This past weekend we got some action on the Nurburgring, once again, preparing for the upcoming 24-hour endurance race. The qualifying race took place and after six hours of hardcore driving, the starting positions for the ‘real deal’ are now set. BMW had no less than seven M6 GT3 cars lined-up at the starting line and the bests placed car at the end of it all was the #1 M6 GT3 which will be starting the race from P8.
Initially, the car came in ninth and the eight place went to the #98 M6 GT3 from ROWE Racing. However, the #98 car was disqualified because it violated the minimum number of laps per driver regulation. Therefore, the #1 M6 GT3 from ROWE Racing, driven by Nick Catsburg, Nick Yelloly, John Edwards, and Philipp Eng moved up a place, to P8. The #20 BMW M6 GT3 of Schubert Motorsport finished in P14. Jens Klingmann, Jesse Krohn and Stef Dusseldorp shared the cockpit of this car.
Right behind them in P15 was the BMW Junior Team in the #77 BMW M6 GT3. Dan Harper, Neil Verhagen and Max Hesse are set to contest their first 24-hour race in the GT3 car. They will be supported by Augusto Farfus in the cockpit. The #102 BMW M6 GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport with Sami-Matti Trogen, Jörg Müller and Jakub Giermaziak finished the race in P18, which also saw them make the top 20.
“The race was a lot of fun. The car felt great, we crossed off everything on our to-do list and completed our program. We also compared tires. The atmosphere in the team is really good, we’re all helping each other out and are very open with each other. It’s a lot of fun, and now we are all really looking forward to the big race at the beginning of June,” said Philipp Eng after the race.
What’s even more interesting is that the CEO of BMW M, Markus Flasch, also competed in the six-hour race. He shared duties in the #241 BMW M2 CS Racing with Matthias Malmedie, Jörg Weidinger und Nikolaus Schelle. Adrenalin Motorsport Team Alzner Automotive was responsible for the car’s outing. The quartet finished in fourth place of the CUP 5 class. The Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race is set to take place between June 5 and June 6 2021.