting race with mixed conditions – as it always is here at the Nürburgring. We started with rain tyres in the wet and then changed to slicks when it was still drizzling in places. I had a good first double stint and stayed in the car for a pretty long time. We were running well, and Klaus also had a good pace, but then we had an issue with the car and could not finish the race. It is better when it happens now than in the 24-hour race, but we now have to analyse what happened and make sure that we will not have any issues at the 24-hour race.”

Before the 24-hour race are the next two races in the Blancpain GT Series in England on 8th May in Brands Hatch (sprint) and on 15th May in Silverstone (endurance), which will be races six and seven within 44 days.