ROWE RACING finished in a very good fifth place at the BMW M6 GT3′s 24-hour debut at the Nürburgring. In a spectacular race that was suspended for three hours due to a storm, the team from St. Ingbert’s #23 car with the four BMW works drivers Dirk Werner from Germany, Maxime Martin from Belgium, Alexander Sims from Great Britain and Philipp Eng from Austria was not only the best-placed BMW car, but was also the best non-Mercedes. A minor problem after the restart, when the engine wouldn’t start, caused Eng to lose a lot of time and positions, prevented potentially an even better result. However, after that the car made it to the end of the race almost without any issues, which saw the ROWE Racing quartet move up into fifth place at the 44th ADAC Zurich 24-hour race.
However, at around 4:00 a.m. CEST the race came to an early end for the #22 sister car with Germany’s Klaus Graf, Dutchman Nick Catsburg, Brit Richard Westbrook and Finn Markus Palttala in the cockpit, after Graf was involved in a serious collision while lapping. The ROWE veteran was unscathed.
Graf and Palttala were among the protagonists of the turbulent initial phase of the race. After just 50 minutes of race action, a severe storm washed away all plans in one fell swoop. After a downpour of heavy rain and hail, dozens of cars skidded helplessly across the track, which was covered in a white layer of hail in places. GT racers with more than 500 hp with slick tyres were unable to get up the inclines on the Nordschleife, the racetrack mutated into a car park within a matter of seconds. The race control reacted to the chaos with an inevitable suspension of the race, which lasted three hours in total.
Klaus Graf was one of the victims of the downpour, as he slid off the track into a crash barrier, slightly damaging the car. Then he was forced to stop in the Breidscheid section and only made it back to the pit an hour later. After the restart, Palttala moved up into the lead temporarily from sixth place in just one lap, and was third shortly after that, when a puncture forced the team way down the field. After the quartet had returned to within reach of the top ten spots during the night, Graf’s collision with a car he was lapping ended the pursuit.
BMW works driver Philipp Eng from Austria, who had taken over the #23 car from Dirk Werner, initially fell foul of the restart. Since his engine would not kick in to start with and was only got going by the mechanics, who rushed to help, he dropped down from 11th to 74th.
Hans-Peter Naundorf (team principal ROWE RACING): “We are very pleased. We brought the new BMW M6 GT3 home in its first 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and after four Mercedes were the best car of any of the other manufacturers – and that was despite all adversities, and even though we dismantled and rebuilt our cars umpteen times this weekend. Along the lines of ‘could have been, might have been’ we might have been able to do even better if we hadn’t been unlucky on the restart. But that’s racing. My thanks go to our entire team, our drivers and our partner BMW Motorsport for how we worked together this weekend.”
Nick Catsburg (ROWE RACING, number 22 BMW M6 GT3): “It is very disappointing when you wake up in the morning to find out that your car is out of the race. But that can happen at the Nürburgring, the traffic is crazy here, and so is the weather. I would have preferred dry weather, that would have been more fun and would have been safer. But that’s what makes this race so special.”
Markus Palttala (ROWE RACING, number 22 BMW M6 GT3): “Naturally I am used to this type of weather from Finland, but I didn’t expect it here at the end of May. The crazy thing is just how fast the weather changes at the Nürburgring; sun, rain, hail, all in the space of an hour. When the storm started, I was only wearing a t-shirt and had to go and get my winter coat.”
Klaus Graf (ROWE RACING, number 22 BMW M6 GT3): “I have never experienced anything like this storm here. You really couldn’t do anything out there. I stopped in Breidscheid, got out and looked at the car. Then I had to wait until we were allowed to return to the pit. At least I was able to shelter in a tent.”
Philipp Eng (ROWE RACING, number 23 BMW M6 GT3): “Mercedes was very strong this time around. Which is why we can be pleased that we were at the front of the field of the other manufacturers. Unfortunately, we lost exactly the same amount of time at the start that we trailed by at the end. Otherwise, the BMW M6 GT3 was extremely reliable and delivered a fantastic performance. A huge well-done to the entire team once again. They really did a perfect job, in particular with our problem at the start.”
Maxime Martin (ROWE RACING, number 23 BMW M6 GT3): “The result is definitely okay after a race like this one. But, of course, I would have preferred it if we had finished a bit further up the field. Unfortunately, the technical problem at the restart cost us time. If it hadn’t been for that, we would have been able to fight for a spot on the podium. Now we will work hard to make sure that 2017 is even better. The BMW M6 GT3 definitely has the potential.”
Alexander Sims (ROWE RACING, number 23 BMW M6 GT3): “I think we did the best we could given the circumstances. It wasn’t a smooth race for anyone. The weather was just crazy. Then there was the interruption and a turbulent restart. We had a great comeback and battled our way into fifth place. I’m proud of the whole team.”